You are playing in a contract of 4♠. The Opponents did not bid at all.
How do you play the trump suit?
Dummy:
♠A865
Declarer:
♠KJ94
You can even assume the trumps are breaking nicely. No Dangerous Opponents or any other complicated stuff. How do you play the suit?
Show Answer
Showing posts with label Declarer Play - Real Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Declarer Play - Real Life. Show all posts
Friday, February 15, 2019
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Simple Declarer Play - 3NT
This post talks about counting winners in a trump contract. If you want some practice on doing that please read this post first:
Counting Winners You are playing 3NT after a simple auction of 1NT (by you, the Declarer), 3NT (by Partner, the Responder). The Opponents did not bid at all. Contract:3NT Opening lead:5♦ Dummy: ♠92 ♥KT4 ♦T964 ♣AKJT Declarer: ♠AJ ♥QJ97 ♦AQ2 ♣Q532 First let's count winners.
How many winners does Declarer have in each of the suits?
Hmmmm. Doesn't look like you have enough winners. What is your plan? What card do you play at trick 2?
Counting Winners You are playing 3NT after a simple auction of 1NT (by you, the Declarer), 3NT (by Partner, the Responder). The Opponents did not bid at all. Contract:3NT Opening lead:5♦ Dummy: ♠92 ♥KT4 ♦T964 ♣AKJT Declarer: ♠AJ ♥QJ97 ♦AQ2 ♣Q532 First let's count winners.
How many winners does Declarer have in each of the suits?
Hmmmm. Doesn't look like you have enough winners. What is your plan? What card do you play at trick 2?
Friday, June 16, 2017
Declarer Play Problem
Dummy:
♠KQ763
♥974
♦KJT6
♣T
Here is your hand:
♠5
♥AKQJ63
♦Q85
♣K93
You end up in a 2♥ contract after your RHO opens the bidding 1NT (15-17 HCP).
The lead was the J♠. You played Q♠ from Dummy and RHO wins the A♠. Then they switch to the Q♣.
What card are you playing from your hand? The King, the nine or the three?
(Hint: Review the bidding!)
Show Answer
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Watch the Spots!
Dummy:
♠K4
♥8754
♦J432
♣KQT
Declarer:
♠QT7
♥KJT
♦AK6
♣A872
You are Declarer in 3NT. You get the 3♣ lead. You play low from Dummy and RHO plays the 5♣. What do you play?
Watch it! You have already won the trick in Dummy. There is NO NEED to play your A♣ here!
Here's another one:
Dummy:
♠AK93
♥KT862
♦Q6
♣AK
Declarer:
♠Q84
♥A9
♦AJ2
♣QJ643
You get the 6♠ for a lead. You play low from Dummy and RHO plays the 5♠. What do you play?
Here you can win the trick with the 8♠! Then you have FOUR ♠ tricks!
Here's another one. This time I'm only going to give you the trump suit.
Dummy:
♠K765
Declarer:
♠JT82
You start with a low ♠ towards the K♠. That loses to the A♠ on your right. The opponents play a card and you win in your hand. You now play the J♠ and your LHO throws away a ♥. They have no more trump!
You are now down to this:
Dummy:
♠65
Declarer:
♠T8
The opponents play another card and you win in Dummy. You have to take out the last two trump. You play a low ♠. Your RHO plays the 3♠. What do you play?
The 8♠ should win the trick! LHO is out of ♠, remember?
These plays seem so OBVIOUS here. But WATCH when you are actually playing the hand. Each of these plays was made today and each of these plays cost a few matchpoints. They add up.
Now I get it. Sometimes you are distracted. Perhaps the first hand Declarer was wondering why Partner couldn't invite to game?
Perhaps the second hand Declarer was wondering why Partner couldn't force to slam?
The third hand Declarer was down 3. Perhaps she was thinking it didn't really matter anyhow? The difference between down 2 and down 3 here was 4.5 matchpoints. That's a big deal.
So next time this happens try to concentrate on the cards. Do NOT worry about where you should be. Concentrate on where you are and try to get the most number of tricks you can. WATCH the spot cards.
Friday, March 17, 2017
Play Question
Here is your hand:
♠J97643
♥AT
♦AQJ2
♣3
Partner opens the bidding 1♣. Your RHO Passes. What is your bid?
1♠ is a good bid on this hand. No need to jump to 2♠ (that shows a much different hand) since 1♠ is a FORCING bid. Partner MUST bid again.
LHO Passes and Partner bids 4♠. RHO Passes. What is your bid?
Think carefully. What does Partner have?
Most novices think this is a cut off bid. After all, you've just bid a game and that tends to be a sign off bid.
