How Can Getting an OVERTRICK be Bad?

This post talks about counting losers in a trump contract. If you want some practice on doing that please read this post first:
Counting Losers

The reason why we count losers in a trump contract is to figure out whether or not we will make the contract! If we have 4 losers but are in a 4♠ contract we have one too many losers. We have to figure out how to avoid losing one of those losers.

There are several simple ways to get rid of losers. This post talks about throwing some of our losers away on winners.

Contract:4♥ Opening lead:3♦
Dummy:
♠QJT3
♥Q942
♦AKT8
♣8

Declarer:
♠K52
♥AKJ5
♦QJ952
♣4

First let's count losers. Normally one counts the losers in the hand with the longest trump. That would be either hand since they both have four trump. When this happens I take the hand that has the longest suit outside the trump suit. In this case I will count the losers in Declarer's hand since Declarer has that nice ♦ suit.

How many losers does Declarer have in each of the suits?



There are TWO losers in Declarer's hand. Declarer should have no problem making this contract.

How will Declarer do this?

Since I was Declarer I won the ♦ lead. This ♦ lead looked suspiciously like a singleton so I took out all the Opponents trump. (They split 3-2 by the way. One Opponent had three of them and the other Opponent had two.) Then I played a ♠ to knock out the Opponents A♠. I even remember to play HIGH card from the SHORT SIDE. This set up all my ♠ tricks. When the Opponents were in they also won their A♣ but that was fine. I still make an OVERTRICK in my contract! So I was VERY happy....

UNTIL I looked at my score. My Partner and I got 0% for this result!

How can bidding a game and making an overtrick be so bad?!

Well I checked the results and EVERYONE else took 12 tricks.

Hmmmmm. How do you suppose everyone took 12 tricks? Think about that and I will let you know in the next post.

Throw Losers on Winners

This post talks about counting losers in a trump contract. If you want some practice on doing that please read this post first:
Counting Losers

The reason why we count losers in a trump contract is to figure out whether or not we will make the contract! If we have 4 losers but are in a 4♠ contract we have one too many losers. We have to figure out how to avoid losing one of those losers.

There are several simple ways to get rid of losers. This post talks about throwing some of our losers away on winners.

Contract:4♠ Opening lead:K♥
Dummy:
♠KJ73
♥862
♦KQJ8
♣Q2

Declarer:
♠AQ942
♥A75
♦A74
♣97

First let's count losers. Normally one counts the losers in the hand with the longest trump. That would be Declarer's hand.

How many losers does Declarer have in each of the suits?



There are FOUR losers in Declarer's hand. The problem is that Declarer is only allowed to lose THREE tricks since the contract is 4♠. How will Declarer make this contract? They somehow have to get rid of ONE of their losers.

How will Declarer do this?

An easy way to get rid of losers in one hand is to throw them away on winners from the other hand. If you check out that ♦ suit you can see that there are four ♦ in Dummy but only three ♦ in Declarer's hand. PLUS the ♦ are all winners. So when Declarer is playing the ♦ from Dummy and runs out of ♦ to play in their hand they are allowed to play another suit. This is where Declarer can throw away one of their losers. So Declarer should start with the A♦ from their hand (high card from the short side) and then a low ♦ towards the K♦ in Dummy. Then Declarer can play the Q♦ from Dummy and their LAST ♦ from their hand. Declarer can now play the J♦ from Dummy and (since that will win the trick) throw away a losing card from their hand. Doesn't really matter what loser they throw away -- either a ♥ loser or a ♣ loser will do. But Declarer should now make their contract.

Can they do this right away? Should they win the K♥ with their A♥ and then play the ♦?

No! Declarer has not yet taken out the Opponents trump! The Opponents will be able to trump ♦ before Declarer gets rid of their loser! Declarer needs to take out the Opponents trump first!

So the steps in order are:

Step 1:
Win the Opponents K♥ with the A♥

Step 2:
Take out ALL the Opponents trump. Even if one of them holds ALL FOUR TRUMP. (They sometimes do!)

