Bidding and playing No Trumps
(Emphasis on 3NT)
Main Points:
(1) While the emphasis and most examples/explanations are based on 3NT, the MAIN IDEAS STAY THE SAME. If left in 1NT this can be a challenge – going down on occasions as you won’t have the CONTROLS that you + Dummy should have in 2NT or 3NT.
(2) Many of those who know me have seen how quickly/readily I will bid No Trumps instead of a suit contract (esp. a minor suit contract). I do see players that haven’t seen the advantages but, more importantly, the slightly different techniques in playing No Trumps. Because I usually play 4 card majors with my partners, we tend to end up in No Trumps more often than some!?
(3) Whether you play 4 or 5 card majors, all bids in examples follow this rule:
Bid 5 card suits DOWN THE LINE but
Bid 4 card suits UP THE LINE
(4) All opening 1NT bids are based on 16 – 18 HCP. If you use 15 – 17, the principles are exactly the same except responder needs 1 more HCP to push for game in 3NT.
Segments
:When to open the bidding with 1NT
Main responses to 1NT (including transfers to a major suit)
Planning and playing No Trumps (esp. 3NT)
Defending 3NT
Downgrading 2C to 1NT (if 2C is 19 – 21 HCP as in "Benjamin 2’s")
Practice Hands
Overcalling 1NT
1. When to open the bidding with 1NT
Note: If you use 15 - 17 HCP instead of 16 – 18 HCP, the principles are exactly the same except responder needs 1 more HCP to be pushing for game in 3NT. Other contracts such as 4H or 4S depend a lot on the SHAPE of their combined hands.
Main Points:
1) Once you have opened 1NT, your partner is mostly in control of the bidding.
She/he knows your very limited HCP range but as yet, you don’t know the
(a) QUALITY (mainly HCP) of their hand and/or
(b) SHAPE (suit distribution) " " "
They will have in mind where the bidding will end ..... your subsequent input mainly deciding
whether you end up in 2H, 2S, 2NT, 3NT, 4H or 4S. Slams may also be possible.
Your partner goes searching – NOT YOU!
When your partner responds to a 1NT opening, unless they transfer to a suit (usually a major),
or jump to 3C or 3D, you don’t know their distribution.
2) To open 1NT (or 2NT or 3NT), you need to HAVE A BALANCED HAND.
"Balanced" means
(a) your HCP are spread through at least 3 of the 4 suits
and
(b) you should not have any singletons
and
you should not have 2 doubletons ..... but I would open 1NT with 17 HCP and
S: K 9 7 6 D: J T 6 4 2
H: A K C: A Q
I would not open 1NT with 18 HCP distributed basically in 2 suits
e.g. S: 7 6 3 D: A K Q 9
H: A K J 4 C: J 8
3) 17 HCP hands such as the one below cause some difficulty:
S: A K J D: 7 6 3 2
H: A K Q 3 C: 8 5
(a) Players who use 5 card majors have a problem describing their hand with the opening bid
so perhaps 1NT is best for them. 1D is technically what they could bid (whether "Better Minor"
or opening 1D with a 4 card Diamond suit). Unfortunately there are 2 suits that can be ripped
apart in No Trumps by opponents (unless partner comes to the rescue with some timely
Diamond honours and Clubs).
The plus for 1C openers who end up in NT’s is that they may have persuaded the opening lead
player to not lead a Club!
(b) 4 card major bidders will happily open 1H here ignoring the paltry Diamond suit... for now at least! Then it’s over to partner having immediate information that Hearts is your first preference.
* * * * * * * *
2. Main responses to 1NT
1)
2NT. This shows 8 HCP or a "good" 7 HCP.It does not need to be balanced but you should not have
(a) any 5+ card major
(b) usually any void (especially in a major). You can use tools like Stayman to see if
partner (1NT opener) has a 4 card major and hence more likelihood of decent
cover for your weakness.
Q: What do I mean by a "good" 7 HCP?
