Better Bridge in Barry County July 26 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

	North ♠ QJ10986 ♥ AQJ4 ♦  J102 ♣  ----
West ♠ ---- ♥ K107532 ♦  K98743 ♣ 5		East ♠ 2 ♥ 86 ♦ AQ65 ♣ AJ9732
	South ♠ AK7543 ♥ 9 ♦ ---- ♣ KQ10864

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

East East/West 5♥

North 3♣ 5♦ Pass	East 1♣ Dbl Dbl Pass	South 1♠ 4NT 5♠	West 2♥ Pass Pass

Captain M. North looked up from his monthly paperwork on the Barry County Bridge Barge. Coming up the gangplank, all out of breath, were Rosy and Vera, two of his experienced bridge players. He had not seen them for several weeks. He greeted them with a smile and a wave. “Vera and Rosy, have you been off on another trip up north again?”

Vera and Rosy both shook their heads. “Oh, Captain North,” began Rosy, “we haven’t been back to the Upper Peninsula since our last adventure. We have been out to the 160^th Barry County Fair.” Here they both had reached the tables and chairs all set for the weekly bridge and river cruise. Sitting down, they both looked at the Captain expectantly.

“Yes…” said the Captain, taking his cue from their patient wait. “What happened at the Fair this year?” He knew that he was in for a story of some kind. “Well, Captain North, we had the best time on the rides this year,” said Vera. “We rode the Ferris wheel, and we rode the Tilt-a-Girl.”

“You mean the Tilt-a-Whirl, don’t you?” asked the Captain, with his eyes wide open.

“Oh, Captain North, you know the ride that whirls around and around and pushes you into the corner?” Here Rosy and Vera burst into laughter. “We called it the Tilt-a-Girl to see if you could see how this hand of bridge pushed us into a corner.”

The Captain sighed and looked at the two bridge players. He gave them a smile. They always seemed to have an angle to explain a special hand. He knew it was better to sit back and just enjoy their sharing of the hand.

Vera began, “Captain North, you know that we have been reading the bridge column in the paper for the past several weeks even if we haven’t been here to play. We wanted to be winners at bridge, so we decided to try some of the offered techniques.” “Yes,” chimed in Rosy. “We wanted to concentrate, to compete, to make good bids, and to play the hand especially well.”

“And we think we did just that,” said Vera. “We were North and South, and our opponent East opened the bidding with 1♣.”

“I overcalled 1♠ with six good spades, a singleton heart, a void in diamonds, and six good clubs,” Rosy added, “What a nice looking hand.” The Captain nodded.

“West offered a heart suit, showing six hearts, bidding the higher suit first, of course,” said Vera. “And I as North let Rosy, my partner, know that I had a strong support for her spades with a cue bid of 3♣.”

“Now here is where listening to the bidding is so important,” said Rosy. “When East doubled the cue bid, it was a lead-directing double, and West as her partner should have been listening. In fact, after we tried the Blackwood convention, and another double by East, on the 5♦ bid, there were two lead-directing doubles for West to use.”

Here Vera chimed in again, “We stopped at 5♠, and it was a good place to stop, once we realized that slam was not a possibility. Rosy made a good choice in bidding, and stopping at the right contract.”

“In the play of the hand,” Rosy continued, “the lead was not a diamond or a club! No, Captain North, can you believe it? We might have been pushed into a corner with a diamond or a club lead, but I did not know that my partner had no clubs, nor did she know I had no diamonds.”

“Instead of a diamond or a club lead, West led her fourth best heart, suggesting that she had something of value in her hand. I figured it was the ♥K because I could see the Ace, the Queen, and the Jack in my partner’s hand. It was an easy finesse, and it worked.”

“From then on, it was easy work to take all 13 tricks and a good game bid, played, and won.”

“So you see, Captain North, we might have been pushed into a corner, but we had the right cards, the right concentration, the right bidding, and we won at bridge.”

Captain North stood up from his chair. “Congratulations, Vera and Rosy. You had a great ride at the fair, and you had a great ride at the bridge table.” He started to walk away, but then he turned and asked, “Is it true that East-West could have made 5♦ if they had continued bidding?”

“Of course,” answered Vera and Rosy in unison. “But we know that spades are a higher ranking suit than diamonds, and we know the saying, ‘When in doubt, bid one more!’ Captain North, you should get out more often. Go to the fair and ride the Tilt-a-Girl! You will have a wonderful time.” They both broke into laughter as the Captain walked back to his paperwork.