Step 3:
Play the ♦ suit HIGH CARD from the SHORT SIDE ending in Dummy

Step 4:
Throw away a loser from their hand

Step 5:
Rejoice in a contract well played

Killer Lead

WARNING! The following post talks about Jacoby Transfers. If you do not know what they are then do NOT bother reading this post.

Here is a hand from a few days ago where I was an Opponent. You are now my Partner who has to make a killing lead against a game contract.

The previous post discussed the bidding. Check out this post first:
Was the Bidding Correct?

So, to get the bidding from your perspective, here's what happened from your point of view.

Your RHO opens the bidding 1NT. ("15 to 17" their Partner announced.) You Pass. Your LHO bid 2♦. ("Transfer" your RHO announces.) Your Partner Passes. 2♥ your RHO bid. You Pass. 2NT bid LHO. Partner Passes. 3♥ RHO bid. You Pass. 4♥ LHO bid. This ended the auction.

Here's a recap:

RHO	You!	RHO	Partner
1NT (15-17)	Pass	2♦ (Transfer)	Pass
2♥	Pass	2NT	Pass
3♥	Pass	4♥	Pass
Pass	Pass

The last post talked about what was wrong with the bidding. LHO has somehow misbid. You don't know WHAT the misbid was. Maybe they bid 2NT with more points than they should and are now making up for it. Maybe they are now overbidding their hand with the 4♥ bid. You don't know. But you do have to make a lead. What will you lead from this holding?

Your hand:
♠AJ9
♥765
♦Q73
♣K985

Show Answer

My Partner made a very good lead. He lead trump!

Many players don't realize you CAN actually lead trump. Sometimes it IS a good lead.

Why did he lead trump? Basically he didn't want to lead ANY OTHER SUIT.

He didn't want to lead a ♠ with the AJ9. Too easy to give up a trick.

He didn't want to lead a ♦ to help Declarer find the Q♦.

He didn't want to lead a ♣ with the K985. Too easy to give up a trick there also.

So he eliminated all the suits he did NOT want to lead from and came up with only one suit he didn't mind leading from. The trump suit.

Here are the four hands.

	Dummy ♠532 ♥AKJT4 ♦T942 ♣6
You! ♠AJ9 ♥765 ♦Q73 ♣K985		Me! ♠KQ764 ♥98 ♦865 ♣Q72
	Declarer ♠T8 ♥Q32 ♦AKJ ♣AJT43

If you lead a ♣ you help Declarer set up the ♣ suit for winners.

If you lead a ♦ you finessed your own Q♦.

If you lead a ♠ Declarer can now eventually trump a ♠ in his hand to establish a tenth trick for himself no matter what you do next.

Sometimes making a good lead means just not making a bad lead.

Was the Bidding Correct?

WARNING! The following post talks about Jacoby Transfers. If you do not know what they are then do NOT bother reading this post.

Here is a hand from a few days ago where I was an Opponent.

Your LHO opens the bidding 1NT. ("15 to 17" their Partner announced.) Partner Passes. My RHO bid 2♦. ("Transfer" my LHO announced.) I Passed. 2♥ my LHO bid. Partner Passes. 2NT bid RHO. I Pass. 3♥ my LHO bid. Partner Passes. 4♥ my RHO bid. This ended the auction.

Here's a recap:

LHO	Partner	RHO	Me!
1NT (15-17)	Pass	2♦ (Transfer)	Pass
2♥	Pass	2NT	Pass
3♥	Pass	4♥	Pass
Pass	Pass

The question is WHAT (if anything) is wrong with the bidding?

Show Answer

4♥ is a NON-BID. That means that RHO CANNOT bid 4♥ on this auction if their original 2NT was correct.

2NT showed an invitational hand -- about 8 or 9 points. This is a bid their Partner is allowed to Pass. My RHO should not have enough points to force to game.