A: A hand with at least 2 of the following criteria
(a) touching honours
(b) a supply of "intermediates" i.e. 10s, 9s and 8s.
(c) a long minor with at least 1 good honour
e.g. S: Q 7 6 H: Q 9 6
D: K T 9 5 3 C: T 9
A 2NT response would be fine in these examples:
Ex. 1: Ex. 2:S: K 3 S: 8 4 3
H: T 9 3 H: A
D: J 9 7 4 2 D: Q 8 6 2
C: A T C: Q 9 8 5 3
Below is an example where you can use Stayman to end in 2NT, 3NT, 3S or 4S:
Ex. 3:
S: K 9 8 4
H: 9
D: K J 6 4 or
C: J T 8 3
Notes:
1) The 2S bid in the box directly above says
YOU have 8 HCP. If you have 9+ HCP,
jump to 3S after 2H by partner.
2) Ex. 3 with 2nd set of bids (ending up in 3NT) is a warning to players to avoid using
Stayman with less than 8 HCP. The 1NT opener believes you were showing interest
in 3NT or 4H or 4S since you thought your hand was worthy of using Stayman.
With a 6 HCP hand such as
S: K Q 8 4 D: 9 7 6
H: 7 6 C: J 8 5 2
you risk partner pushing too high if you respond to 1NT by searching for a Spade fit.
By passing you may occasionally miss a Spade fit but since you have 5 HCP in Spades, most of
partner’s 16 – 18 HCP are outside the Spade suit.
On rare occasions I’ve transferred with a 4 card major with shortage elsewhere.... desperately
hoping partner had at least 3 of the major and didn’t "super-accept" (i.e. jump to 3H or 3S).
Continued on next page
2. Main responses to 1NT (cont.)
2) 2C
(alerted). Asking for majors.Whether you are playing Simple Stayman or Extended Stayman, this is a tool that asks the 1NT bidder: "Do you have any 4 card majors?"
The 2C bidder may have one or two 4 card majors.
Stayman Responses
(by the No Trump bidder):Simple Stayman
Some Simple Stayman partners use
2NT: " No 4 card majors and maximum HCP"
|
2D: "I have both 4 card majors 2H: "I have 4 Hearts but not 4 Spades." 2S: "I have 4 Spades but not 4 Hearts 2NT: "I have no 4 card majors." |
Minimum HCP |
|
3D: "I have both 4 card majors 3H: "I have 4 Hearts but not 4 Spades." 3S: "I have 4 Spades but not 4 Hearts." 3C: "I have no 4 card majors." |
Maximum HCP |
Advantages & disadvantages of Simple and Extended Stayman
|
Advantages |
Disadvantages | |
|
Simple Stayman |
With some hands you are happy to hear any of 2D, 2H or 2S e.g. S: J 8 6 5 H: Q 9 5 4 D: K 8 7 2 C: 8 |
With 6-7 HCP it’s hard to limit Spade bidding 1NT / 2C / 2H / 2S / 3S / / // You’d prefer to play this in 2S ... but be consoled as the Ext. Stayman "Super-accepts" mean that they will be in the same boat! |
|
Extended Stayman |
Your response is a clear description of your shape and HCP. Thus partner has knowledge to act further (based on their HCP and shape). |
1) Denying a 4 card major pushes you to 2NT at least. You may prefer a suit instead. 2) "Super-accepts" (i.e. jumps to 3D, 3H, etc.) push you to at least 3NT on most occasions. When partner bids 2C, they need to have this in mind. |
Some Ext. Stayman partnerships ban the use of "Super-accepts" meaning that sometimes they will miss game ... but sometimes make a part-score instead of being defeated in game.
Don’t forget the caution of usually having 8+ HCP to use Stayman. (See previous page’s Note 2).
Continued on next page
2. Main responses to 1NT (cont.)
3) Searching for slams.
With some hands you are ready to LOOK FOR SLAM IMMEDIATELY.
e.g. S: 7
H: K Q J 7 4 3 2
D: K Q 4 3
C: 9
If you have Gerber in your "Bidding Tool Kit" this is the perfect time to use it.
