Declarer’s Play
BEFORE WE GET TO DECLARER PLAY WE ARE TALKING ABOUT SOME MORE GENERAL CONCEPTS - the concept of trick or card promotion.
Now, the simplest play in Bridge is the taking of a winning honor.
We do it all the time.
If we have the ace, king, we take the ace or king and then we take the remaining honors.
This is the VERY FIRST LINE OF PLAY WE LEARN WHEN WE FIRST LEARN HOW TO PLAY BRIDGE
It is probably best seen in say six or seven notrump contracts -- we simply take our winning 13 high honors and go home
But alas we don't always have 13 winning honors or 38 Goren points
If WE ALWAYS DID, THIS GAME WOULD BE EASY
SO.... we need something more than the simple taking of winning honors
and this something is called CARD OR TRICK PROMOTION.
THAT IS ..we use what we do have to PROMOTE WHAT WE AINT GOT..
AND WHAT WE AINT GOT IS WINNING TRICKS WITH OUR SMALLER CARDS
DO NOT LEAD OUT YOUR ACES..SINCE THEY WILL ONLY CATCH SPACES..
In other words...save your aces to take lower honors TO THEREFORE PROMOTE YOUR EVEN LOWER HONORS
YOU all know that there are in FACT A COUPLE OF SITUATIONS WHERE YOU MUST IN FACT LEAD AN ACE
1. Against the slam trump contract, the rule is ...SURPRISE DECLARER...AND THE LEAD OF AN ACE IS ALWAYS A SURPRISE
2. Against the trump contract below the slam level. If TRUMP LEAD IS CALLED FOR AND YOU HOLD THE ACE OR THE ACE DOUBLETON.YOU MUST LEAD THE ACE
3. Against the trump contract below the slam level.if a long suit lead is called for. YOU MUST LEAD YOUR LONG SUIT.AND IF IT IS HEADED BY THE ACE OR ACE QUEEN.YOU must lead the ace!!!
PURPOSE: to SET UP THE LONG SUIT.IN ORDER TO DINK THE DECLARER IN THAT SUIT.
YOU MUST ALWAYS MAKE A LEAD WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY PROMOTE A LESSER CARD HELD BY YOU OR PARTNER AND THIS IS TRUE FOR DECLARER AS WELL
AS declarer you hold: king, x, x in one hand. And x, x, x in the other...
What do you lead and why??
The real answer is: YOU DO NOT LEAD THIS SUIT.
BECAUSE ANY LEAD YOU MAKE CANNOT BE PROMOTING A LESSOR HONOR.
TRICK QUESTION? SURE..BUT when you lead that small card to the king..
You have say a 50/50 chance right. It is a true blind lead
but but but
IF YOU WILL WAIT AND LET THE OPPONENTS LEAD THE SUIT..
YOU WILL HAVE BETTER THAN A FIFTY /FIFTY CHANCE!!!
IF you are patient...and let them lead the suit. If the lead comes from the right hand, YOU NOW HAVE A 100 PERCENT CHANCE
AND AND AND
If it comes from the wrong hand, you simply duck and wait for the next lead of the suit
WHAT IT DOES IS FORCE THE DARN OPPONENTS ENTRIES TO FORCE YOUR KING!!!!
REMEMBER. The opponents have to use their entries to always make the right lead from the right hand and THEY ONLY GOT A LIMITED NUMBER OF ENTRIES
DECLARER TECHNIQUES:
TECHNIQUE # 1:
THE TAKING OF TRICKS WITH HIGH HONOR CARDS.
If you are going to win a trick by using a high honor card....
YOU NEED NOT BE IN ANY HURRY TO DO SO
IF THIS IS YOUR TECHNIQUE...IT CAN BE USED AT ANY TIME IN THE PLAY OF THE HAND
High honor taking technique is DONE WITH PATIENCE.
SINCE IT IS ALSO THESE HONORS THAT PROVIDE YOU WITH TRANSPORTATION which simply means
The way in which you get back and forth from dummy to hand
And you do it in two ways:
With the use of high honors and with the use of trump
WITH ONE RARE EXCEPTION....
YOU NEVER USE TRUMP IN YOUR OWN HAND EXCEPT FOR
TRANSPORTATION.
YOU DO NOT RUFF IN YOUR OWN HAND AS DECLARER except for TRANSPORTATION!!!!!!!!!