But Partner just bid a game when you have shown a weak hand. All you need to bid 1♠ is 6 HCP. Partner bid a game thinking you have four ♠ and 6 HCP. Partner should have about 19-21 points with four ♠.
This hand should bid again.
Depending on how much you know about exploring slams you can either just bid 6♠ (you have 12 HCP plus 2 Length points) or you can bid Blackwood to find out if you are missing two Aces. If you are not missing two Aces then you can bid 6♠.
In any case you end up in 6♠ and you are Declarer. The opening lead is the 9♥. When you play low from Dummy your RHO plays their J♥. How do you play the contract? Will you take twelve tricks?
Dummy:
♠AQ85
♥85
♦K98
♣AKQJ
Your hand:
♠J97643
♥AT
♦AQJ2
♣3
Tip: Since this is trump you need to count your LOSERS.
Deal out the cards at home and see how you will come to 12 tricks. (Or more!)
Show Answer
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Declarer Play Exercise #12 - 6 Hearts
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 bridge players count losers in a trump contract is to determine whether or not Declarer has enough losers that they will not be able to make their contract. If Declarer has too many losers to make their contract they have to figure out a way to get rid of some of their losers! If Declarer has losers but will still make their contract they try to figure out if they can avoid some of their losers without jeopardizing their contract. Bridge players are a bit greedy in that sense.
To avoid some losers you might have to try a finesse. If you are not sure what a finesse is try these posts:
The Finesse
More Finessing
Eight Ever, Nine Never
This post also talks about playing high cards from the short side. If you are not sure what this means check out this post: Declarer Play - High Cards from the Short Side If you want to see me walk through a few hands with you check out these posts: Counting Losers in Action -- 4 Spades Counting Losers in Action – 3 Spades
This post is designed to test your declarer play in a trump contract. Count your losers and determine how you will play the contract. For example you could say "I have 4 losers and I will try the ♣ finesse to try to get rid of my ♣ loser!" Or you could say "I have 3 losers and no way to get rid of any of them!" So let's practice. The final contract is 6♥. The lead is the K♦. Count the losers in the ♠ suit. Count the losers in the ♥ suit. Count the losers in the ♦ suit. Count the losers in the ♣ suit. Do you have too many losers? If yes, can you get rid of any so you can make your contract? If no, can you try to get rid of any? This was a real hand played by real novices in a real game. Only one person took ALL the tricks like they should. Let's see how you do at home without the pressure of a real game.
Try playing out the contract at home. Deal out the cards and play as normal. Write down all the steps you did in order. Contract: 6♥ Opening lead: K♦.
Dummy: ♠Q3 ♥AQ83 ♦5 ♣AKJT62 Declarer: ♠AT982 ♥KT72 ♦A9 ♣Q5 Before reading any further write down how you would play this hand.
Now I will walk you through it. I can count losers in either hand so for this hand I will count the losers in my hand. I could choose Dummy because of that FABULOUS ♣ suit but it is easier to explain how to take ALL the tricks by looking at Declarer's hand! Count the losers in Declarer's Hand:
So this is not looking so good. I have FIVE losers not including any potential trump losers. How do I get rid of them? What is your plan to get rid of the losers? As long as the trump suit breaks you should not have any losers. But what happens if the trump suit doesn't break? This was a real life hand and the trump suit didn't break very well in real life. One Opponent held four trump to the J9. But it was actually the Opponent that Declarer WANTS to hold four to the J9. So that was good. Which Opponent would that be? If one Opponent holds four trump to the J9 you will lose a trump trick. If the other Opponent holds four trump to the J9 you will NOT have to lose a trump trick. Which Opponent is which? As Declarer do you want your RIGHT HAND Opponent to hold four trump to the J9 or your LEFT HAND Opponent to hold four to the J9. I know, you don't want either of them to hold four trump. But that wasn't a choice. RHO or LHO. You choose. If it helps, take a deck of cards and ONLY give the Heart suit to everyone. You know what you have as Declarer. You know what Dummy has. Give one Opponent (either one) four Hearts to the J9. Can you pick up that suit for no losers? Now give the other Opponent four Hearts to the J9. Can you pick up that suit for no losers? You should be able to choose correctly if you do that. How will you play the hand now?
Counting Losers
The reason why bridge players count losers in a trump contract is to determine whether or not Declarer has enough losers that they will not be able to make their contract. If Declarer has too many losers to make their contract they have to figure out a way to get rid of some of their losers! If Declarer has losers but will still make their contract they try to figure out if they can avoid some of their losers without jeopardizing their contract. Bridge players are a bit greedy in that sense.
