HSP: An Obvious Singleton

"When I'm your partner, the secret to this game is to Help Stupid Partner." -- Steve B.

	♠ Q 6 ♥ K 7 ♦ 8 7 4 3 ♣ A Q J 7 6
	N W E S	♠ 9 4 2 ♥ A Q 2 ♦ K J ♣ 10 9 8 4 3

West	North	YOU	South
	1 ♣	Pass	1 ♠
Pass	2 ♣	Pass	3 ♠
Pass	4 ♠	All pass

Partner led the ♣ 2, declarer played low from dummy. Which club do you play? Why?

Regardless of which high club you play, declarer wins the trick with the ♣ K, and leads the ♠ 3. Partner flies the ♠ A, declarer plays low from dummy. Which spade do you play? Why?

ANSWER: Play the ♠ 9, your highest spade, showing preference for the higher-ranking side suit (hearts, in this case). For the same reason, you should have played the ♣ 10 -- not the ♣ 8 -- at trick one. Yes, the standard play would have been the club eight, the lowest card of the sequence; but this is not a standard situation.

THE PRINCIPLE: When the opening lead against a trump contract is a singleton, partner's priority -- other than winning the trick if possible -- is to signal suit preference. The defenders need to figure out how to get third hand on lead to give the opening leader her ruff(s). Partner will be watching very carefully for the slightest clue you can give her.

This hand shows the importance of analyzing the hand before playing to the first trick. Partner would not lead from ♣ K52 into dummy's strong suit. Nor would she lead low from ♣ K2, for the same reason. And if partner started with two small clubs, she would have led the five, not the two. Thus the ♣ 2 must be a singleton.

BONUS MOMENT: How do you know that partner has another spade to ruff with? Because if she had only the singleton ♠ A, she would not be looking for a ruff! She would have led the ace, to capture two enemy trumps instead.

If you play a low spade at trick two (suit preference low), partner will lead a diamond per your guidance, giving declarer a free finesse. Declarer will win, draw trump, and discard two red suit losers on dummy's good clubs; making six instead of going down one 😠.

	♠ Q 6 ♥ K 7 ♦ 8 7 4 3 ♣ A Q J 7 6
♠ A 5 ♥ 10 9 6 5 4 3 ♦ 10 9 5 2 ♣ 2	N W E S	♠ 9 4 2 ♥ A Q 2 ♦ K J ♣ 10 9 8 4 3
	♠ K J 10 8 7 3 ♥ J 8 ♦ A Q 6 ♣ K 5

-- Ray
Better Bridge in 5 Minutes. Guaranteed! (or the next one is free)

Both Sides Now, Part 2

 Looking at the same hand as last time, but from the other defender's perspective...

	♠ J 4 ♥ K J 4 ♦ 8 7 6 5 2 ♣ K 7 2
♠ A 10 9 ♥ 10 8 6 5 ♦ Q 3 ♣ Q 9 5 4	N W E S

You	North	Partner	South
		Pass	1 ♠
Pass	1 NT	Pass	2 ♦
Pass	3 ♦	All pass

North's 1NT was forcing one round. You led the ♣ 4. Declarer played low from dummy. Partner played the ♣ J, declarer played the ♣ 6. At trick two, partner led the ♦ 4.

Who has the ♣ A? It seems unlikely that declarer would hold up the ace here, so partner has the ♣ A.

Who has the ♣ 10? Remember the Third Hand Basics: "Third hand high, but no higher than necessary, and keep control over dummy's honor." If partner had the jack and ten, partner would have played the ten, no higher than necessary. So, declarer has the ♣ 10.

If declarer had only two clubs to begin with, you can lead the ♣ Q when you get in, smothering declarer's ten. If declarer and partner both had three clubs, then declarer's ten is protected and the suit is "frozen": whichever side leads the suit gives up a trick. (Work this out on paper if you don't see it.)

The next six tricks proceed:
♦ 4 from partner, ace from declarer, three, deuce.
♦ K from declarer, queen, five, ten from partner.
♥ A from declarer, five, four, three from partner.
♥ 2 from declarer, six, jack from dummy, queen from partner.
♦ J from partner, nine, ♠ 10 from you, six from dummy.
♠ 5 from partner, two, you win with the ace of course.

What now? You know partner has the ♣ A. If declarer has only the ten remaining, you must lead the queen and get two club tricks (declarer is out of trump). If declarer has two clubs remaining, you give up a trick by leading clubs.

How many clubs did declarer start with, two or three?

Remember the auction? Declarer bid 2 ♦ after the forcing notrump. Declarer had three diamonds. If declarer had three clubs and three diamonds, declarer would have bid 2 ♣ rather than 2 ♦. So declarer started with only two clubs. 