Gerald Stein

July 18, 2012

Number of words: 897

Better Bridge in Barry County July 19 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

In last week’s column, we explored why beginning bridge players have a difficult time winning at the bridge table. This week, once again revisiting S. J. Simon’s main premise, Why You Lose at Bridge, we will take a look at what happens to players who have played many years of bridge. What are some hints and tips that might help experienced players win more often?

Many of today’s bridge players began playing bridge in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Bridge as a social event was popular in many cities and towns, including our own Barry County and Hastings in particular. There were bridge tournaments that extended for eight or nine months, and by far, these were primarily social events with hands of bridge as a means of putting couples together for an evening of social entertainment.

Bridge in the 1960’s and 1970’s was largely influenced by one big name: Charles Goren. With his TV show in the late 1950’s, numerous books,  magazine articles, and syndicated newspaper bridge columns, Charles Goren did much to influence the popularity of the game. Many players learned to play the Goren-style of bridge, including four-card majors as openers, the short club, strong two-bids, a strong no-trump opening bid, and the Blackwood convention for seeking out or avoiding a slam hand.

While these methods proved reliable for many years, new thinking and changes gradually began to change the shape of bridge and bridge bidding in particular. In the 1980’s, the 1990’s, and into the 21^st century, better communication through a change in bidding has come about. While nothing truly startling, the bidding in the post-Goren era lets many experienced players and certainly newer players enter into a more accurate and more defined way of communication. Learning  new conventions, learning new ways of counting points with length instead of distribution, and finding more competition from players who have taken bridge classes to learn some “new tricks” have made bridge a better game. These bridge students  were not disappointed in the time they put into evening or daytime bridge classes. It made them better players.

It seems appropriate then to suggest that taking a refresher class or two in modern bridge bidding would certainly open new doors and make you a better bridge player. That is one positive way to eliminate the losing trends that you may have had. Even learning a new convention or two might be fun and helpful. Do you know and use the Stayman convention? It is one of the most popular bridge conventions available for the bridge player at any level. An hour or two of learning, practicing, and then using this oft-used convention will be a bonus to your bridge playing. Your bidding will become more accurate, and  you will end up bidding and playing at the game level more often instead of settling for part-scores. No longer will you go home missing out on the top prizes of the evening. After all, a dollar is a dollar, right?

As the American Contract Bridge League celebrates its 75^th year of providing bridge ideas, bridge lessons, and bridge entertainment to players everywhere, consider buying, using, or taking classes with their texts as a guide. The original set was called the Club, Diamond, Heart, Spade, and No Trump Series, and was authored by Canadian bridge educator Audrey Grant specifically for the American Contract Bridge League’s use with players who wanted to learn the newer ideas of bridge. Now, the series has been improved and expanded by ABCL writers and instructors to form the basis for five bridge classes: The first is called “Bidding in the 21^st Century.” The second text is “Play of the Hand in the 21^st Century,” while the third one is “Defense in the 21^st Century.” The fourth and fifth volumes are called “Commonly Used Conventions in the 21^st Century,” and “More Commonly Used Conventions in the 21^st Century.” Each of the texts consists of eight or nine chapters on new ideas in bridge with plenty of examples and exercises for individual study or group study in a bridge class. With plenty of bridge material, it is a helpful way to improve your bridge game.

A side benefit of learning a new convention or a new method is sharing that new bit of knowledge with others. Bridge players are sharers; they like to discuss new and improved ways of playing bridge and being successful at it. Who doesn’t want to win at bridge? After learning a new way of doing things in the bridge world, you will want to share your new-found knowledge with your partner, your friends with whom you play bridge, or your bridge group. All of a sudden, you have become a bridge instructor, and you are sharing the fascinating ideas of bridge. Share your knowledge,  and watch your own bridge game improve.

How can you as a bridge player of many years improve your game? Work on your game by taking courses for fun. Read bridge books from the public library. Go to sites like Amazon and Baron Barclay and see how many hundreds of bridge titles pop up for your reading pleasure. Just knowing that you are learning new ways will be a positive reinforcement for your game. You will grow in confidence. You will know that you are no longer the 97 pound weakling in the bridge world. You will stand up, and you will roar. Now go out there and win!

The following bridge classes will begin in October in our area: In Hastings, at the KCC Fehsenfeld Center, “Bidding in the 21^st Century” starts on October 3 in the morning. In Battle Creek, “Defense in the 21^st Century” starts on October 1 in the morning. Another beginning class will be offered in Battle Creek in the evening of October 3. Watch for future announcements. Visit the American Contract Bridge League site: www.acbl.org for free bridge software.

