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Learning from our Errors

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A particularly useful aspect of playing on BBO is the ability to assess errors quickly via post mortem discussion with partner. Here is a hand I thought I had misplayed, and I knew an expert had been in the field sitting in my seat (East). It would be easy for me to see how the expert had played this hand:

BBO misbid

Both vulnerable, my partner opened one club in 1st seat. North overcalled one heart. With eight points, three spades and a partial heart stopper I decided to respond one no trump. That’s where the bidding ended.

South led the nine of hearts and this is the dummy I saw:

BBO misbid1

I was happy to see the nine of hearts, knowing I now had a sure heart stopper. North took three rounds of hearts. But rather than giving me my sure stopper in hearts, he shifted to a low diamond. I correctly recognized that I had a sure stopper in diamonds since dummy had the nine and eight. So, I played low from hand. The rest of it went quickly. And when the dust settled, I was down three for a bottom board. Do you see where I went wrong? What did the expert do that was different? Give it some thought and then scroll down for my evaluation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What did North do that was different? Answer was easy: East passed at his first turn. It was a negative double situation, and he had a heart stack. There was no reason for him, with eight points, to come into the auction. We bridge players tend to be too aggressive at times, and that was my blunder. No reason not to be patient, partner still has another turn.  The huge error on my part was bidding.

 

BTW, I did misplay the hand, too. I could have salvaged a matchpoint by putting up the king of diamonds at trick four. ☹

 

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play, Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: , , ,

Visualizing the Unseen Hands in Practice

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Solving the Puzzle of Shapes of Unseen Hands

Clues from bidding and play are usually available for you to deduce the original shape of unseen hands. Once you can visualize those shapes, your path to taking tricks becomes much clearer. The issue for most of us is time: How are we going to do it in the heat of battle while the director’s clock is ticking?.

The answer is practice! Bridge Winners has developed a nice game to practice deducing the opponents’ original suit holding when one player shows out: http://bridgewinners.com/pages/counting-game/. Also, Bridge Winners has a nice discussion forum among well-known experts on how best to go about practicing: https://bridgewinners.com/article/view/counting-3/  How you do it is up to you, but I recommend you get started now.

I try to tentatively estimate shapes early from the opening lead and bidding. Usually, though, I must wait until one opponent shows out of a suit to reach a firm conclusion. When an opponent shows out, it becomes easy with practice to make a mental note of how many cards in that suit each opponent originally held.

Another source for practice: Larry Cohen’s guidance on counting and visualization: https://www.larryco.com/bridge-articles/counting. (BTW, I recommend you subscribe to his newsletter. It is a great resource for learning.)

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play, Exercises: Defensive Play | Tags: , ,

Rectifying the Count

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What’s usually referred to as “counting the hand” might better be termed visualizing the unseen hands. Experts don’t count. They rectify hand patterns from clues during bidding and play. Once they have done that, they have “gotten a count on the hand” or “rectified the count”, meaning they have deduced shapes of unseen hands.

Here is a nice declarer play exercise in visualizing hand patterns by Eddie Kantar*.

kantar1

Follow the first eight tricks:

  1. West cashes the ace of hearts, East playing the nine
  2. West cashes the king of hearts, East playing the five
  3. West play the nine of clubs, East playing low, you win the queen
  4. You cash the king of spades, West discarding a heart
  5. You cash the ace of spades, another heart from West
  6. You cash the queen of spades, another heart from West
  7. You go to the king of clubs, West following low
  8. You cash the ace of clubs, West discarding a heart while you discard a low diamond

Tell me the hand pattern West started with? How many diamonds did East start with? How are you going to play the diamonds?

Were you able to “rectify the count” after trick eight?

*https://www.amazon.com/Test-Your-Bridge-Play-2/dp/1554947758

Scroll down for the answer if you need help:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At trick 3 you know that West started with 7 hearts, East with 2 hearts.

At trick 4 you discover that West started with zero spades, East with 4 spades.

At trick 8 you discover that West started with 2 clubs, East with 6 clubs.

Now you can rectify the count: West started with zero spades, 7 hearts, ?? diamonds, and 2 clubs. How many diamonds did West start with? How many diamonds did East start with? Hint: All four hands contain a total of 13 diamonds.