The bidding would usually go along 1 of the following 3 paths:
|
Scenario 1: |
Scenario 2: |
Scenario 3: |
|
1NT / 4C / 4H* / / //
* meaning 1 Ace |
1NT / 4C / 4S** / 5H passed out hopefully! ** meaning 2 Aces |
1NT / 4C / 4S** * / 6H passed out hopefully! *** meaning 3 Aces |
Main Points:
1) The phrase "passed out hopefully!" refers to the need of the No Trump bidder to let the partner take control of the bidding. This also accentuates the need to be "balanced" to open 1NT. Even basic support such as H: 9 4 would usually get you through a 4H contract successfully (with partner’s Heart holding in the example above) .... but H: T x would be much more preferable!
This also highlights the need for responder to not get carried away with holding
H: K Q x x x
or H: K x x x x x (supported by outside values)
2) Instead of using Gerber one could
(a) Bid 2D to have partner transfer to Hearts then
(b) Use Blackwood (4NT) to find out how many Aces the No Trump bidder has.
The disadvantage is that you’ve already bypassed 4H ... although here you can’t
hear the 5S response to your enquiry (meaning 2 Key Cards + HQ)!
Q: Can you see why partner must have at least 1 Ace if you were holding the above Heart bonanza (at top of page)?
A: After giving them maximum black points without any Aces
i.e. S: K Q J + C: K Q J
you’ve given them only 12 of their 16 HCP.
Note: It is possible that they’d opened the bidding with 1NT holding this 16 HCP hand:
S: K Q J
H: T 6 5
D: J 8 7 2
C: A K Q
but it’s marginal as to whether it is "balanced" enough to do so. If you’d opened 1NT and remained in a NT contract, you’d be desperately hoping to see some handy red values in partner’s hand even if left in 1NT!
Continued on next page
2. Main responses to 1NT (cont.)
4) Transfers to a major suit.
When and why one needs to use this tool are often misunderstood by players.
Players hear partner bid 1NT and look at their hand with 0-7 HCP and think:
"I haven’t got enough HCP to bid."
This is not the line of thought needed (if you have at least 5 of a major)!
Consider this combination (when partner has opened the bidding with 1NT):
You have Partner has
S: 6 S: Q 7
H: J 9 7 6 5 H: A 8 2
D: 8 5 3 D: K Q J 9
C: J 9 5 4 C: A Q 6 3
If you have 3 Spades between you, the opponents have 10 Spades between them. Whether 6-4 or
5-5, there is a 99% chance that you will lose 5 or 6 Spade tricks IF PLAYING NO TRUMPS. Worse still they may be the first 5 or 6 tricks!
WITH HEARTS AS TRUMPS, you will probably lose 1 Spade trick, 1 Diamond, 2 or 3 Hearts +
1 Club (or even 0).
Even with the SA in East’s hand above (instead of HA) to assist No Trumps, it won’t be long before it’s removed...resulting in the loss of 4+ Spade tricks.
Rule
: The weaker the hand, the more important it is to transfer(at least for majors).
Continued on next page
2. Main responses to 1NT (cont.)
5) Transfers to a minor suit.
N.B. If you use this tool the contract will finish at the 3 level. Hence you need to consider whether partner is better off trying to make 7 tricks in 1NT. This does however mean that the opponents need to remain silent - sometimes with the majority of the points and major suits in their hand! Hence a minor suit transfer can keep them out of the bidding more readily.
e.g. Partner (East) opens 1NT. You hold
S: 8
H: 4 3
D: J 6 5
C: J T 8 7 5 4 2
Even with a poor Club holding, partner can use the small Clubs to
(a) help remove the opponents’ Club honours ... but more importantly
(b) trump Spades and Hearts from their hand.
The given example has 7 Clubs but with a void (esp. in a major) + 6 Clubs, I would use the process to have Clubs as trumps.
Q: Can one transfer to Diamonds instead of Clubs?