So you lead the ♣ Q, smothering declarer's ten, to get two more club tricks.

AND, A BONUS MINUTE...

At trick two, partner led the ♦ 4 from what turned out to be the J-10-4. Why didn't partner make the normal lead of the jack?

1. Partner knows that you know that she has the ace of clubs.
2. Partner knows that you know that she does not have the ten of clubs, because she played the jack rather than the ten.
3. Partner knows that declarer has either the ten or nine of clubs, because you didn't lead the ten from 10-9.
4. Partner knows that if you have Q-10 of clubs, you can lead clubs safely
5. Partner knows that if you have Q-9 of clubs you can't lead clubs unless she had four clubs originally and that you can't determine for sure how many clubs she had.

Aha! Partner realized that you might have a problem in the club suit. She made a non-standard lead, in this case a low trump, to suggest suit-preference low.  It couldn't have been to encourage a heart lead to her unsupported queen without knowing where the heart ace is. So the  ♦ 4  must be encouraging the other low suit, clubs!

Partner did not know where your entry was; if it was in diamonds, you wouldn't have the benefit of those other five tricks to figure out the count in clubs. So she made a trump suit preference play, hoping you could figure out the clue.

-- Ray 

Better Bridge in 5 Minutes. Guaranteed! (or the next one is free)

Both Sides Now, Part 1

Getting the basics right is essential for effective defense. Here's a hand from a recent club pairs game; we will look at it from the perspective of each defender in turn.

	♠ J 4 ♥ K J 4 ♦ 8 7 6 5 2 ♣ K 7 2
	N W E S	♠ Q 7 5 ♥ Q 9 3 ♦ J 10 4 ♣ A J 8 3

Partner	North	You	South
		Pass	1 ♠
Pass	1 NT	Pass	2 ♦
Pass	3 ♦	All pass

North's 1NT call was forcing one round. Partner led the ♣ 4 (standard leads and carding), declarer plays the ♣ 2 from dummy. Your play?

Before playing to the first trick, it's time to do some homework. It certainly looks like a fourth-best club. You can see the two and three, so you know the four is partner's lowest club.

• The ♣ 4 can't be a singleton. If it were, declarer would have a five-card club suit. Yet declarer bid diamonds, on what would then be three diamonds and five clubs. 
• The ♣ 4 can't be a doubleton, because partner would not lead low from a doubleton.
• Could the ♣ 4 be from a three-card holding? Possibly, and there's no way to rule this out. But our play to this trick will be the same either way.

It's still your turn. Your play?

Recall the Third Hand Basics: "Third hand high, but no higher than necessary, and keep control over dummy's honor." Playing the ace here would establish the king in dummy. And if declarer has the guarded queen, that would give her two club tricks! Playing the ace here can never gain a club trick, and usually gives up a trick. So, basic defensive card play mandates playing the jack. 

But wait, don't play the jack just yet... What if partner has both the ♣ 10 and ♣ 9? Then you could just play a very smug ♣ 8. Alas, not possible. If partner had the ten and nine, partner would have led the top-of-sequence ten. From Q-10-9-4, or 10-9-x-4, or 10-9-4, the standard lead is the ten. We can rule out those possible holdings for partner.

So, the ♣ J it must be. The jack holds the trick, declarer plays the ♣ 6. Partner must have the club queen, as you hoped. Now what?

Assuming the ♣ 4 was fourth-best, you now know the layout of the club suit almost exactly. Declarer started with two clubs, one of which is the ten or nine. Recall that partner's lead denied having both the ten and nine. If partner has four clubs without the ten or nine, then declarer would have started with ten-nine doubleton and would have played one of those cards. Therefore, partner started with Q-10-5-4 or Q-9-5-4 and declarer has the other high spot card.

If you lead any club now, you will set up dummy's king. (You could try leading the ace just in case the king decides to commit suicide, but that never seems to work at my table.) 

Notice that if partner gets in and leads the ♣ Q, that will trap ("smother") declarer's remaining high spot card. But partner doesn't know that declarer started with a doubleton. Is there a way to tell partner that you had four clubs instead of three? Unfortunately no, not directly. But you can give partner a hint...

You have to lead something other than a club. Partner must have some other high cards outside of clubs, because declarer declined the game invitation and thus denied a maximum hand.

• If declarer has ace-king of spades, leading a spade trashes your ♠ Q.
• If declarer has the ace of hearts, leading a heart trashes your ♥ Q.

Exiting with a diamond seems best to me; maybe partner's high honor is in diamonds. At least a diamond lead is unlikely to give up a diamond trick. The standard lead from J-10-4 is the jack, but I would lead the ♦ 4 in this case.