Now you know how to play the diamonds.

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play | Tags: , ,

Opening Lead decision?

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Here is a chance to practice your visualization skills during the auction:

MikeL12

 

Auction suggests that opponents are likely to make 3NT. Perhaps they will, but you should still endeavor to prevent overtricks.

In a recent pairs game on BBO I was the unfortunate declarer when West made a well thought out opening lead. Decide on West’s lead and then scroll down to appreciate West’s thought process:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow West’s thought process in visualizing opponents’ hands during the auction:

  1.  South has 15-17 HCP and balanced hand.
  2.  North has invitational or better hand with at least one four-card major (2 Clubs is Stayman inquiry).
  3.  South has four hearts and possibly four spades (answering the Stayman inquiry).
  4. North signs off in 3NT, saying “I have four spades, partner, please decide on 3NT or four spades”.
  5. South holds fewer than four spades (took preference for 3NT by passing).
  6.  I only have three queens. Partner may have as much as 8 HCP and should have at least 5 spades (Stayman sequence indicates North has 4 spades and South has at most three). Declarer doesn’t know about our shapes and strength. If I lead the queen of spades through dummy’s “bid” suit, it will be deceptive and will not likely hurt our side. Out goes my queen of spades!
Category: Exercises: Defensive Play | Tags: , ,

Recommendations to help you think like a bridge player

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When it comes to solving the mystery of visualizing unseen hands, World Champion Mike Lawrence’s books and software provide the best guidance I have encountered. Here is Mike’s website: http://michaelslawrence.com/

Here is a fine example one of his books:

http://michaelslawrence.com/product/how-to-read-your-opponents-cards/

I benefited immensely from this software back in the late 90s: http://michaelslawrence.com/product/counting-at-bridge-2-cd-for-pc-only/

Mike gives us daily puzzles to help improve our game. Go to his BridgeClues site: https://www.bridgeclues2.com/ to enjoy and learn.

 

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play, Exercises: Defensive Play | Tags: , , ,

Think like a bridge player

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 What would Mike Lawrence do?

You are South on lead against 2NT. What clues does the auction give you?

MikeL5

Here is what Mike Lawrence might be thinking:

  • It looks like East has two heart stoppers and fewer than four spades. His shape is probably something like 3-4-3-3.
  • After my rebid of two hearts, West is still inviting game. He probably has about 17 HCP with shortness in hearts.
  • East has nothing extra, probably no more than six HCP.
  • Leading a heart does not look like a good idea. How best for me to go passive with this holding?
  • It looks like the opponents have a maximum of 7 spades between them – four with West and 3 with East. Partner should have at least five spades. The unusual lead of a singleton spade should not hurt the defense.
  • I lead the six of spades.
Category: Exercises: Defensive Play | Tags: , , , , ,

It’s your call

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I had the misfortune of playing against South on this hand. South did a better job of bidding than the other South’s in a BBO pairs game. Here is the hand:

your call3

What would you bid in 2nd seat after East passed? Scroll down if you would like to see my recommended bid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have a rock crusher — 8 and 1/2 tricks in hearts plus 17 high card points. Bergen would value the hand at 19+ starting points. But be careful. You don’t have a hand that justifies a strong 2 clubs opening bid. For that you need 9+ tricks in your hand. Open the hand one heart, planning to not to fall in love with it should your partner be weak. Most pairs overbid in the game I was in.

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: ,

Counting your tricks in no trump

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Here is a hand I observed recently on BBO:

Counting in NT

Put yourself in the South seat. It looks like you have two fast tricks in spades, two in hearts, one in diamonds (your singleton king wins at trick one), and two in clubs. You need to set up two additional tricks. It looks like diamonds are splitting 4-4, and that you will lose three diamond tricks. You have seven card fits in each of the other suits. What’s the best way to set up a ninth trick? Give it some thought and scroll down for my recommended plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can hope for a 3-3 split in spades, hearts, or clubs. But clubs offer your best chance. Look at those nice intermediates that you posess in clubs: 10, 9, 8, 7 . Win the ace of clubs and return the nine, planning to overtake if West plays an honor. That will work whenever clubs break 3-3 or you catch West with a doubleton honor. It’s the doubleton honor that gives you a slight extra chance in clubs. Also, you will hold your loss to down one when clubs don’t behave.