Gerald Stein July 6, 2012 Number of words 999

Better Bridge in Barry County July 12 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

This week’s column will revisit a topic of concern for most bridge players: “Why You Lose at Bridge.”  In a recent column, S.J.Simon’s classic bridge book was mentioned. A look at how to change that awful predicament and how you can improve your bridge game will become a series of columns over the next few weeks.

Many new and even many bridge players who have played for years still have this secret prayer when they sit down to the bridge table: “Please, Lord, don’t let me get the good cards. I want to be the dummy.” The fear and the hesitation that come over bridge players when confronted with the good hands and the big hands is a terrible thing to see. They dread bidding; they dread playing the hand; they dread their partner’s wrath; they dread their opponents’ pity. Why then do they play bridge?  Are there healthy solutions that can make this a fun game no matter what your experience, no matter what your bridge level, no matter what your expertise? Of course, there are. Bridge should be fun. It should be a healthy game for all, and it should be something that is enjoyed, and it should not be a dreaded afternoon or evening.

First, let us look at the new players. They are intrigued by the game, and they are eager to learn its many facets. Unfortunately, bridge is not a game that you can sit down to in one session and pick up the basics immediately. Instead, bridge is a game of lifelong learning. You learn new concepts, and you use some of them each time you play. For newer players, it is a continuous road-trip of learning how to play, how to bid, how to defend, how to have fun, how to make new friends, and how to make bridge an enjoyable hobby for many years to come. How then do new players survive all of the learning and all of the rules and laws and ways of playing bridge?

New players are eager players. They want to learn how to play. They have played other card games for many years. They have played pinochle, euchre, poker, hearts, crazy eights, and old maid. They are ready for a really challenging game, and they think they have found it in bridge. And they are right. Bridge is a challenging and wonderful mental game. True, there is luck involved to some extent, but bridge requires you to use skill and mental focus called concentration to play the game well. These are skills that one can work at through a number of avenues.

Because the world of bridge has changed so much in the past forty years, many new players feel better about learning bridge when they take bridge classes from bridge instructors who are familiar with the newest concepts and newest ways of teaching bridge. These instructors know the Goren way of playing bridge because they learned that way just like everyone else who learned to play bridge forty years ago. The new players have a distinct advantage, however. They do not have to learn about four-card majors; they do not have to learn about short club bids; they do not have to learn about strong two-bids in clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades. The newcomers then are open to the newest changes that make bridge even more enjoyable in the 21^st century. They quickly learn about five-card majors as opposed to a four-card major opening bid; they learn about convenient minor bids instead of a short club bid; they learn that a strong two-bid has been condensed into a single bid of two clubs because a strong two-bid does not come up that often. They learn that weak two-bids are all the rage; they learn the Stayman bid in their first class, and they learn and use Jacoby Transfers, negative doubles, and take-out doubles within a few weeks. They have fun learning and using all of these new tools. As one student put it so succinctly, “You have a toolbox full of many different choices. You do not have to rely just on a hammer to get the job done.”

New bridge players enjoy their classes because they are hands-on classes. Cards are touched and played with lots of questions allowed and chances to replay or take back, ask the instructor, ask each other. There is a lot of laughter and smiling going on. Soon they want to put their new-found knowledge to the test, and this is where many newcomers experience the dread and the pitfalls of bridge playing and bridge groups.

Why then do beginning bridge players lose at bridge? There are at least four answers with some solutions: Beginners lose at bridge because they lack the experience of playing the game for thirty or forty years. They simply lack playing time. Solution? Play a lot of bridge. Second, beginners find that there is so much to remember playing bridge at first. Solution? Learn the basics and stick to them. Third and fourth seem to go together: Beginners lack confidence and lack concentration. Solutions?  Go in with a positive attitude that you will learn something new each and every time that you play bridge. Focus on your cards, smile often at your partner, listen to the bidding, and be prepared to take your tricks when you should.

Next time, we will visit with players who have played a while and who want to improve their game. Until then, play bridge and welcome those new players with a smile and a cheery hello. Help them become confident and better bridge players through your help, your experience, and your success. Play bridge and have fun.

Solution to last week’s bridge question: how can you take all 13 tricks? If you worked on the hearts, there is your answer. An extra heart trick will give you all 13 tricks if you have four diamonds, five spades, three heart tricks and one club trick.

Bridge Class Update: A nine-week beginning bridge class will be held at the KCC Fehsenfeld Center in Hastings on Wednesdays, 10 AM-12 Noon, starting October 3, 2012. Contact the Institute for Learning in Retirement at KCC. “Bidding in the 21^st Century” is appropriate for new players as well as those who want a refresher course.

