Better Bridge in Barry County January 8 2015

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

	North ♠  Q 6 5      ♥  A K Q 2  ♦  K 10  ♣  A K J 10
West ♠  K 9 4    ♥  10 6 5  ♦  Q 8 7 6 5 4  ♣  4		East ♠  J 8 3  ♥  J 9 3  ♦  J 3 2  ♣  9 7 3 2
	South ♠  A 10 7 2  ♥  8 7 4  ♦  A 9    ♣  Q 8 6 5

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

North Neither 4♣

 

North 2♣ 3NT 6NT	East Pass Pass Pass	South 2NT 4NT Pass	West Pass Pass Pass

In today’s hand, North had a dilemma. After the invitation to go to a small slam in No Trump, her concern was whether to go on to 6NT or stay at 4NT. Here is where our counting practice would have helped make that decision easier. Let’s take a look at today’s hand.

When North opened with another big hand, she knew that the best way to reach game with such a hand was to open the strong 2♣ bid. Since that is a forcing bid, North felt confident that a game would and should be reached. With 22 high card points, North only needed a small amount of help from partner South. Imagine her surprise when South responded with 2NT, a positive response promising at least 8 high card points and a balanced hand. That was just what North was hoping to hear.

North counted the points and came up with the 22 in her hand and the 8 in the South hand. She could count to 30, quite a distance from the 33 high card points needed for a small slam. North bid 3NT, satisfied that a game had been reached at this point.

South was prepared to offer a bit more, however, when she bid 4NT. This was neither a Blackwood bid nor a Roman Key Card Blackwood bid. Instead it was a Quantitative Invitation Bid to go to 6NT. South gave out additional information with this bid: her bid now showed 10 high card points.

With that information and knowing that there were 22 points in her hand and the 10 high card points in the South hand, North realized that a small slam in No Trump was a real possibility. With 32 high card points between them, North placed the contract at 6NT, and all passed. South would play the hand at 6NT.

While most modern players would question the lead of the 4♣, that was the lead from West, hoping to reach his partner with long clubs. The only one he reached was South who counted up the four club tricks, the two diamond tricks, the three heart tricks, and the one spade trick for ten quick tricks. Two more tricks would have to be set up or promoted. South played the four club tricks for the first four tricks, ending in the South hand on the last club winner.

South then led a small spade toward the Q♠ on the board. West snatched the opportunity and pulled in the K♠. Now South would have two spade winners and would need one more trick somewhere. As it turned out, there were multiple ways to win from this point on. With the spades dividing three-three with the opponents, and the hearts dividing three-three as well, it was just a matter of taking the winners. The 10♠ set up as a spade winner, but the 2♥ could also have been promoted into a heart winner.

All in all, South lost just the K♠ and won the other 12 tricks, making the small slam with ease. For their play of the hand, North/South gathered in 990 points and were among the top winners. Those players who stopped at 4NT did not count their points as they should have. The points were there all along, but those North/South players who counted the two hands together reached the optimum contract of 6NT.

While this particular hand was played ten times in a recent competition, only half of the North/South players reached the 6NT contract. How about a New Year’s Resolution for 2015? Count those points; then count them again. Figure out where the missing points are. When you know that you have the right numbers, confidently bid the correct contract. You will be in the winning half of your bridge group. Good luck in 2015.

 

Gerald Stein

December 28, 2014

Number of words: 746

Better Bridge in Barry County January 1 2015

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

	North ♠  Q 10 8 6      ♥  A K 5 2 ♦  7 ♣  A 9 4 3
West ♠  7 4 3   ♥  10  ♦  K J 8 6 4 2  ♣  K 5 2		East ♠  A K 5   ♥  8 7 3    ♦  Q 9 5 3 ♣  8 7 6
	South ♠  J 9 2 ♥  Q J 9 6 4 ♦  A 10  ♣  Q J 10

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

North East/West 10♥

 

North 1♣ 2♥ ?	East Pass Pass Pass	South 1♥ 3♣ Pass	West Pass Pass Pass

In today’s hand, let’s continue the idea of counting to reach the very best contract we can with the cards that we have been dealt. Today’s North opened the bidding with a 1♣, promising as usual at least three clubs and an opening count of at least 12 high card points. With no interference from East/West, South bid 1♥, promising at least four hearts and at least 6 high card points. That is a long way from a game, however, where the partnership needs 25-26 total points to make a game in the majors or in no trump. Today, let’s look at a way that partnerships can work together to give more information and arrive at that ideal contract.