Here was the entire hand:

counting in NT too

 

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play | Tags: , , ,

Counting your tricks for no trump

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Here is a hand I observed on BBO. Opening lead is the seven of diamonds. You play low from dummy and East plays the 10. Put yourself in the South seat and plan the play:

MikeL6

Where are your nine tricks going to come from? You count one spade, three hearts, one diamond, and one club. You need three more tricks. A successful club finesse would get you one more trick.

How about the diamonds? It looks to me like you are almost assured of three diamond tricks. Do you agree with me? If so, how are you going to play the diamonds? Give is some thought and then scroll down for the answer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By “rule of 11” West almost certainly has the ace, jack, and eight of diamonds. Win the queen of diamonds and play a low diamond. That will insure that you get three diamond tricks before your ace of spades is dislodged.

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play | Tags: , , ,

Think before you play to trick one

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This is a recent hand on BBO where I let my instincts takeover. I made the common mistake of failing to think at trick one, and I went down in a cold contract. Opening lead is the five of hearts. What do you think I should have done?

MikeL1

Put yourself in my shoes and decide. Then scroll down to make sure you got it right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I managed to go down because I overlooked the almost certain location of the king of hearts. I should win the ace of hearts at trick one, club to the ace, ruff a club, and lead the queen of hearts. If RHO ducks I pitch my last club and likely make 11 tricks. If RHO plays the king, I ruff high and lead a top trump, losing only one club and ace of diamonds.

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play | Tags: , , , ,

Visualizing declarer’s hand

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Try this from Mike Lawrence’s article “Trick one quandry” on page 56 of the April 2020 issue of Bridge Bulletin*. You are East and must decide what to do at trick one:

bulletin3

Time to practice visualizing declarer’s hand. Try answering the following questions:

  • How many spades does declarer have?
  • How many losers does declarer have? Or, conversely, how many winners does your side have?
  • What was your partner’s opening bid?
  • With clues from your answers, what card do you play at trick one and what is your plan for the defense?

 How did you do?

*Bridge Bulletin is a great source for learning. I recommend you join the ACBL if you have not already done so.

 

Category: Exercises: Defensive Play | Tags: , , , ,

How to Visualize a Hand

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I am dipping into How to Play Card Combinations by Mike Lawrence. There is a nice lesson in visualizing possibilities from his 1st hand:

MikeL7

MikeL8

The play looks easy if West is leading from a 4-card suit. You will drive out the two top clubs and make nine tricks.

But what if West is leading from a 5-card suit? That would mean East started with two spades. If so, what is the danger and how should you play the spades? You have two sure spade stoppers (right?), and you don’t want West to get in once they are exhausted. Say you win the opening lead in dummy and start the clubs. East wins and returns a spade to West’s queen. West then plays another spade, setting up his two remaining spades. You are safe if East started with the ace, king of clubs, but you are going down if West has one top club honor. How about the possibility that West started with the two top club honors? West would have opened the bidding with A,K of clubs the K,Q five times of spades. Your worry is the real possibility that West started with one of the top club honors.

If you duck the opening lead, you will still have two spades stoppers. After the second spade, East will not be able to hurt you when he gets in with a top club. When you work all that out you duck the opening lead!

 

Here is the entire hand:

 

MikeL11

 

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play | Tags: , , ,

Play Bridge with Mike Lawrence*

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*Title is same as that of book by Mike Lawrence

Here is an interesting hand in which Mike Lawrence shares his thinking. Mike is sitting South.

MikeL17

The transfer did not get accepted after the lead directing double because (by partnership agreement) North held fewer than three spades. Mike decided to bid game with the known 8-card fit.

 

Opening lead was the seven of diamonds, and East won with the ace. What diamond did Mike play from hand at trick one and why does it matter?

Tackle this question first in the comments, and I then will have more insights from Mike Lawrence on this particular hand.