But the 2♦ Transfer bid showed that they have a five card ♥ suit. So over the 2NT, LHO bid 3♥. They know they have a ♥ fit BUT if LHO wanted to accept the invite they would have bid 4♥ themselves. They are minimum. But they do have a fit so they should make sure they play in the ♥ fit. However Partner is supposed to PASS this bid.

Partner didn't. Partner misbid. It happens.

Next post you will have to make the killer opening lead. If you make the wrong lead Declarer can make the game.

1NT: NON-Forcing, Invitational or Forcing?

Let's play a game. The name of the game is "Over 1NT: Non-Forcing, Invitational or Forcing?"

I will give you a bid and you have to tell me whether or not it is a Non-Forcing bid (Partner must Pass the bid), an Invitational bid (Partner should bid if they are maximum for their 1NT opener but Pass if they are minimum) or a Forcing bid (Partner MUST bid again)

This post is easy enough that brand new players should be able to answer all the questions. However, for my more advanced students, I talk about Jacoby Transfers and also Texas. If you do not know what those bids are just ignore the stuff in brackets. You do not need to know what they are.

Bid 1

Opener	Responder
1NT	2NT

Is Responder’s bid of 2NT a Non-Forcing bid, an Invitational bid or a Forcing bid?



Bid 2

Opener	Responder
1NT	6NT

Is Responder’s bid of 6NT a Non-Forcing bid, an Invitational bid or a Forcing bid?



Bid 3

Opener	Responder
1NT	2♥

Is Responder’s bid of 2♥ a Non-Forcing bid, an Invitational bid or a Forcing bid?



Bid 4

Opener	Responder
1NT	5NT

Is Responder’s bid of 5NT a Non-Forcing bid, an Invitational bid or a Forcing bid?



Bid 5

Opener	Responder
1NT	4NT

Is Responder’s bid of 4NT a Non-Forcing bid, an Invitational bid or a Forcing bid?



Bid 6

Opener	Responder
1NT	2♦

Is Responder’s bid of 2♦ a Non-Forcing bid, an Invitational bid or a Forcing bid?



Bid 7

Opener	Responder
1NT	3♥

Is Responder’s bid of 3♥ a Non-Forcing bid, an Invitational bid or a Forcing bid?



Bid 8

Opener	Responder
1NT	4♥

Is Responder’s bid of 4♥ a Non-Forcing bid, an Invitational bid or a Forcing bid?



Bid 9

Opener	Responder
1NT	2♠

Is Responder’s bid of 2♠ a Non-Forcing bid, an Invitational bid or a Forcing bid?



Bid 10

Opener	Responder
1NT	3NT

Is Responder’s bid of 3NT a Non-Forcing bid, an Invitational bid or a Forcing bid?

Pre-empt from Today

WARNING! The following post talks about Pre-emptive Bidding. Pre-empts are bids used by more experienced players. If you are a new player do NOT bother reading this post. When you have played a bit more and know a bit more you can learn how to use them. For now, do not bother.

Here is a hand from today.
The Opponents are vulnerable.
You and Partner are non-vulnerable.
Your Partner opens the bidding 2♠. RHO Passes. Your bid. What is your call?

♠Q863
♥T
♦QJT763
♣J8

So it is your bid. What will you do?

Show Answer

If you bid 4♠ you get a good board.

Why you ask? How can you possible make 4♠? Partner is weak and you have nothing? How can this be good?

Well Partner does have a weak hand. They have:
♠AKJT94
♥J84
♦94
♣T5

4♠ goes down 2. Partner has no play.

So why is this good? Let's take a look at what happens if you PASS 2♠. After all 2♠ should make if 4♠ goes down 2.

True. 2♠ will make. However the Opponents will NOT allow you to play in 2♠. They will bid. And they will bid 4♥.

Can you defeat 4♥? No. You have no defence. You can't even defeat 6♥. They will take 12 tricks if ♥ is trump.

This is easy for the Opponents to figure out when you pass 2♠.

MUCH more difficult to figure out if you bid 4♠.

Most Opponents will let you play in 4♠ and be happy they defeated you two tricks. They will leave oblivious to the fact that they missed their ♥ slam.