North knew from South’s bid that she had at least 4 hearts and at least 6 high card points. With her 13 high card points, it did not appear to North that there were enough points to arrive at a game contract in the heart suit. North bid a conservative 2♥ and awaited South’s response.

With extras, however, South bid 3♣. She was not trying to find a different trump suit. That had already been established with the support by North that hearts would be the trump suit. Instead, through their partnership agreement, South used a strategy to inform North that she had help in the club suit. Called “Help Suit Game Try,” South informed North that while the trump suit would be hearts, would it be 3♥ or 4♥? Help Suit Game Try works like this: South bid 3♣ to inform North that she had support for clubs as well as the heart suit. Two suits are better than one.

South’s 3♣ bid was a forcing bid to 3♥ at least. With extras, North was to take the partnership to game in 4♥. With 13 high card points, and at least 2-3 points for the singleton diamond, North saw the light and bid the 4♥ contract. All passed, and South prepared to play the 4♥ contract.

West saw little hope in her lead and chose a trump lead, the 10♥. South drew the trumps in three rounds, and ended up in her hand. Playing the Q♣ produced the K♣, and three rounds of clubs were played in succession all winning for South. South next played the A♦, trumped a diamond in the dummy and then played the spade suit. East/West won the A♠ and K♠ for their two tricks while North/South made game with eleven tricks and a 450 point score.

The key to this hand was the Help Suit Game Try employed by the partnership. This kind of bidding is important to add to your bridge bag of conventions as it helps to remove the doubts of whether you go on to game in a major or stop at the 3♥ level. Many who played this hand were able to make use of the Help Suit Game Try, and the partners confidently moved to the 4♥ level. Those who did not have the Help Suit Game Try as part of their bidding agreement were left to guess whether to go on or to stop at a part score.

Bridge is a game of conversations. In this way, North and South were able to relay information that was important to reach the major game contract. For their efforts, they ended up in a solid game in the major suit even though their high card points only added up to 24. They were able to use the second suit as a support suit to take additional tricks and make the contract. Without the club support and the information relayed about the clubs, it is doubtful whether North/South would have been able to bid 4♥ confidently. True, they might have gotten there by guess-and-by-golly, but isn’t it reassuring to know that there is a way to convey important information to your partner? Give Help Suit Game Try a chance in the New Year. You will have fun letting your partner know that you have extras in partner’s bid suit. Reaching game is always a lot more fun than playing in a part score and then realizing at the end of the hand that a game was there all along. Best wishes in 2015. Happy New Year to all Barry County bridge players and their families.

 

Gerald Stein

December 19, 2014

Number of words: 834

Better Bridge in Barry County December 25 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

	North ♠  8 4 3 2      ♥  Q 9 6 3  ♦  4 3 2  ♣  6 4
West ♠  K 10 9 6    ♥  8 5 4 2    ♦  10 9  ♣  Q 7 5		East ♠  J  ♥  K J 10 7  ♦  Q J 7 5  ♣  J 9 8 3
	South ♠  A Q 7 5  ♥  A    ♦  A K 8 6  ♣  A K 10 2

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

East North/South 2♥

 

North   2♦ 3♣ 4♠	East Pass Pass Pass Pass	South 2♣ 2NT 3♠ Pass	West Pass Pass Pass Pass

In today’s hand the need for counting was never more evident. Look at South’s whopper hand. Now look at North’s hand. What a contrast in the two hands! South has 24 high card points in her hand with almost game there. North has two points with the Q♥. Together, however, they have the magic number of 26, the number of points needed for a game in a major or in no trump. How did North and South arrive at the optimum contract of 4♠? Let’s take a look.