A: Yes! ..... but partner must pass your transfer from 3C to 3D.
Partner (East) opens 1NT. You hold
S: J 6 5
H: -
D: J T 8 7 5 4
C: 6 4 3 2
Note: There is no need to alert the 3D bid as it genuinely means Diamonds.
* * * * * * * *
3. Planning and playing No Trumps (esp. 3NT)
To me the MAIN IDEA when PLAYING OR DEFENDING NO TRUMPS is:
EVALUATE SUITS (or cards) AS EITHER
CONTROLLING SUITS or ATTACKING SUITS
.Attacking suits are usually
the suit(s) with the LONGEST COMBINED HOLDING OF Dummy’s hand + Declarer’s hand.While this evaluation technique will not always work when playing 1NT or 2NT, it is usually possible when (with partner’s help usually) you have correctly bid to a natural 3NT (not a "Gambling 3NT"). Since you should have approx. 26 – 30 HCP between the 2 hands and the opening 1NT bid was a "balanced" 16 – 18 HCP, you usually have values (i.e. honours) in all 4 suits.
Let’s apply this planning to an example:
Ex. 1
: You are sitting West in 3NT. All are vulnerable. North has led SK. How do you play this hand?West East
S: A J 6 S: 9 3
H: Q T 6 3 H: K J 4
D: A Q 7 5 D: K J 6 4
C: K 8 C: A 4 3 2
I’ll soon show you how I’d play it but firstly DECIDE .....
WHICH SUITS NEED TO KEEP CONTROL and WHICH SUITS ARE ATTACKING SUITS.
Here Spades and Clubs are CONTROLLING SUITS while Diamonds and Hearts are ATTACKING SUITS.
How would I play this hand?
1) MOST IMPORTANTLY, I would NOT take the SK. You now have 2 Spade controls while
North is on lead.
2) If another Spade is led, happily capture it.
If a Club is led, capture with the CK.
3) If a Heart is led, play enough rounds to knock out the HA.
Play the HK & HJ BEFORE the HQ & HT to end up in West’s longer Heart holding
4) Attack Hearts after capturing Trick 2. Then cash your Diamonds working out which hand
you wish to end up in.
Summary: You should accumulate at least 7 red tricks + 3 black tricks depending on whether the player on lead (North) continues Spades. If they do, you make 7 + 4 tricks (discarding Clubs from Dummy).
Continued on next page
3.
Planning and playing No Trumps (esp. 3NT)[continued]
Ex. 2
: Here’s a clear example of losing control in 3NT with painful consequences!East is Dealer. Vulnerability does not matter.
North
S: 9 7
H: K Q J T 6 4
D: 8 7 2
C: 7 6
West East
S: K Q 8 S: J 6 3
H: A 8 3 H: 9 2
D: K Q J 5 4 D: A 6 3
C: K 9 C: Q J 8 5 3
South
S: A T 5 4 2
H: 7 5
D: T 9
C: A T 4 2
Notes:
1) East/West have bid this hand correctly. With values in 3 of the 4 suits + a long suit + 8 HCP, East is "balanced" enough to respond 2NT. There is no point in bidding 3C instead of 2NT
- especially since the Club suit isn’t laden with top values.
2) Unfortunately this West took the first trick with the HA. In cashing their 5 Diamonds, a Heart and a Spade were discarded from Dummy. North discarded a Spade and a Club. South probably discards Spades but must keep H5 to complement North’s opening lead (which promises HQ).
3) When the CK was led, South played the Ace.
4) As soon as the CA was taken, the H5 was led. North rolled out 5 more Heart tricks.
The SA took the 13th trick leaving Declarer 3 down.
5) South must respect partner’s HK lead by keeping a Heart unless "squeezed" to protect Kings or Queens. This is not the case here.
6) How does South know to discard Spades rather than Clubs? Because the CT should assist the CA to protect against Dummy’s long suit twice. Hence the Club suit would be seen as an attacking suit by Declarer hoping that the CT would fall easily.