To avoid some losers you might have to try a finesse. If you are not sure what a finesse is try these posts:
The Finesse
More Finessing
Eight Ever, Nine Never
This post also talks about playing high cards from the short side. If you are not sure what this means check out this post: Declarer Play - High Cards from the Short Side If you want to see me walk through a few hands with you check out these posts: Counting Losers in Action -- 4 Spades Counting Losers in Action – 3 Spades
This post is designed to test your declarer play in a trump contract. Count your losers and determine how you will play the contract. For example you could say "I have 4 losers and I will try the ♣ finesse to try to get rid of my ♣ loser!" Or you could say "I have 3 losers and no way to get rid of any of them!" So let's practice. The final contract is 6♥. The lead is the K♦. Count the losers in the ♠ suit. Count the losers in the ♥ suit. Count the losers in the ♦ suit. Count the losers in the ♣ suit. Do you have too many losers? If yes, can you get rid of any so you can make your contract? If no, can you try to get rid of any? This was a real hand played by real novices in a real game. Only one person took ALL the tricks like they should. Let's see how you do at home without the pressure of a real game.
Try playing out the contract at home. Deal out the cards and play as normal. Write down all the steps you did in order. Contract: 6♥ Opening lead: K♦.
Dummy: ♠Q3 ♥AQ83 ♦5 ♣AKJT62 Declarer: ♠AT982 ♥KT72 ♦A9 ♣Q5 Before reading any further write down how you would play this hand.
Now I will walk you through it. I can count losers in either hand so for this hand I will count the losers in my hand. I could choose Dummy because of that FABULOUS ♣ suit but it is easier to explain how to take ALL the tricks by looking at Declarer's hand! Count the losers in Declarer's Hand:
So this is not looking so good. I have FIVE losers not including any potential trump losers. How do I get rid of them? What is your plan to get rid of the losers? As long as the trump suit breaks you should not have any losers. But what happens if the trump suit doesn't break? This was a real life hand and the trump suit didn't break very well in real life. One Opponent held four trump to the J9. But it was actually the Opponent that Declarer WANTS to hold four to the J9. So that was good. Which Opponent would that be? If one Opponent holds four trump to the J9 you will lose a trump trick. If the other Opponent holds four trump to the J9 you will NOT have to lose a trump trick. Which Opponent is which? As Declarer do you want your RIGHT HAND Opponent to hold four trump to the J9 or your LEFT HAND Opponent to hold four to the J9. I know, you don't want either of them to hold four trump. But that wasn't a choice. RHO or LHO. You choose. If it helps, take a deck of cards and ONLY give the Heart suit to everyone. You know what you have as Declarer. You know what Dummy has. Give one Opponent (either one) four Hearts to the J9. Can you pick up that suit for no losers? Now give the other Opponent four Hearts to the J9. Can you pick up that suit for no losers? You should be able to choose correctly if you do that. How will you play the hand now?
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Declarer Play - 3NT - Developing extra tricks with Finesses
Before you read this post make sure you know what a finesse is. If not, read this post: http://heidisbridgeblog.blogspot.ca/2016/03/more-suit-combinations.html
Contract 3NT:
Opening lead K♥.
Dummy:
♠A32
♥732
♦A42
♣K765
Declarer (me):
♠K86
♥A654
♦KJ7
♣AJ3
How do I play this hand? In NT I count my winners. Those are sure tricks that I can take right away without losing a trick. I should do this before I even play a card from Dummy.
Winners:
♠2 winners
♥1 winner
♦2 winners
♣2 winners
That's not enough winners. I have 7 winners but I need 9 tricks. I have to somehow get 2 extra tricks. Hmmmmm. Maybe a finesse? Do you see any possibilities for finesses?
Actually there are a couple. I can take a finesse in ♣ and I can also take a finesse in ♦. If the Queen in either of these suits is in a good location for me I can score a trick with my Jack.
To score a trick with my J♦ where do I hope the Q♦ is? Do I want my RHO to hold the Q♦ or my LHO to hold the Q♦?
Here I need my RHO to have the Q♦. If my LHO has the Q♦ they will just cover my J♦ with their Q♦ when I play it. But if I play a low ♦ towards my J♦ and my RHO has the Q♦ they cannot stop me from winning a trick with my J♦. When I lead the low ♦ if they play their Q♦ I will win with my K♦ and then my A♦ and J♦ are both good. If I play a low ♦ and my RHO plays a low ♦ I can try playing the J♦. If my RHO has the Q♦ my J♦ will win a trick PLUS I still have the A♦ and the K♦.
Same with the ♣ suit. Who do I hope has the Q♣? I want to try to score a trick with my J♣.
Think about it.
My RHO. I again need to play a low ♣ towards the J♣ in my hand. If my RHO plays a low ♣ I will try playing the J♣. If RHO holds the Q♣ the J♣ will win the trick. Then I will still have the A♣ and the K♣.