Stay tuned for Part 2...

-- Ray
Better Bridge in 5 Minutes. Guaranteed! (or the next one is free)

Restricted Choice

	♠ A K J ♥ A K 10 8 5 ♦ 6 4 ♣ K 6 5
	N W E S
	♠ Q 7 ♥ 9 7 ♦ Q 8 7 ♣ A 10 7 4 3 2

You are declarer in 3 NT, the opening lead is the ♠ 10. You play the ace, of course, hiding the spade queen from both opponents.. The spade suit presents no danger. The opponents can easily see that their best chance for tricks is in diamonds. If you lose the lead, you will likely go down. If you can win all six club tricks, you make the contract easily.

Can you play the club suit for no losers?

If clubs split 2-2, you win by simply cashing the two top honors, easy! If either player has queen-jack-third or queen-jack-fourth, you can't pick up the suit unless they make a glaring mistake. And if the suit splits honor-third and a singleton honor...?

You lead the ♣ K. East follows suit with the eight, and West (an expert player) plays the queen in tempo without hesitating. You lead the ♣ 5 from dummy, East plays the nine.What now? Play for the drop (ace) or finesse the ten?

• If the club suit split is Q and J98, then you must finesse the ten.
• If the club suit split is QJ and 98, you win by playing the ace.

ANSWER: Finesse the ♣ 10. This is a textbook-classic example of a restricted choice situation. Although the 2-2 split is slightly more likely than a specific 3-1 split here, there is an important hint in the play so far. If West has both the queen and jack, she might choose the queen or she might choose the jack (the expert randomly chooses either card 50% of the time, see below). But if she only has one card, she must perforce play it; that is, her choice is "restricted" by the fact that she has no choice at all. The odds are almost 2:1 in favor of the finesse at this point; the finesse might not work, but it is the clearly preferred line of play.

If West had hesitated before playing the queen, that would be a strong indication that she held both the queen and the jack; play the ace! It would also be a strong indication that she is not an expert; an expert player holding queen-jack doubleton would have planned her play as soon as dummy came down. Keep in mind that it is highly unethical to deliberately hesitate before playing a singleton (see Law 73E in the Laws of Duplicate Bridge).

If West is an inexperienced player who "always plays the jack from queen-jack doubleton", then you practically know for certain that the queen is a singleton here. If she had played the jack, you would play for the drop with odds just slightly better than 50-50. Adjust accordingly if she "always plays the queen".

These "restricted choice" situations arise fairly often, almost any time you are trying to suss out two touching honors in the opponents' hands and you have to choose between a finesse and a drop play. The queen-jack, the jack-ten, sometimes the king-queen, and even the ace-king in some situations.

THE PRINCIPLE: If the opponent could have freely played either of two touching honors, there is an inference available that she is less likely to have the other one because her choice might be restricted. This does not apply to opening leads, or third hand play when trying to win the trick, because the choice of honors in those situations is determined by partnership agreements. And of course if you have other information about the opponents' hands, like known high-card points or known distribution, use that information instead.

BONUS MINUTE: The optimal play for a defender holding doubleton honors is to randomly play either card with equal probability, as this gives up the least amount of information to declarer. Note that this does not apply to opening leads or to following suit when trying to win the trick. You'll need to make your choice well in advance -- like, before playing to the first trick -- because hesitating at your turn to play will give away the store. One simple way to make a 50-50 choice is to use the number of high-card points in your hand: with an odd number of HCP, play the "odd" card (the jack is the "eleven"), with an even number play the "even" card (the queen).

	♠ A K J ♥ A K 10 8 5 ♦ 6 4 ♣ K 6 5
♠ 10 9 8 5 4 3 ♥ J 6 3 ♦ A 10 5 ♣ Q	N W E S	♠ 6 2 ♥ Q 4 2 ♦ K J 9 3 2 ♣ J 9 8
	♠ Q 7 ♥ 9 7 ♦ Q 8 7 ♣ A 10 7 4 3 2

-- Ray
Better Bridge in 5 Minutes. Guaranteed! (or the next one is free)

HSP: Don't Send A Boy

"When I'm your partner, the secret to this game is to Help Stupid Partner." -- Steve B.

E-W Vul	♠ 7 6 ♥ A K 5 4 ♦ K Q 7 6 ♣ K 10 9
	N W E S	♠ Q J 4 2 ♥ 9 8 ♦ J 9 5 3 ♣ J 5 2

West	North	You	South
1  ♠	Dbl	2 ♠	4 ♥
All pass

You considered bidding 3 ♠ (weak, preemptive) over North's takeout double, but decided to go low at unfavorable vulnerability.