Questions:
1) Can you see why declarer should have played the HA on the 3rd Heart trick
(playing North for 5 Hearts)?
2) If North had 1 of the 2 Black Aces, Declarer would be doomed! However you must give yourself a chance to make the contract by controlling the weakness as long as necessary/possible.
More examples in
Section 7 – Practice hands
* * * * * * * *
4. Defending 3NT
To me the MAIN IDEA when DEFENDING NO TRUMPS is:
EVALUATE SUITS (or cards) AS EITHER
CONTROLLING SUITS or ATTACKING SUITS
.Yes, you’ve seen that idea earlier in Section 3! It applies equally to playing or defending No Trumps.
The next idea that goes hand in hand with that is:
TRY NOT TO SEE ANY ACE AS SOMETHING TO BE PLAYED
AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
"Control" only exists when you have the control card or Declarer cannot use the rest of that suit.
Ex. 1: Have a look at how you control a suit in this scenario:
You are South. Bidding has gone
S W N E
/ 1NT / 3D
/ 3NT passed out.
Partner (N) leads CK (using "overleads"). Dummy goes down revealing
S: 9 8 6
H: J 4
D: K Q J 9 7 3
C: T 4
Fortunately (as you’ll soon see) you have
S: T 7 4 3 2
H: Q 5 3
D: A 4 2
C: 6 3
Declarer captures the CQ on the 2nd round of Clubs, immediately leading the DT.
Partner plays the D8.
Q: Why is this great news?
A: You can see 6 + 3 Diamonds in your hand and dummy. 2 more are now gone so declarer has at the most 2 left.
Don’t take the DT! KEEP CONTROL of the Diamonds.
In the pressure of the game if you find it hard to count Diamonds, at least hold off using the DA for as long as possible. This is a very different tactic from defending a suit contract ... unless Declarer has drawn all trumps leaving a similar situation to the above Diamonds.
Continued on next page
4. Defending 3NT
Quiz – Opening leads against 3NT
You are sitting West. What is your OPENING LEAD against 3NT if the bidding has gone:
Case A or Case B
S W N E S W N E
1NT / 3NT passed out 1NT / 2C* /
2S / 3NT passed out
* : alerted as "Asking for majors."
|
Hand 1 |
Hand 2 |
Hand 3 |
|
S: Q T 8 5 2 H: A D: J T 4 3 2 C: Q 6 |
S: A H: 8 6 5 4 3 D: 6 2 C: K Q J 9 3 |
S: K Q 6 3 H: Q T 3 D: 9 8 C: T 9 7 2 |
|
Opening lead Case A: ________ Case B: ________ |
Opening lead Case A: ________ Case B: ________ |
Opening lead Case A: ________ Case B: ________ |
Answers
|
Case A: Using a suggested guideline of No Trump defence: LEAD THE 4TH HIGHEST FROM YOUR LONGEST SUITmeans that here you choose between S5 and D3. As no majors have been mentioned, I would lean towards S5. |
Case A : Your Club holding is powerful as is the SA.Definitely lead CK here to knock out the CA. |
Case A : S3 is the usual choice here but it’s painful when Declarer captures the trick with SJ. About 60% of the time the No Trump opener would have the SA rather than the responder (having about twice as many HCP).For that reason, I’d prefer C2. |
|
Case B : Since South has bid Spades, I would keep them as a surprise. Lead D3 here.N.B. If I had D: J T 9 x x I would lead DJ. |
Case B : Again lead CK. North appears to have Hearts and you want to knock out the CA before you play the SA. |
Case B : Since South has bid Spades, I would keep them as an unpleasant surprise.I’d definitely prefer C2 here. |
5. Downgrading 2C to 1NT (if 2C is 19 – 21 HCP as in "Benjamin 2’s")
Some hands with 19 HCP have too many holes (or losers) to get partner too excited and pushing for game. They know your HCP range but not the losers.
e.g. S: A 9 2
H: A 6 3
D: A K 8
C: A 9 8 4
I would "downgrade" this hand to 1NT.