After a pass by dealer East, South looked carefully at her hand. What a beautiful Christmas present! All those points and what-to-bid ran through her mind like sugar plums dancing there. South wisely chose the forcing strong club opening bid of 2♣, promising a strong hand of 22 plus points, but more importantly, a forcing bid for partner North. The advantage of opening 2♣ is that partner is forced to take the partnership to game by keeping the bidding open even with as weak a hand as North has.

After South’s opening bid of 2♣, North offered the usual 2♦ waiting bid for South to further describe her hand to North. With a stopper in all suits, South chose the 2NT bid to suggest no trump in the event that North had a good heart suit. North chose to use the Stayman convention of 3♣ after the 2NT bid to ask for a four-card major in the South hand. North complied with a bid of 3♠ and four of that suit. North finished the bidding by taking South to game in spades at 4♠, and all passed.

The 2♥ was the lead from West, and South looked at a grim board. True, there were the four spades as promised, but there was little more that South could use. With 26 points between them, South was unsure how the remaining 14 high card points would split in the East/West hands. South would have to do her best to bring home the Christmas presents today.

With the heart lead, South had no choice but to win the trick in her hand with the A♥. What was the plan now? With short clubs in the North hand, South started with the K♣ and played a club from the board. She played the A♣ and another club from the board. Hoping that the clubs would be split enough to get in a club ruff, South led the 2♣ and exhaled softly when West showed up with the Q♣. South ruffed the club with the 2♠ and won the trick.

Next South led a small spade from the board, saw the J♠ emerge from the East hand, put up the Q♠, and lost to the K♠ in the West hand. West continued with a small heart all the way to the South hand where South trumped low to win the trick. Even though she knew that there was one more club out, it was bigger than her 10♣ and was therefore another losing trick that needed to go away. South led the 10♣ and watched as West trumped with the 10♠ winning the trick. South was not too unhappy as that eliminated another trump from West. South pitched a small diamond from the board.

West persisted by leading yet another heart, and South trumped with the 7♠. South had kept count of the trumps, and used the A♠ to pull another spade from West with East showing out. West had another trump, and there was another one on the board but smaller that West’s. South had to keep the lead to force West to trump and then the last trump would be good on the board. South led the A♦, the K♦, and a small diamond. West followed suit to the first two diamonds and discarded her last heart. When West discarded a heart on the small diamond, South trumped with the 8♠, and the last trick went to West with the last spade trump.

North/South had made the 4♠ contract despite the fact that the trump split was 4-1, a rather unpleasant piece of coal in her stocking. However, with all of those points in the South hand, South was able to wrap up her Christmas present with a fine 620 point score and a 4♠ contract.

How did others manage on this hand? Some South players opted to open 2NT on this hand, but were sorely disappointed when their partner passed the bid. 2NT is not a forcing bid, and South was unhappy with her choice of bids. Others were even more disappointed when they opened with a minor suit of 1♣ or 1♦ planning to jump on their second bid. They never received a second bid but only a pass from North. Here you are with a fistful of high card points playing a 1♣ or 1♦. How disappointing. Others went to the other extreme and bid up past 4♠, trying for a slam in spades, and ending up in defeat.

What is the takeaway present for today? With a big hand, with 22 plus points, open a forcing 2♣ bid and work with your partner to get to the best game. Despite the meager showing from North, yet the total count was 26 high card points and the good play by South brought home the contract. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all Barry County bridge players and their families!