Partner led the ♣ A. Your partnership agreement is to lead king from ace-king. Partner's ♣ A thus denied the king. Of course you knew that already, the king is in dummy!

At trick two partner plays the ♠ K, almost certainly from the ace-king of spades.
Which spade do you play at trick two?

ANSWER: Play the queen of spades, promising the jack. Don't send a boy to do a woman's work! If partner has a six-card spade suit, you won't get any more spade tricks, but at least let partner know that you have the ♠ J just in case it matters.

Next, partner played the ♠ 2; you won with the ♠ J as declarer followed low.
What do you lead at trick four?

ANSWER: Lead a club. Partner is screaming for a club ruff. How do you know that the ♣ A was a singleton? There are several clues here:

• Aces are made for capturing kings and queens. We usually don't lead an unsupported ace at trick one unless we are looking for a ruff. It's possible that partner started with ace-doubleton of clubs and was hoping you might have the king of clubs. But it's also possible that partner had a singleton ace; yes, that means that declarer has a six-card club suit, but it is possible.
• Partner could have started with the safe play of the two top spade honors. She didn't need to lead the ♣ A "to get a look at dummy." A top spade honor would be the normal lead and accomplish the same thing, but partner chose to do something abnormal. That makes another clue pointing toward a singleton ace of clubs.
• Partner led the ♠ 2 -- the lowest possible spade -- indicating preference for the lowest-ranking suit (clubs).

THE PRINCIPLE: When signaling encouragement in a suit, play the highest card you can afford. Don't send a boy to do a [wo]man's work.  From touching honors, always signal with the highest honor, promising the next highest honor.  

If you do not make it clear to partner that you have a spade entry, she will give up on her club ruff objective. She will instead cash the ♠ A, then the ♦ A. Unfortunately for you, declarer will ruff the diamond, draw trump, and run her good clubs to make the contract. The same thing will happen if you lead a diamond from your side.

E-W Vul	♠ 7 6 ♥ A K 5 4 ♦ K Q 7 6 ♣ K 10 9
♠ A K 9 8 3 ♥ 3 2 ♦ A 10 8 4 2 ♣ A	N W E S	♠ Q J 4 2 ♥ 9 8 ♦ J 9 5 3 ♣ J 5 2
	♠ 10 5 ♥ Q J 10 7 6 ♦ — ♣ Q 8 7 6 4 3

-- Ray 

Better Bridge in 5 Minutes. Guaranteed! (or the next one is free)

Splinters and Voids and The Rabbi, Oh My! Part 2

The hands are rotated from Part 1 so that South is Declarer.

Matchpoints, both sides vulnerable.

	♠ — ♥ A Q 7 6 ♦ Q J 8 6 3 ♣ A K Q 4
	N W E S
	♠ A Q 10 6 5 ♥ J 10 9 5 4 ♦ A ♣ 10 2

West	North	East	You
	1 ♦	1 ♠	Dbl
Pass	3 ♠	Pass	4 NT
Pass	5 NT	Pass	6 ♥
All pass

 You had a lovely auction to reach 6 ♥. West led the ♠ 2. Let's start with Declarer's ARCH:

• ANALYZE the lead: East bid spades, it looks like West is leading low from a three-card holding. If it was a singleton, that would mean that east bid only 1 ♠ with a seven-card suit? Seems unlikely. If West had a doubleton spade, she would have led the higher of the two cards. So East has five spades.
• REVIEW the auction: East overcalled spades at the one-level. There aren't many high cards left out there, it seems that East is a favorite to have all the missing kings.
• COUNT your tricks: Two spades, given the opening lead (yay!) and a spade ruff in the North hand. Three top clubs. Two diamonds and a diamond ruff in the South hand, playing East for the ♦ K. Three top heart tricks, expecting to lose one heart to the ♥ K on your right. That adds up to twelve tricks, losing only one trick to the ♥ K, making your contract.
• HOW to play: Always make a plan before playing.
  .. Win the opening spade lead as cheaply as possible (East will probably play the ♠ K)
  .. Unblock the ♦ A, so that you can take a ruffing finesse against East.
  .. Ruff a spade in dummy before drawing trump, just in case the hearts split 4-0.
  .. Take the ruffing finesse in diamonds: lead the ♦ Q, playing East for the ♦ K.
  .. Draw trump, expecting to lose a heart to East's king.
  And play the hand out, making six hearts.

Wonderful, a small slam nicely bid and made. BUT this is matchpoints; can you make seven?