 

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play | Tags: , ,

Declarer Play Fundamentals

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You are South in a contract of three hearts. Here is the auction and what you see after opening lead of the queen of diamonds:

play puzzle1

Counting losers like a good declarer, you see two spades, two hearts, and one diamond. You can hold your spade losers to one if ace of spades is onside. How about the diamond loser? East has gotten off to a good lead.

Noticing your combined holding in clubs, you win the ace of diamonds. Then cash the king of clubs and low club, finessing the jack. If the finesse wins, you have a parking place for your diamond loser on the ace of clubs. If the finesse loses, your spade king is protected from attack. Also, you can win any diamond lead and still park your remaining diamond on the ace of clubs.

BTW, I don’t recommend opening two hearts vulnerable with the South hand. South does not have the necessary five playing tricks (within three tricks of making contract when vulnerable). South was lucky to find North with an opening hand and queen-nine third of hearts.

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play | Tags: , , ,

Sacrifice at Favorable Vulnerability?

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You are not vulnerable versus vulnerable opponents. How would you bid this hand?

Sacrifice or not

Partner passed and RHO opened one spade. Now is a good time to preempt with three hearts.

LHO then bid four spades, passed back to you. What now? Is it worth trying to boost the opponents to five spades? If they can make four spades you will be minus 620. If you can hold a doubled five hearts contract to down 3, you will be minus only 500.

South did indeed bid five hearts when I observed the hand. She went down two doubled for minus 300. But it was a phantom sacrifice. NS could not make four spades.

South should be warned away from competing further. Those ugly doubletons are not features. The initial preempt already did its job, making the auction difficult for EW.

Thanks to Kathie Dunn for suggesting this post.

 

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: ,

Captain of the Hand

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Your partner opens 1NT in second seat (15-17 HCP). You correctly respond two hearts, transfering partner to spades. Here is your hand:

super accept

Your partner accepts the transfer by jumping to three spades. What do you do now?

Partner has shown four plus spades and top value for her opening bid. You are captain of the hand when partner opens 1NT. Your hand is to good to stop at game. I recommend you jump to six spades. No point in giving opponents and clues about what is going on.

 

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags:

An interesting double dummy problem

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I was going to include this hand in my “think before you play to trick one” lessons. But I played it so badly that I cannot bear to show you my errors. I was in five diamonds and managed to go down one.

Interestingly, however, the hand can make six diamonds against any defense. It’s a fun double dummy problem. You are South in six diamonds: Here is the hand:

double dummy 6D

Your mission is to make six diamonds.

Well known bridge teacher Buck Buchanan is convinced (and I agree) that solving double dummy problems “can make you a more resourceful declarer or defender when tough hands come up”. Give this one a try.

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play | Tags: ,

Do you see how to make seven tricks?

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Here is an interesting hand I observed on BBO. You are on lead, hearts are trump, and you need to take the remaining seven tricks. Here is the layout:

seven tricks

Can you do it?

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play | Tags:

It’s Your Call

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You hold this hand in second seat (favorable vulnerability):

your call1

Your right-hand opponent opens the bidding one diamond. You pass with your ugly hand. Left-hand opponent responds one heart. Now your partner comes in with a preemptive overcall of two spades. Right-hand opponent doubles to show exactly three hearts. Summary of the auction so far:

your call2

*Support double showing exactly three hearts.

You know that partner is weak and opponents have game and possibly slam.

It’s your call. What do you do now? Let me know what you think in the comments.

 

 

 

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: , , ,

A Sure Ten Tricks?

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Here is a somewhat contrived example of “sure tricks” by George S. Coffin. (Contrived because the bidding is unrealistic given the unbalanced nature of the hands.) It nonetheless gives you an interesting and counterintuitive declarer play puzzle to solve. How are you going to bring home 10 tricks?

coffin4

South opened the bidding one heart, and West overcalled two clubs. Partner and right-hand opponent both passed. South bid four hearts, ending the auction.

The play started with West cashing the Ace and King of clubs, East discarding a low spade on the second club. At trick three West led the 10 of hearts on which East discarded another spade! Where is that certain 10th trick coming from? Over to you:

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play | Tags: , ,
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