If both those finesses work I will have the 2 extra tricks I need!
Do I need both finesses to work? Do you see another possibility for a 9th trick if only the ♣ finesse works?
So I try the ♣ finesse and it wins! What do I do now?
Here I MIGHT be able to set up my last ♣ winner if both the opponents hold 3♣. But that involves paying attention and making sure there are no more ♣ out there. That's quite a bit to remember so if you forget if that last ♣ is good you can always try the ♦ finesse. Maybe a good thing to remember is that if BOTH opponents follow suit when the J♣ and then the A♣ and then the K♣ are played then that last ♣ in Dummy should be a winner.
Contract 3NT:
Opening lead K♥.
Dummy:
♠A32
♥732
♦A42
♣K765
Declarer (me):
♠K86
♥A654
♦KJ7
♣AJ3
How do I play this hand? In NT I count my winners. Those are sure tricks that I can take right away without losing a trick. I should do this before I even play a card from Dummy.
Winners:
♠2 winners
♥1 winner
♦2 winners
♣2 winners
That's not enough winners. I have 7 winners but I need 9 tricks. I have to somehow get 2 extra tricks. Hmmmmm. Maybe a finesse? Do you see any possibilities for finesses?
Actually there are a couple. I can take a finesse in ♣ and I can also take a finesse in ♦. If the Queen in either of these suits is in a good location for me I can score a trick with my Jack.
To score a trick with my J♦ where do I hope the Q♦ is? Do I want my RHO to hold the Q♦ or my LHO to hold the Q♦?
Here I need my RHO to have the Q♦. If my LHO has the Q♦ they will just cover my J♦ with their Q♦ when I play it. But if I play a low ♦ towards my J♦ and my RHO has the Q♦ they cannot stop me from winning a trick with my J♦. When I lead the low ♦ if they play their Q♦ I will win with my K♦ and then my A♦ and J♦ are both good. If I play a low ♦ and my RHO plays a low ♦ I can try playing the J♦. If my RHO has the Q♦ my J♦ will win a trick PLUS I still have the A♦ and the K♦.
Same with the ♣ suit. Who do I hope has the Q♣? I want to try to score a trick with my J♣.
Think about it.
My RHO. I again need to play a low ♣ towards the J♣ in my hand. If my RHO plays a low ♣ I will try playing the J♣. If RHO holds the Q♣ the J♣ will win the trick. Then I will still have the A♣ and the K♣.
If both those finesses work I will have the 2 extra tricks I need!
Do I need both finesses to work? Do you see another possibility for a 9th trick if only the ♣ finesse works?
So I try the ♣ finesse and it wins! What do I do now?
Here I MIGHT be able to set up my last ♣ winner if both the opponents hold 3♣. But that involves paying attention and making sure there are no more ♣ out there. That's quite a bit to remember so if you forget if that last ♣ is good you can always try the ♦ finesse. Maybe a good thing to remember is that if BOTH opponents follow suit when the J♣ and then the A♣ and then the K♣ are played then that last ♣ in Dummy should be a winner.
Monday, April 4, 2016
Ruff/Sluff
Just what is a ruff/sluff?
A ruff/sluff is when the opponents lead a suit where you can trump (ruff) in one hand while throwing (sluffing) away a loser in the other hand. Obviously in order for this to occur you need to be void in the suit that the opponents lead in both your hand and Dummy.
That doesn't even really make any sense at all. You need to see this in action.
Let's take a simple look at a ruff/sluff
Dummy
♠ T6
♥ 3 ♦ ♣ ♠ 84
♥ 2 ♦ ♣ ♠ T6
♥ A32 ♦ ♣ ♠ 84
♥ K54 ♦ ♣ ♠ AKT6
♥ A32 ♦ Q53 ♣ ♠ QJ984
♥ K54 ♦ 642 ♣ K2 ♠ 0 losers
♥ 1 loser ♦ 3 losers ♣ ♠ AKT6
♥ A3 ♦ ♣ ♠ QJ98
♥ K54 ♦ ♣ K2 ♠ 0 losers
♥ 1 losers ♦ - ♣ ♠ AK6
♥ A32 ♦ ♣ ♠ QJ984
♥ K5 ♦ ♣ K2 ♠ 0 losers
♥ 0 losers ♦ - ♣
Monday, February 15, 2016
Declarer Play - 4 Hearts
The question from the last blog entry was "Is there a better contract?"
Yes, there is. Try playing in 4♥
So now the contract is 4♥ and the opening lead is the K♦. Try dealing out the cards and playing along.