 

Gerald Stein

December 20, 2014

Number of words: 1022

 

 

Better Bridge in Barry County December 18 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

	North ♠  K 5 3      ♥  Q 3 2  ♦  6 4 3  ♣  A K 7 4
West ♠  A Q 9 7     ♥  7 4  ♦  Q 9 7  ♣  10 8 5 2		East ♠  10 8 6 4 2  ♥  J 9 6    ♦  A J 2  ♣  9 3
	South ♠  J    ♥  A K 10 8 5  ♦  K 10 8 5  ♣  Q J 6

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

East North/South 2♣

 

North   1NT 3♥ Pass	East Pass Pass Pass Pass	South 1♥ 2♦ 4♥	West Pass Pass Pass

In today’s hand, we continue our look at counting bridge hands to arrive at not only the right contract but also to take all the available tricks. It is often not enough just to make a contract, especially in duplicate tournaments and competitions where every overtrick is valuable, but to reach the point where a count of the points and the suits can help you to reach that overtrick status and a winning success. Let’s take a look today at the count in the North/South hands to figure out how to play the hand and be successful and to receive a top board.

After East’s pass with only six high card points, South opened with the five-card major heart suit. South had five hearts, fourteen high card points, and a four-card backup suit in diamonds for her second bid. South bid 1♥. After a pass by West with eight high card points, North responded to the heart suit, first with a forcing 1NT bid. This is a common bid that the North/South players have developed. Called Two-Over-One, it is the practice to bid 1NT, when the responder does not have 13+ points and a forcing-to-game bid. Instead, North/South have agreed that 1NT now has a new meaning for their partnership. Instead of the traditional 6-9 high card points that most bridge players use for a 1NT response, the Two-Over-One system expands the count to 6-12 high card points. While that is quite a range, it is also a forcing bid for one round for opener to rebid again. In today’s hand that is what happened. North did not have enough to go to the two-level for a force to game bid, but she was very close with twelve high card points. Accordingly, North bid a forcing 1NT, knowing that South would further describe her hand.

South responded with two diamonds, showing a new suit of at least three diamonds and five hearts and at least 12 high card points. At this point, North opted to jump in the heart suit, promising three hearts and 10-12 high card points. That was good enough for South to count the points between them and put the contract at 4♥.

West chose a passive lead with the 2♣, avoiding the suits bid by the opponents, and not wanting to lead away from the spade suit. North tabled her hand, and South thanked her, and she began the plan as always. With fourteen high card points in her hand and twelve in the North hand, South knew she had the requisite 26 points needed. There would be 14 high cards out between East and West. If all went right, the points would be divided evenly between the East/West pair. If you look at the East/West pair, you can see that was pretty good reasoning with six in one hand and eight in the other.

With the club suit solid, the heart suit looked strong if the suit broke 3-2 as it does over fifty percent of the time. The diamond suit looked precarious especially if East could lead through the diamond king. Spades were okay if a finesse worked on West. Knowing that 14 high card points were out, South elected to win the club lead into the short side and took it in her hand.

Three rounds of drawing trump produced the 3-2 split. South shrewdly let the J♠ next, hoping that West would have the A♠. As it turned out, West took the A♠ immediately and returned another club. South won that club return in the South hand, and returned the 6♣ to the K♣ and then played the A♣ as well discarding a diamond loser. South played the good K♠ and discarded another diamond loser. South was ready to try her second finesse having seen four points from West with the A♠, and one point from East with the J♥. With five high card points accounted for, South led a small diamond past East who, in second position, played the common Second Hand Low strategy. South promptly put up the K♦ winning in the South hand. Two finesses in the same hand do not happen very often, and most of the time, one of them will fail as, after all, a finesse will win only 50% of the time. This time South was very lucky as both of her finesses won. She played the final two hearts from her hand, and she conceded the last trick to East with the A♦.

With excellent bidding and card play, South scored well for the partnership with eleven tricks taken, a score of 650 points, and a very good score in competition. While you may not be competing in a competition or tournament, still the thrill of going for overtricks is part of the challenge in bridge. Counting can help you figure out where the opponents’ high cards are. Being aware of the count, both in numbers of cards out and number of points in the deck is a challenging part of the bridge game. Give it a chance. Start with just you and your partner’s points and begin to take a moment before you plunk down that first trick. “How many points do we have as a partnership? How many points are out against us? How are they divided? Did the opponents bid to give us a clue where the points are?” Using your logical inner self will help you grow and develop into a Count or a Countess. Good luck, Your Majesty.

 

Gerald Stein

December 14, 2015

Number of words: 1031