You’ll occasionally miss a cold 3NT game if partner had either
C: K Q J x x or D: Q x x x x (and opponents’ Diamonds split 3-2)
but could quickly find yourself in 3NT looking at
S: J 7
H: Q 9 7 2
D: J 6 4
C: Q 7 6 3 in Dummy
...and the SK being led at you! Ouch!!
Note: Even with a 2C opening, most partners won’t push for game with the Diamond holding above let alone the alternative Club holding. The bidding could go
1NT / / //
or
2C / 2D /
2NT / / /
resulting in 1 more trick being needed for no game score benefit.
Notes:
1) As always the whereabouts of missing honours, length of opponents’ suits and the opening lead ALL make contracts doubtful in many circumstances. Sometimes when bidding or even when playing correctly, one must expect to occasionally go -50, -100, etc.!
2) The partner’s hand above which includes S: J 7 highlights the danger of
leading Sx from S: K Q x x x or from S: K Q x x.
Most declarers will call for the SJ with an almost audible sigh of relief as it holds!
6. Practice Hands
Note: When playing hands with all 4 sets of cards displayed, avoid looking at the 26 defenders’ cards and hence working out how to play that hand. Try to play the hand from the opening lead and any interfering bid.
Practice Hand 1
East is Dealer. Vulnerability does not matter.
North
S: A 8 6
H: A 3
D: K Q 9 8 6 2
C: 7 3
West East
S: J T 7 S: K Q 9
H: K Q J H: T 8 7 2
D: A J T 7 D: 5
C: K Q 2 C: A J T 8 4
South
S: 5 4 3 2
H: 9 6 5 4
D: 4 3
C: 9 6 5
Notes: North’s conventional bid of 2D suggests some very good Diamonds + other values (i.e. SA + HA). Sometimes you will see an overcall of 2D alerted as it does not simply mean Diamonds.
Playing the hand:
1) Did you evaluate the CONTROL SUIT(S). Here Diamonds and Spades are control suits – the Spades because you have only 3 + 3 cards.
2) I wouldn’t take the DK lead here. While North will be fairly certain that you have the DA, the whereabouts of the DJ + DT should see North lead a small Diamond on Trick 2.
3) Assuming a small Diamond continuation occurred, capture with the DJ. Conceal the DT. North will know you have it (since South did not play it on the small Diamond) but South will still be guessing.
4) I’d attack Hearts next. It doesn’t particularly matter here but on other occasions you may need the Clubs as entries to Dummy. The HT will eventually be a handy trick
5) After North captures with HA, you will capture the next trick (unless SA is cashed).
6) Finally attack Spades BEFORE PLAYING THE TOP DIAMOND.
You still want to keep control of Diamonds.
Summary
: As long as you keep control of Diamonds, this is a fairly straight-forward contract.Altogether you can take 3 Heart tricks, 5 Clubs and 2 other tricks. North should take 3 tricks.
* * * * * * * *
Practice Hand 2
East is Dealer. Vulnerability does not matter.
North
S: Q 2
H: K 7 4 3 2
D: K T 6
C: Q 8 6
West East
S: J 7 4 3 S: 9 8 6 5
H: Q J T 8 H: A 6 5
D: - D: J 7 4 3
C: K 9 7 5 2 C: T 3
South
S: A K T
H: 9
D: A Q 9 8 5 2
C: A J 4
Notes: 1) The opening lead of HQ is suggested as
(a) South’s jump suggests that Hearts shortage prevented them from opening the bidding
with 1NT hence South is probably strong in the 3 other suits.
(b) Touching honours strengthen the Heart holding.
2) Some players may think along the lines of leading a Spade or a Club being UNBID SUITS. This often works but I lean towards the reasoning in 1) above when the jump shows a strong hand.
Playing the hand:
1) It is a guess as to whether West has led from A Q J ........ OR Q J ......
It’s probably best to play low until East shows out of Hearts or the HA appears. Certainly don’t play the HK on the first trick but I can understand one playing West for 5 Hearts and hence East for 2 Hearts.