THE RUNNING OF A LONG SUIT.
THIS SIMPLY MEANS..THAT YOU HAVE ALL THE WINNERS IN A SUIT..
SO YOU RUN THEM AS WINNERS UNTIL THE DARN SUIT IS EXHAUSTED
PERFECT EXAMPLE IS THE RUNNING OF TRUMP IN A TRUMP CONTRACT
OR THE RUNNING OF A LONG SUIT IN A NOTRUMP CONTRACT
TECHNIQUE # 2:
If you are DECLARER AT A TRUMP CONTRACT.
AND YOU CAN SET UP A SECONDARY SUIT.
Secondary to your TRUMP SUIT..
YOU MUST DO TWO THINGS..
FIRST PULL YOUR TRUMP..
AND THEN RUN YOUR SECONDARY SUIT
Unlike the use of patience when using high cards as in technique # 1..
This secondary suit TECHNIQUE DOES NOT USE PATIENCE.
Instead, YOU WILL FIND THAT THE QUICKER YOU ESTABLISH THIS SECONDARY SUIT, THE better off you will be.
If you are missing the ace, or the king, go find that damn card and get it out!!!
GET THAT DAMN CARD OUT..
IT SUCKS..so don't use it if you don't have to
unfortunately..This is the second technique you all learned.
So.I WILL HAVE TO TRY TO UNLEARN YOU FROM IT
I HAVE NEVER FOUND A FINESSE, I LIKED
UNLESS IT WAS A MARKED FINESSE marked by a void in one opponent’s hand.
or UNLESS it was a finesse I purposely used to throw an opponent in :))))
BUT ...OFTEN TO SET UP THAT secondary suit..
YOU WILL HAVE TO TAKE AN EARLY FINESSE
You do it NOT TO WIN A FINESSE
BUT TO SET UP THAT SUIT EARLY ON
THIS early on establishment of a suit is called TIMING
THE PLAY OF A HAND INVOLVES TRANSPORTATION AND TIMING..
KNOWING WHAT TO DO AND WHEN TO DO IT ...
WE will be talking a great deal more about finesses
TECHNIQUE # 4:
The RUFFING OF LOSERS USING DUMMYS TRUMP
It IS A VERY IMPORTANT TECHNIQUE.
ONE THAT WINS MANY MANY CONTRACTS FOR YOU
if if if if if if if if if you got the trump in dummy to ruff ...
and that is why we have spent so much time on opening leads in trump contracts
WHILE THE TECHNIQUE OF RUFFING LOSERS IN DUMMY IS VERY IMPORTANT.. This technique does not also INCLUDE THE RUFFING OF LOSERS IN YOUR OWN HAND!!!!
The ruffing of losers in your own HAND MAKES NO SENSE!!! ( EXCEPT IN DUMMY REVERSAL SITUATIONS..)
THE Reason is this..
When you count up your winners..one of the first things you will count is the winners you will take in leading out your trump, so..if you now use some of those winners to RUFF LOSERS IN OTHER SUITS..you are simply recounting the same winners
and try as you might..you cannot use the same winner twice
and of course there is A BIG DANGER IN THINKING THIS WAY..
If you ruff in YOUR OWN HAND AS DECLARER...YOU ARE playing right into the opponent’s hands!!!! since they would LOVE FOR YOU TO LOSE CONTROL OF THE TRUMP. THAT IS WHAY THEY WILL OFTEN TRY TO DINK YOU..
To dink the Declarer is to FORCE HIM TO RUFF THEREBY LOSING CONTROL OF TRUMP
REMAINING ESOTERIC TECHNIQUES
TECHNIQUE #5:
THE STRIP AND ENDPLAY
TECHNIQUE #6:
THE DUMMY REVERSAL
TECHNIQUE #7: THE THROW IN
AND TECHNIQUE #9:
THE SQUEESE
FOR THE OPENING LEAD!!!!
STEP 1: TAKE 30
SECONDS..(INCLUDE YOUR DEEP BREATH)
STEP 2: REVIEW
THE CONTRACT ..
EVER PLAYED TO THE FIRST FOUR CARDS OF A SPADE CONTRACT ONLY TO FIND YOUR CONTRACT IS REALLY NOTRUMP??
If your contract is notrump...you will have one step three.