I set this up as a little test. I was watching my students bid. My one student bid 4♠ with such confidence I actually thought they were going to make it even though I knew they couldn't. Good job for them! Next time you get a hand like that bid game with confidence. The Opponents just might not find their game!

Check out this post to learn how to UP the PRE-EMPT:
Pre-emptive Bidding -- Upping the Pre-empt

Even MORE Non-Forcing, One Round Forcing or Game Forcing?

Let's play a game. The name of the game is "Non-Forcing, One Round Forcing or Game Forcing?"

I will give you a bid and you have to tell me whether or not it is a Non-Forcing bid (Partner is allowed to Pass the bid), a One Round Forcing bid (Partner must respond at least one more time) or a Game Forcing bid (neither Partner can Pass until a game is reached)

Bid 1

Opener	Responder
1♦	1♥
2♠

Is Opener’s bid of 2♠ a Non-Forcing bid, a One Round Forcing bid or a Game Forcing bid?



Bid 2

Opener	Responder
1♥	2♣
3♣

Is Opener’s bid of 3♣ a Non-Forcing bid, a One Round Forcing bid or a Game Forcing bid?



Bid 3

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♥
2♦	3♣

Is Responder’s bid of 3♣ a Non-Forcing bid, a One Round Forcing bid or a Game Forcing bid?



Bid 4

Opener	Responder
1♥	1♠
3♥

Is Opener’s bid of 3♥ a Non-Forcing bid, a One Round Forcing bid or a Game Forcing bid?



Bid 5

Opener	Responder
1♥	2♣
3♥

Is Opener’s bid of 3♥ a Non-Forcing bid, a One Round Forcing bid or a Game Forcing bid?



Bid 6

Opener	Responder
1♥	2♦
2NT

Is Opener’s bid of 2NT a Non-Forcing bid, a One Round Forcing bid or a Game Forcing bid?



Bid 7

Opener	Responder
1♠	2♦
2♥	3♠

Is Responder’s bid of 3♠ a Non-Forcing bid, a One Round Forcing bid or a Game Forcing bid?



Bid 8

Opener	Responder
1♦	1♥
2NT

Is Opener’s bid of 2NT a Non-Forcing bid, a One Round Forcing bid or a Game Forcing bid?



Bid 9

Opener	Responder
1♦	1NT
2NT

Is Opener’s bid of 2NT a Non-Forcing bid, a One Round Forcing bid or a Game Forcing bid?



Bid 10

Opener	Responder
1♦	1♥
2♦	2♠

Is Responder’s bid of 2♠ a Non-Forcing bid, a One Round Forcing bid or a Game Forcing bid?

Pre-emptive Bids -- A Summary

WARNING! The following post talks about Pre-emptive Bidding. Pre-empts are bids used by more experienced players. If you are a new player do NOT bother reading this post. When you have played a bit more and know a bit more you can learn how to use them. For now, do not bother.

This post summarizes all the following posts:
Pre-emptive Bidding -- An Introduction
Responding to a Weak 2
Weak 2 Bids -- Responding to 2NT
Pre-emptive Bidding -- Does Vulnerabilitity Matter?
Pre-emptive Bidding -- Upping the Pre-empt

A pre-emptive bid occurs when one player JUMPS in the bidding to bid a suit and their partner has not yet made a bid.

You can pre-empt when you open the bidding.
You can also make a pre-emptive overcall.

The purpose of a pre-emptive bid is to disrupt the opponents bidding. It shows a weak hand with a good quality, long suit.

To make a pre-emptive bid you should have the following:

• 5 to 10 HCP (or you can play 6 to 11 HCP or even 5 to 11)
• At least 3 of the top 5 honors (A, K, Q, J, T) – non-vulnerable
• At least 2 of the top 3 honors (A, K, Q) - vulnerable or non-vulnerable
• No tolerance for any outside major suit (4+ cards) – your hand is too good
• No outside 5 card minor – your hand is too good
• At most 1 trick outside the suit

Some players are not as disciplined when they make a pre-emptive bid. Their suit is not as good. I recommend being very disciplined when you first start playing pre-emptive bids. After you are more experienced playing pre-empts you can "relax" the rules a bit as you see fit.