Gerald Stein  Number of words 1068

June 26, 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County July 5 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

	North ♠ A6 ♥ AK52 ♦ AQJ9 ♣ AQ6
West ♠ Q3 ♥ Q1043 ♦ 1085432 ♣ 5		East ♠ 9852 ♥ 6 ♦ 76 ♣ K109832
	South ♠ KJ1074 ♥ J987 ♦ K ♣ J74

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

West None 7D

North 2C 6NT	East Pass Pass	South 2S Pass	West Pass Pass Pass

In today’s column, the North-South pair used a number of bridge components that helped to get them to the coveted contract of Six No Trump. Good bidding by North and South, a good Plan by North, and good Play of the Hand by North brought home the slam contract.

North’s first bid of 2♣ was a telling bid. “Partner,” said North, “because we play a Strong Two Club bid in Standard American, and we leave Two Diamonds, Two Hearts, and Two Spades for the Weak Two Bids, you know that I have in my hand 22 or more high card points, and I am forcing you to bid.”

South has a ready answer: “Yes, Partner, I know what you are telling me; you have 22 plus points and you want me to bid. My normal bid on such a hand from you would be 2♦, an artificial bid that says nothing about diamonds, but is most commonly known as a waiting bid. I would be waiting for you to describe your hand. This time, however, happily I have nine high card points and a good five-card major suit to tell you about. I bid 2♠.”

North is delighted to hear from his partner South, and without hesitation, North bids Six No Trump. The contract is set, and North is the declarer with most of the points in the closed hand. Looking at his cards, North sees 24 high card points, while South has nine high card points for a total of 33, a recognized number of points needed for a small slam. The seven outstanding points in the East-West hands are divided, but North does not yet know where everything is.

The lead from East is the 7♦, the top of a doubleton, signaling her partner West that she has only two diamonds. Would the singleton 6♥ have been a better lead? Think about that for a minute.

The dummy comes down, and North duly thanks his partner for the promised cards in her bid. North takes a moment to make his plan: his objective is 12 of the 13 tricks. He may lose only one trick to the opponents. His first plan is to count all of his winners. With the diamond lead, he counts four diamond winners; he has two heart winners; he has two spade winners; and he has one club winner for a total of nine certain winners. He will have to develop or promote three more winners to make his contract. South’s spade suit looks like the best possible source of three additional tricks.

North, still making his plan, has to look further at the spade suit. With seven spades and length in the spade suit in the dummy, it looks to be a better choice than trying to get two extra tricks out of the hearts. With that thought settled, North wonders about the split of the spade suit: with six spades out against him, how will the spades split? He knows that typically the spades will split 4-2 with an even number of cards held by the opponents. Going for the Q♠ to drop would be a long shot; yet it might bring home all 13 tricks if it worked. The Safety Play, however, will assure the contract.

What is the Safety Play that North has in mind? After winning the opening diamond lead, North knows that to set up the spades that he will have to hope that West has the Q♠ and that when he leads the J♠ from the dummy that West will automatically cover the honor with an honor, putting the Q♠ on the J♠. If, however, West plays low smoothly, then North will play his A♠, saving the 6♠ as an entry. North has no other established entries to the dummy hand except the K♠. Either way, North’s main hope to make the contract is to get the Q♠ to cover the J♠ or to drop the Q♠ on the K♠. It will do North no good to finesse the Q♠ with the J♠. It will lose to the singleton Queen, and North will not make the contract for their team because he will be unable to get back to the dummy to use the three remaining good spades.

As it turns out, some defenders covered the J♠ and made life easy for North, and he was able to take five spade tricks as planned. However, some defenders played low smoothly on the J♠ and North was forced to take the trick with his A♠ Now he must go for the Q♠ to drop on the K♠, and it does. After taking the 10♠, North executes an end play by leading one of his two remaining spades. West wins, but then is end-played. He must lead away from the K♣, and this lets North use the J♣ as a new entry winning the trick and then playing the 4^th spade winner. Now instead of five spade winners, North has only four, but he has a new winner in the club suit. The results are still the same. The contract makes either way.

Once the spade dilemma has been solved, the rest is elementary with five or four spade tricks, two heart tricks, four diamond tricks, and one or two club trick for 12 tricks and the small slam contract. Well done, North and South, on bidding, planning, and playing the contract at Six No Trump.

Today’s bridge question: On today’s hand, 13 tricks can be won by the North player. Using the five spades and four diamonds as known winners, where does the extra trick come from to make Seven No Trump?

Gerald Stein

June 20 2012

Number of words: 1017