If your contract is a trump contract. you will have A DIFFERENT STEP THREE....
STEP # 3:
If your contract is notrump, YOU WILL COUNT ALL ABSOLUTE WINNERS
IF YOUR contract is a trump contract ..YOU WILL COUNT ALL POTENTIAL LOSERS
Please note those words: absolute and potential folks
EXAMPLE:
Let’s pretend that South is in a heart contract
south as declarer must therefore count POTENTIAL LOSERS..
LET’S LET SOUTH BE DECLARER AT SAY A NOTRUMP CONTRACT
WHAT DO WE COUNT NOW?? COUNT WINNERS!
AFTER YOU HAVE COUNTED YOUR LOSERS OR WINNERS..
You MUST NOW COMPARE THEM WITH THE NUMBER NEEDED FOR YOUR CONTRACT..
YOU WILL ALMOST ALWAYS COME UP SHORT
SINCE YOU HAVE ONLY COUNTED SURE WINNERS
OR all POTENTIAL LOSERS
SO NOW...STEP # 4:
THE PLANNING OF THE PLAY..
This is where you will use those techniques we discussed
BUT BUT BUT
YOU MUST DO THIS STEP...SUIT BY SUIT..!!!!
IT MUST BE DONE SUIT BY SUIT..
NOT ALL TOGETHER
SO now it is time to PLAN
ON HOW TO AVOID THOSE EXTRA LOSERS
AND WE START WITH TRUMP
HOW DO WE AVOID TWO LOSERS IN TRUMP?
WELL..one is not avoidable AS LONG AS WE HAVE AT LEAST A 3/1 SPLIT..
AND WE DO NOT PLAY TWO OF OUR HONORS TOGEHTER...
WE AVOID ONE LOSER
We did not have any losers in clubs...SO WE DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT SUIT
FORGET THE DAMN CLUBS FOR NOW
THE CLUBS WILL NOT BE USED IN ANY OF OUR LOSER PREVENTING TECHNIQUES
If you plan suit by suit..
and you find a suit with no losers in it..FORGET THAT DAMN SUIT
IT WILL NOT HAVE ANY PLACE IN OUR PLANNING for now
WE HAVE A PLAY IN HEARTS FOR ONE TRICK
AND WE HAVE A PLAY IN SPADES FOR ONE TRICK
AND WE NEEDED TWO TRICKS
Now..DID OUR PLAN INVOLVE THE USE OF TRUMP IN DUMMY FOR RUFFING PURPOSES?? IT did not
Rule
IF YOUR PLAN DOES NOT CALL FOR THE USE OF TRUMP IN DUMMY
FOR RUFFING..you GET THE DAMN TRUMP OUT RIGHT NOW !!!!!
STEP FIVE:
WHAT DOES THE BIDDING AND THE LEAD TELLS YOU ABOUT YOUR PLAN????
Does the plan make sense in light of the bidding and the lead??????
If it does not?? CHANGE THE DAMN PLAN..
YOU MAY HAVE TO REVISE YOUR PLAN BASED ON BIDDING AND LEAD
CHECK ON YOUR TRANSPORTATION..
Here folks , you must mentally run back and forth thru the play
to see if you have the transportation you need to FULFILL YOUR PLAN!!!!
IF YOU DO FINE..
If you DO NOT??? change the damn plan!!!!!!
SO GUESS WHAT FOLKS??
WE DO NOT HAVE THE TRANSPORTATION TO USE THAT ACE OF CLUBS
BUT BUT BUT
who cares...since it was not a big part of our plan anyway?
STEP ONE ..TAKE 30 SECONDS OR A DEEP BREATH
STEP TWO: REVIEW THE CONTRACT
STEP THREE: COUNT YOUR LOSERS OR WINNERS AND COMPARE WITH YOUR CONTRACT NEEDS
STEP FOUR: PLAN YOUR TECHNIQUE ...SUIT BY SUIT..
STEP FIVE: REVIEW THE BIDDING AND LEAD AND ADJUST YOUR PLAN IF NECESSARY
STEP SIX: REVIEW YOUR TRANSPORTATION AND ADJUST YOUR PLAN IF NECESSARY
LAST STEP...LEAD FROM DUMMY
TOMORROW: we will do two things..
we will do the steps again .but this time for a notrump contract
and we will discuss those last techniques