Dummy:
♠KT2
♥A932
♦A43
♣762
Declarer (me):
♠AQJ73
♥K852
♦8
♣AJ3
Since I am in a trump contract I will start with counting my losers. I will look at my hand (since I have more trump than dummy) to see where my losers are:
♠ 0 losers
♥ 1 or 2 losers depending on if the suit splits 3-2 or not
♦ 0 losers
♣ 2 losers
So far the losers look pretty much the same as they did in 4♠. But watch what you can do with a 4-4 trump fit as opposed to a 5-3 trump fit.
To start with, win the ♦A and take out 2 rounds of trump. Both opponents follow suit each time so now there is only 1 trump out (the Q♥) and since that trump will beat your trump there is no point in taking out any more trump. That opponent will win the Q♥ at some point but there is no point in you wasting 2 of your trump to take out theirs. We need both our trump to do other things. So here's what we come down to:
Dummy:
♠KT2
♥93
♦43
♣762
Declarer (me):
♠AQJ73
♥85
♦
♣AJ3
Now I want to play out my ♠ suit. Since I have more ♠ in my hand I get to throw away 2 of my losers from Dummy. What cards should I throw away? I have a choice between ♦ and ♣. Which ones should I throw away? ♦? ♣? One of each? Does it matter?
It does matter. If you think about it, the ♦ are not really losers because I can always trump them in my hand. I can do something with them so I don't need to throw them away. The ♣ are true losers since right now I can't do anything with them (except lose them.)
So I play out my ♠ (high card from the short side!) and throw away 2 losing ♣. I end with with this:
Dummy:
♠
♥93
♦43
♣7
Declarer (me):
♠
♥85
♦
♣AJ3
Now it's easy to see what you can do. Play the ♣A and then trump a ♣, trump a ♦, trump a ♣, and finally trump a ♦.
Now eventually the opponent that has the good trump will trump in. Does that matter? No. You were always prepared for that to happen and no matter what they return you can continue with your original plan of throwing away ♣ and cross-ruffing (trumping ♣ and trumping ♦) the hand. You will make 12 tricks on this hand.
So in general if you have a 4-4 fit and also a 5-3 fit choose to be in your 4-4 fit. You will take more tricks most of the time. Not all of the time of course. Sometimes the trump will split 5-0 and that won't be better. Sometimes the trump will be 4-1 and that probably won't be better either. But most of the time trump will split 3-2 and that's when it should be better to play in your 4-4 fit.
Yes, there is. Try playing in 4♥
So now the contract is 4♥ and the opening lead is the K♦. Try dealing out the cards and playing along.
Dummy:
♠KT2
♥A932
♦A43
♣762
Declarer (me):
♠AQJ73
♥K852
♦8
♣AJ3
Since I am in a trump contract I will start with counting my losers. I will look at my hand (since I have more trump than dummy) to see where my losers are:
♠ 0 losers
♥ 1 or 2 losers depending on if the suit splits 3-2 or not
♦ 0 losers
♣ 2 losers
So far the losers look pretty much the same as they did in 4♠. But watch what you can do with a 4-4 trump fit as opposed to a 5-3 trump fit.
To start with, win the ♦A and take out 2 rounds of trump. Both opponents follow suit each time so now there is only 1 trump out (the Q♥) and since that trump will beat your trump there is no point in taking out any more trump. That opponent will win the Q♥ at some point but there is no point in you wasting 2 of your trump to take out theirs. We need both our trump to do other things. So here's what we come down to:
Dummy:
♠KT2
♥93
♦43
♣762
Declarer (me):
♠AQJ73
♥85
♦
♣AJ3
Now I want to play out my ♠ suit. Since I have more ♠ in my hand I get to throw away 2 of my losers from Dummy. What cards should I throw away? I have a choice between ♦ and ♣. Which ones should I throw away? ♦? ♣? One of each? Does it matter?
It does matter. If you think about it, the ♦ are not really losers because I can always trump them in my hand. I can do something with them so I don't need to throw them away. The ♣ are true losers since right now I can't do anything with them (except lose them.)
So I play out my ♠ (high card from the short side!) and throw away 2 losing ♣. I end with with this:
Dummy:
♠
♥93
♦43
♣7
Declarer (me):
♠
♥85
♦
♣AJ3
Now it's easy to see what you can do. Play the ♣A and then trump a ♣, trump a ♦, trump a ♣, and finally trump a ♦.
Now eventually the opponent that has the good trump will trump in. Does that matter? No. You were always prepared for that to happen and no matter what they return you can continue with your original plan of throwing away ♣ and cross-ruffing (trumping ♣ and trumping ♦) the hand. You will make 12 tricks on this hand.