2) By discarding Clubs (South) you should take the remaining 10 or 9 tricks.
3) The correct way to play the Diamonds is firstly DA (or DQ) in case all 4 Diamonds are in 1 hand. This way you can pick up the DJ from either East or West.
4) Keep the SA and SK for entries to South’s Diamonds.
5) If Declarer continues to keep the HK and East’s HA takes the 3rd Heart trick, you would lead to Dummy’s weakness i.e. lead a Spade back in case partner has the SK. West probably doesn’t get the chance to signal for a Club return by East.
* * * * * * * *
Practice Hand 3
West is Dealer. Vulnerability does not matter.
North
S: 9 7 6 4 3
H: K 8
D: Q J 6
C: A T 8
West East
S: A T 2 S: Q 8 5
H: 5 2 H: A 9 7 6 4
D: T 9 8 4 3 D: 7
C: Q 2 C: J 9 7 4 3
South
S: K J
H: Q J T 3
D: A K 5 2
C: K 6 5
Evaluating the hand:
CONTROL SUITS: Clubs and Spades
ATTACKING SUITS: Hearts for 3 rounds then Diamonds.
(In spite of having 7 Spades, their quality relegates them to a control suit here).
Playing the hand
:1) Capturing the DT with DJ, it’s worth trying 1 more round of Diamonds to see if West led from a
4 card suit (using DJ taking the trick with the shorter holding).
2) For trick 3, lead HK (from the shorter holding). East may choose to hold off playing the HA (to
keep the 5-2 Heart split a temporary surprise). Be suspicious...but your combined Spade holdings
are best kept for protection. If you try a finesse and the SQ is in West’s hand, you could lose
3 Spade tricks.
3) I’d rather take the money and run!! By continuing Hearts at trick 4, West is soon faced with
having to discard either a Spade or Diamond.
4) After taking the HA, East is likely to exit with C3 but you safely have 3 Heart tricks, 4 Diamonds
and 2 Clubs. Run the Hearts before cashing the remaining Diamonds and the top 2 Clubs.
5) By ending in Dummy with the CA, you can now afford to try the (successful) Spade finesse.
You should have a safe 10 or even 11 tricks (depending on how/when West plays the SA).
Note
: Why did I emphasise 3 rounds of Hearts then Diamonds?1) You want to establish control of the Hearts;
2) When you find the Hearts dont split 4-3, you dont continue them as
East could take another Heart trick;
3) Even on the 3rd round of Hearts, West must discard a card with
some difficulty!
(A Spade discard eases the pressure on a Spade lead from Dummy.)
Summary
: Overall you are planning to safely take 3 Hearts, 4 Diamonds and 2 Clubs.Only if West discards a Spade does it look safer to tackle Spades before cashing 2 Club tricks.
* * * * * * * *
Practice Hand 4
North is Dealer. Vulnerability does not matter.
North
S: 6 4 3
H: K 9 3
D: K T 5 3 2
C: 8 5 4
West East
S: J S: K Q 8 5 2
H: A J 4 H: Q T 2
D: 9 7 6 4 D: A Q 8
C: A Q 7 6 3 C: J T
South
S: A T 9 7
H: 8 7 6 5
D: J
C: K 9 2
Playing the hand
:Trick 1: Most players would play South for the HK hence PLAY goes H5 – H4 – HK – H2.
" 2: North’s return is either S3 or D2 (playing to 1 of dummy’s 2 weak suits).
Since East bid Spades, D2 is slightly more preferable. D2 – DQ – DJ – D4 is possible.
" 3: Now is the time for the 1st Club finesse. CT – C2 – C3 – C4.
Why have I emphasised the CT? Because YOU DON’T WANT SOUTH TO PLAY
THE CK IF THEY HAVE IT!! By playing the CT, South may hope that North has the
CJ and hence play the C2. East has only 2 Clubs so you want the opportunity to
AVOID BLOCKING THE CLUB SUIT. (With J T X it would not matter.)