ANSWER: It seems most likely that East has the ♥ K, so the heart finesse is destined to lose. What if the ♥ K is singleton? If you play the ♥ A immediately and East has the guarded king, well, East is always going to score the king. You have all the other high hearts. But on a good day, East's ♥ K will be a singleton. It costs you nothing to start with the ♥ A, and you win big if you drop the singleton king. And dropping a singleton king always feels great! 

	♠ — ♥ A Q 7 6 ♦ Q J 8 6 3 ♣ A K Q 4
♠ J 8 2 ♥ 8 3 2 ♦ 10 9 ♣ J 8 7 6 5	N W E S	♠ K 9 7 4 3 ♥ K ♦ K 7 5 4 2 ♣ 9 3
	♠ A Q 10 6 5 ♥ J 10 9 5 4 ♦ A ♣ 10 2

West	North	East	You
	1 ♦	1 ♠	Dbl
Pass	3 ♠	Pass	4 NT
Pass	5 NT	Pass	6 ♥
All pass

In a really strong field -- say, the Blue Ribbon Pairs -- 6 ♥ making seven will be an average or maybe average-plus result. But in our typical club game or a typical BBO online game, 6 ♥ making seven will be a cold top board. And it doesn't require anything flashy or complicated, just a series of solid intermediate-level skills that you've already learned. Nothing to be afraid of here!

• Negative double
• Splinter raise
• Void-showing responses to 4 NT
• Declarer's ARCH
• Room Measurements
• The Rabbi's Rule: When the king is singleton, play the ace!

-- Ray

Better Bridge in 5 Minutes. Guaranteed! (or the next one is free)

Splinters and Voids and The Rabbi, Oh My! -- Part 1

Here is a hand from a recent online game that I thought was a lot of fun. It brings together a half-dozen themes that we've discussed in the past. Both vulnerable at matchpoints, you are the dealer. You hold:

♠ -- ♥ A Q 7 6 ♦ Q J 8 6 3 ♣ A K Q 4

Of course you make a plan before making your first call. What is your plan for this auction?

You'll open 1 ♦, and if partner peeps you'll almost certainly want to be in game. If partner bids hearts, diamonds, or clubs, you will definitely get excited and force to game. But if partner bids spades, you might want to allow for the possibility of partner having a bare minimum hand with only a couple of spade honors. Over a 1 ♠ call from partner, you can reverse to 2 ♥, forcing one round and almost-but-not-quite forcing to game, to allow partner to sign off with a weak spade hand.

West	Partner	East	You
			1 ♦
1 ♠	Dbl	Pass	?

Good news! Partner's negative double shows at least four hearts, and at least 6-7 points. You definitely want to be in game. Partner could even have a good hand -- negative does not mean nothing -- slam is not out of the question. Your call?

ANSWER: Get the tweezers, you have a splinter! Bid 3 ♠, a splinter bid showing four-card heart support, game-forcing values, and a singleton or void in spades. It's true that partner didn't actually bid hearts, but her bid showed hearts and she'll know that you are supporting hearts. And in the event that she thinks you might be asking for a spade stopper and bids 3 NT, you'll correct to 4 ♥ and she'll get the message.

You hold: ♠ -- ♥ A Q 7 6 ♦ Q J 8 6 3 ♣ A K Q 4

West	Partner	East	You
			1 ♦
1 ♠	Dbl	Pass	3 ♠
Pass	4 NT	Pass	?

Well! Partner definitely likes the slam idea; 4 NT is a keycard-ask with hearts as trump. Don't worry, one of us will get around to bidding hearts eventually... You play 1430 responses to keycard-asking bids. Your call?

ANSWER: You could bid 5 ♠, showing two keycards and the trump queen. That will commit us to at least a small slam. But there is a much better call available. Bid 5 NT, showing an even number of keycards and a useful void. A void in the opponent's suit is always useful. If partner is only worried about a spade loser, knowing that you are void will make it easy for her to bid a grand slam.

West	Partner	East	You
			1 ♦
1 ♠	Dbl	Pass	3 ♠
Pass	4 NT	Pass	5 NT
Pass	6 ♥	All pass

Partner signed off in 6 ♥. As you can see below, she knew we were missing a key card outside of spades. Fun auction, eh? A small slam and no one actually bid the trump suit until the very end!

	♠ A Q 10 6 5 ♥ J 10 9 5 4 ♦ A ♣ 10 2
	N W E S
	♠ — ♥ A Q 7 6 ♦ Q J 8 6 3 ♣ A K Q 4

It looks like a good contract. This is a robot event, so you'll have to play the hand. Stay tuned for Part 2.

-- Ray
Better Bridge in 5 Minutes. Guaranteed! (or the next one is free)