So in general if you have a 4-4 fit and also a 5-3 fit choose to be in your 4-4 fit. You will take more tricks most of the time. Not all of the time of course. Sometimes the trump will split 5-0 and that won't be better. Sometimes the trump will be 4-1 and that probably won't be better either. But most of the time trump will split 3-2 and that's when it should be better to play in your 4-4 fit.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Declarer Play - 4 Spades
Francine and Adair tied for first today with Anne coming in 3rd. Good job ladies!
There were some tough hands to play today. Let's look at an example of what can go wrong.
The contract is 4♠ and the opening lead is the K♦. Try dealing out the cards and playing along.
Dummy:
♠KT2
♥A932
♦A43
♣762
Declarer (me):
♠AQJ73
♥K852
♦8
♣AJ3
Since I am in a trump contract I will start with counting my losers. I will look at my hand (since I have more trump than dummy) to see where my losers are:
♠ 0 losers
♥ 1 or 2 losers depending on if the suit splits 3-2 or not
♦ 0 losers
♣ 2 losers
There really shouldn't be a problem on this hand. Hopefully the ♥ will split 3-2 and then I only have 1 loser in that suit. If the suit doesn't split well then I have 2 losers there and also 2 losers in ♣. But there is not really anything I can do about that. Hmmm. What could possibly go wrong? Declarer went down in this contract when ♥ split 3-2
Well I suspect what happened to declarer was that they won the ♦A at trick 1 and immediately played another ♦ and trumped it in their hand. I find people just LOVE to trump things right away. I guess it's a little bit of a thrill. This is when things started to go wrong. First of all the trump did not split so nicely. One opponent had FOUR of the little suckers. That means that once you win the ♦A and then trump a ♦ they have as many trump as you do. If you then have to take out all their trump you come down to this ending:
Dummy:
♠
♥A932
♦4
♣76
Declarer (you):
♠
♥K852
♦
♣AJ3
So now the opponents don't have any more trump -- but neither do you! You've taken 6 tricks (5♠ and 1♦) but you need 4 more. You only have 3 more. "Well, no problem" you say. I play the A♥ and the K♥ and then lose a ♥. Now my last ♥ is good and so is my ♣A.
This is all true. BUT when the opponents win their ♥ trick are they going to be nice and play a ♣ or are they going to continue with their ♦?
Probably ♦ and you don't have any more trump left to stop them.
So let's rewind back to the beginning of the hand.
Dummy:
♠KT2
♥A932
♦A43
♣762
Declarer (me):
♠AQJ73
♥K852
♦8
♣AJ3
Win the A♦ and the first thing you should do is take out ALL the trump. You should come down to this:
Dummy:
♠
♥A932
♦43
♣76
Declarer (me):
♠3
♥K852
♦
♣AJ3
All the trump are gone from the opponent's hand. But you still have one left.
The next thing you should do is to try to set up your best suit. This is the ♥. Play your A♥ and then your K♥. Lose a ♥. You come to this:
Dummy:
♠
♥9
♦43
♣76
Declarer (me):
♠3
♥8
♦
♣AJ3
Now here your ♥9 is good because the opponents don't have any more. The opponents are in because you let them win their good ♥ but what can they do? If they play a ♣ you can win your A♣ and also win your ♥9. But they will probably play a ♦. That was their strong suit. Here's your chance to do what you wanted to in the beginning -- trump it! Now you are in and you can win your A♣ and also win your ♥9. You have no trump left but that's not a problem. Your winners are all set up for you. Enjoy them!
Question: Is there a better contract than 4♠?
There were some tough hands to play today. Let's look at an example of what can go wrong.
The contract is 4♠ and the opening lead is the K♦. Try dealing out the cards and playing along.
Dummy:
♠KT2
♥A932
♦A43
♣762
Declarer (me):
♠AQJ73
♥K852
♦8
♣AJ3
Since I am in a trump contract I will start with counting my losers. I will look at my hand (since I have more trump than dummy) to see where my losers are:
♠ 0 losers
♥ 1 or 2 losers depending on if the suit splits 3-2 or not
♦ 0 losers
♣ 2 losers
There really shouldn't be a problem on this hand. Hopefully the ♥ will split 3-2 and then I only have 1 loser in that suit. If the suit doesn't split well then I have 2 losers there and also 2 losers in ♣. But there is not really anything I can do about that. Hmmm. What could possibly go wrong? Declarer went down in this contract when ♥ split 3-2
Well I suspect what happened to declarer was that they won the ♦A at trick 1 and immediately played another ♦ and trumped it in their hand. I find people just LOVE to trump things right away. I guess it's a little bit of a thrill. This is when things started to go wrong. First of all the trump did not split so nicely. One opponent had FOUR of the little suckers. That means that once you win the ♦A and then trump a ♦ they have as many trump as you do. If you then have to take out all their trump you come down to this ending:
Dummy:
♠
♥A932
♦4
♣76
Declarer (you):
♠
♥K852
♦
♣AJ3
So now the opponents don't have any more trump -- but neither do you! You've taken 6 tricks (5♠ and 1♦) but you need 4 more. You only have 3 more. "Well, no problem" you say. I play the A♥ and the K♥ and then lose a ♥. Now my last ♥ is good and so is my ♣A.