" 4: CJ – C9 – C6 – C5. (Sometimes you would overtake the CJ with the CQ but you have
2 Heart entries to get to Dummy.)
If South plays the CK, continue Clubs discarding D8, S2 and S5. Then play SJ.
" 5: Why not test the water for the SA? S2 – S7 – SJ – S3.
(South shouldn’t belt down the SA in case North has the SQ or SK.)
Tricks 6-8: CA – C6 – S5 – CK
CQ – H3 – S8 – H6
C7 – S4 – D8 – H7 (You discard the losing Diamond as a finesse is not needed.)
" 9: HJ – H9 – HQ – H8 (You overtake the Heart to lead SK
Tricks10-13: Playing SK on Trick 10 you lose only 1 more Spade or Diamond.
Contract made taking 11 tricks.
* * * * * * * *
Sometimes you will end up in a 3NT contract where no matter how well you play the hand, you are doomed because of the lay of vital cards – especially for necessary finesses.
At first glance you appear to have no chance to make the following 3NT contract but the fact that both black Kings are with the long Diamond holding helps you here! Assuming East keeps both black Kings protected, see if you can see why you can make your contract.
Try not to look at the comments below the hands until you’ve "played" the hand.
Practice Hand 5
North is Dealer. Vulnerability does not matter.
North
S: A Q J 8 7
H: T 8
D: K 4
C: A 9 8 3
West East
S: T 4 3 2 S: K 5
H: A 9 4 H: 7 6 5
D: T 7 2 D: Q J 9 8 5 3
C: J 6 2 C: K 5
South
S: 9 6
H: K Q J 3 2
D: A 6
C: Q T 7 4
Playing the hand
:1) Which hand did you use to capture the DQ?
You keep the DA to have an entry (later) to Dummy’s Hearts. (DQ – D6 – D7 – DK)
2) What did you play for Trick 2?
You should play the HT ..... and West should not cover it. The aim is to force declarer to
use the DA to run the Hearts. (HT – H5 – H2 – H4)
3) Trick 3: H8 – H6 – HK – HA. You could hold off for another round but you don’t
want partner to have to discard a Diamond.
4) Trick 4: DT – D4 – D8 – DA. The D8 is to encourage Spades if West is on lead again.
5) Trick 5: HQ – H4 – C3 – H7.
Trick 6: HJ – C2 – S7 – D3. East is beginning to be squeezed!
Trick 7: H3 – C6 – S8 – D5. More squeeze!
6) Trick 8: S9 – S2 – SQ – SK.
Trick 9: DJ – C4 – D2 – C8.
Trick 10: D9 – C7 – CJ – C9.
7) Trick 11: S5 – S6 – ST – SJ
Tricks 12&13 : Cash both black Aces. CONTRACT MADE!
* * * * * * * *
7. Overcalling 1NT
The bidding has gone E S W N
/ / 1H ?
You are sitting North with
S: K Q 9
H: A Q 8
D: K T 9 3
C: Q J 6
(a) You have 16 – 18 HCP and your hand is balanced.
(b) More importantly you have 2 good stoppers in the opponents first bid suit.
(c) You are sitting to the right of the opponent that opened the bidding. You are threatening
their Hearts, etc. (by finessing them for most missing values.
e.g. North (you)
S: K Q 9
H: A Q 8
D: K T 9 3
C: Q J 6
West
S: A 3
H: K J 9 5 3
D: Q 7 6
C: A 7 4
If instead the layout was North (you)
S: K Q 9
H: A Q 8
D: K T 9 3
C: Q J 6
and East opened 1H with say East
S: A 3
H: K J 9 5 3
D: Q 7 6
C: A 7 4
it would be much harder to make 1NT (being unable to finesse the opening bidder).
Note
: Be careful overcalling 1NT with a hand loaded with losers + only 1 stopper in their bid suit.e.g. S: K Q 9
H: A 8 4
D: A 9 3 2
C: Q J 6
* * * * * * * *