The level you pre-empt at shows the LENGTH in your suit.

Pre-empting at the 2 level shows a 6 card suit
Pre-empting at the 3 level shows a 7 card suit
Pre-empting at the 4 level shows a 8 card suit
and so on...

What does Partner do?

They can just bid game.
Pass if they don't expect to make a game and have few trump.
Bid game in 3NT with the right hand.
Bid 2NT to ASK if the pre-empter has an outside feature. That is an Ace OR a King outside the trump suit.
With trump support but a weakish hand they can UP the PRE-EMPT. Bid to the LAW level.

The responses to 2NT from Partner are:
Partner rebids their suit if they do not have an Ace or King outside the suit and their suit is not headed by the AKQ.
If Partner has an outside Ace or King they bid 3 of the suit where they have the outside feature.
If Partner has a suit headed by the AKQ they bid 3NT.

Let's practice what you will bid if Partner opens the bidding 2♠. Partner is VULNERABLE so that means they have a GOOD SUIT. At least two of the top three honours (AKQ) and good spot cards. So it is your bid. What will you do? Pass? Bid 3♠? Bid 3NT? Bid 4♠? Ask Partner if they have an outside Ace or King with 2NT? You decide.

Hand 1

♠8543
♥T9
♦K82
♣KT64



Hand 2

♠QT74
♥AT32
♦7
♣A654



Hand 3

♠QJ65
♥AQ4
♦AQ3
♣A87



Hand 4

♠T94
♥KT7
♦T2
♣A9742



Hand 5

♠JT9
♥AJ76
♦J872
♣42



Hand 6

♠K743
♥82
♦A3
♣KT876



Hand 7

♠A976
♥A82
♦AQJT97
♣



Hand 8

♠953
♥AJ
♦AT9654
♣83



Hand 9

♠QT43
♥A6
♦3
♣KT8765



Hand 10

♠K87
♥A54
♦A54
♣A765



Hand 11

♠
♥KQ65
♦KQ765
♣KQ54



Hand 12

♠J97
♥3
♦AJ983
♣KJ94



Hand 13

♠A32
♥T9
♦K72
♣Q9765



Hand 14

♠KT9
♥A7632
♦642
♣J7



Hand 15

♠J6
♥AJT
♦AT96
♣KJ76



Hand 16

♠J653
♥J875
♦
♣AK753



Hand 17

♠KT72
♥A53
♦6
♣QJ852



Hand 18

♠742
♥KT98
♦98
♣K876



Hand 19

♠K543
♥AK7654
♦43
♣2



Hand 20

♠Q875
♥876
♦J9
♣JT76



Hand 21

♠AQ4
♥T873
♦8652
♣J4



Hand 22

♠AQ65
♥A732
♦T52
♣62



Hand 23

♠T43
♥KJ5
♦K87543
♣J



Hand 24

♠K876
♥7
♦AK6
♣KQ765



Hand 25

♠K86
♥J853
♦43
♣KQJ9



Hand 26

♠98
♥AQ4
♦AQ42
♣KT65



Hand 27

♠K765
♥J4
♦2
♣QJT832



Hand 28

♠QJ93
♥97
♦AK873
♣T2



Hand 29

♠Q94
♥5
♦KQT65
♣QJ74



Hand 30

♠Q
♥AK43
♦A754
♣AK32



Hand 31

♠A976
♥A
♦
♣AQJT9765



Hand 32

♠Q73
♥JT94
♦32
♣AQ96



Hand 33

♠8653
♥8
♦64
♣KQJ874



Hand 34

♠T83
♥87
♦8753
♣AKT5



Hand 35

♠J432
♥6532
♦84
♣AJ8



Hand 36

♠Q4
♥KQ652
♦Q54
♣Q43