This is all true. BUT when the opponents win their ♥ trick are they going to be nice and play a ♣ or are they going to continue with their ♦?
Probably ♦ and you don't have any more trump left to stop them.
So let's rewind back to the beginning of the hand.
Dummy:
♠KT2
♥A932
♦A43
♣762
Declarer (me):
♠AQJ73
♥K852
♦8
♣AJ3
Win the A♦ and the first thing you should do is take out ALL the trump. You should come down to this:
Dummy:
♠
♥A932
♦43
♣76
Declarer (me):
♠3
♥K852
♦
♣AJ3
All the trump are gone from the opponent's hand. But you still have one left.
The next thing you should do is to try to set up your best suit. This is the ♥. Play your A♥ and then your K♥. Lose a ♥. You come to this:
Dummy:
♠
♥9
♦43
♣76
Declarer (me):
♠3
♥8
♦
♣AJ3
Now here your ♥9 is good because the opponents don't have any more. The opponents are in because you let them win their good ♥ but what can they do? If they play a ♣ you can win your A♣ and also win your ♥9. But they will probably play a ♦. That was their strong suit. Here's your chance to do what you wanted to in the beginning -- trump it! Now you are in and you can win your A♣ and also win your ♥9. You have no trump left but that's not a problem. Your winners are all set up for you. Enjoy them!
Question: Is there a better contract than 4♠?
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Declarer Play - 6C Example
Here's a hand that came up today:
Dummy:
♠K6
♥JT43
♦K82
♣KJT4
Declarer:
♠A9632
♥KQ2
♦A
♣AQ52
In my dreams I make the brilliant bid of 6♣. (In reality my partner got to play in 3NT but let's ignore that...)
So I am playing in my dream contract of 6♣. The opening lead is the Q♦. What do I do?
Yes, the first thing I do (after thanking partner of course) is to count my losers. It's a trump contract so I count losers.
♠ 3 losers
♥ 1 loser
♦ 0 losers
♣ 0 losers -- I guess if there is a really bad break in ♣ I have a loser but this is my dream. I don't dream bad breaks in the trump suit. Those are my nightmares...
So. 4 losers. Not looking good. I guess the 1 loser I'm allowed to have has to be the A♥. Can't see getting rid of that one. So how do I get rid of 3 losers in ♠?
Think of all the different ways you can see.
Well I have the K♦. That should take care of 1 loser. I can maybe trump 2 ♠ in dummy...
Though if I have to trump 2 ♠ in dummy that means I can't take out all the trump. I have to keep 2 trump in dummy. Hmmmm...
How about the ♥? Once I lose to the A♥ I have an extra ♥ in dummy that will be good. I can throw away 1 of the ♠ losers on that! Then I only have to trump 1 ♠. I only need to keep 1 ♣ in dummy!
Should I take out trump right away?
Yes, since I only need 1 trump in dummy I can try to take out trump. If the trumps are breaking badly I may need to stop and think again but this is a dream. They won't break badly.
YES! I won my A♦ and played 2 rounds of trump. Both opponents followed. So I took out the last trump. Now I need to play a ♥ and lose to the A♥. I played the K♥ from my hand (high cards from the short side remember!) and my LHO (Left Hand Opponent) won the A♥ and returned the J♦. I won the K♦ and pitched 1 of my losing ♠ from my hand. Now I played a ♥ to my Q♥ and played another ♥ to the T♥. Now I am in dummy to play my winning J♥ and throw my 2nd ♠ loser. Now I can play my K♠, then A♠ and trump a ♠. Making 6!!!
Dummy:
♠K6
♥JT43
♦K82
♣KJT4
Declarer:
♠A9632
♥KQ2
♦A
♣AQ52
In my dreams I make the brilliant bid of 6♣. (In reality my partner got to play in 3NT but let's ignore that...)
So I am playing in my dream contract of 6♣. The opening lead is the Q♦. What do I do?
Yes, the first thing I do (after thanking partner of course) is to count my losers. It's a trump contract so I count losers.
♠ 3 losers
♥ 1 loser
♦ 0 losers
♣ 0 losers -- I guess if there is a really bad break in ♣ I have a loser but this is my dream. I don't dream bad breaks in the trump suit. Those are my nightmares...
So. 4 losers. Not looking good. I guess the 1 loser I'm allowed to have has to be the A♥. Can't see getting rid of that one. So how do I get rid of 3 losers in ♠?
Think of all the different ways you can see.
Well I have the K♦. That should take care of 1 loser. I can maybe trump 2 ♠ in dummy...
Though if I have to trump 2 ♠ in dummy that means I can't take out all the trump. I have to keep 2 trump in dummy. Hmmmm...
How about the ♥? Once I lose to the A♥ I have an extra ♥ in dummy that will be good. I can throw away 1 of the ♠ losers on that! Then I only have to trump 1 ♠. I only need to keep 1 ♣ in dummy!
Should I take out trump right away?
Yes, since I only need 1 trump in dummy I can try to take out trump. If the trumps are breaking badly I may need to stop and think again but this is a dream. They won't break badly.
YES! I won my A♦ and played 2 rounds of trump. Both opponents followed. So I took out the last trump. Now I need to play a ♥ and lose to the A♥. I played the K♥ from my hand (high cards from the short side remember!) and my LHO (Left Hand Opponent) won the A♥ and returned the J♦. I won the K♦ and pitched 1 of my losing ♠ from my hand. Now I played a ♥ to my Q♥ and played another ♥ to the T♥. Now I am in dummy to play my winning J♥ and throw my 2nd ♠ loser. Now I can play my K♠, then A♠ and trump a ♠. Making 6!!!
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Declarer Play - 5D Example
Here's a hand that came up today.
The contract is 5♦ and the opening lead is the Q♠
Dummy:
♠A4
♥AQJ76
♦2
♣AQ742
Declarer:
♠K76
♥82
♦AKJT9853
♣-
Before reading further what do you need to do as declarer?
Since I am in a trump contract I will start with counting my losers. I will look at my hand (since I have more trump than dummy) to see where my losers are:
♠ 1 loser
♥ 1 loser
♦ 1 loser
♣ 0 losers
How do you get rid of your losers? Think of ALL the possibilities.
To get rid of your ♠ loser you can do 2 things. You can either play the A♠, then the K♠ and then another ♠ and trump that ♠ in dummy OR Option 2 would be to throw the ♠ away on the A♣. Either way you get rid of that loser.
To get rid of your ♥ loser you can do 2 things. You can either finesse for the K♥ OR you can throw away the 2♥ on the A♣.
To get rid of your ♦ loser you can either finesse the Q♦ OR you can play the A♦ and the K♦ and hope the Q♦ drops.
If you saw other ways to get rid of losers you are WAY too advanced for this blog!
Now obviously it would be nice to throw away both our ♠ loser and our ♥ loser on the A♣ but we can't do that. If we throw away our ♠ loser then we can only try to finesse the ♥ .
Another thing to keep in mind is that this is a team game. We HAVE to make our contract. We don't care about getting overtricks. Keeping that in mind I'd say the safest thing to do is to win the K♠ and play the A♦ and the K♦ . If the Q♦ falls I will make my contract. If the Q♦ doesn't fall then I will for sure be able to throw away my ♠ loser on the A♣. I can still try the ♥ finesse but even if that loses I make my contract.
The contract is 5♦ and the opening lead is the Q♠
Dummy:
♠A4
♥AQJ76
♦2
♣AQ742
Declarer:
♠K76
♥82
♦AKJT9853
♣-
Before reading further what do you need to do as declarer?
Since I am in a trump contract I will start with counting my losers. I will look at my hand (since I have more trump than dummy) to see where my losers are:
♠ 1 loser
♥ 1 loser
♦ 1 loser
♣ 0 losers
How do you get rid of your losers? Think of ALL the possibilities.
To get rid of your ♠ loser you can do 2 things. You can either play the A♠, then the K♠ and then another ♠ and trump that ♠ in dummy OR Option 2 would be to throw the ♠ away on the A♣. Either way you get rid of that loser.
To get rid of your ♥ loser you can do 2 things. You can either finesse for the K♥ OR you can throw away the 2♥ on the A♣.
To get rid of your ♦ loser you can either finesse the Q♦ OR you can play the A♦ and the K♦ and hope the Q♦ drops.
If you saw other ways to get rid of losers you are WAY too advanced for this blog!
Now obviously it would be nice to throw away both our ♠ loser and our ♥ loser on the A♣ but we can't do that. If we throw away our ♠ loser then we can only try to finesse the ♥ .
Another thing to keep in mind is that this is a team game. We HAVE to make our contract. We don't care about getting overtricks. Keeping that in mind I'd say the safest thing to do is to win the K♠ and play the A♦ and the K♦ . If the Q♦ falls I will make my contract. If the Q♦ doesn't fall then I will for sure be able to throw away my ♠ loser on the A♣. I can still try the ♥ finesse but even if that loses I make my contract.
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