HSP: A Two-fer

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

Dealer: S Vul: None	♠ A K Q 3 ♥ K Q 2 ♦ 10 9 8 6 3 ♣ 9
	N W E S	♠ J 10 7 5 4 2 ♥ A J 10 5 ♦ — ♣ K J 3

West	North	You	South
			2 ♦
Pass	5 ♦	All pass

Partner led the ♠ 9. Your partnership agreement is to lead the highest card from three small ("top of nothing"). So, partner might have started with any of three possible spade holdings: the singleton ♠ 9, a doubleton spade ♠ 9 x, or all three of the missing spades ♠ 9 8 6. Declarer called for the ♠ A from dummy. Your play?

ANSWER: Play the ♠ J, showing the ♠ 10 and suit-preference for hearts. By convention, signaling with an honor normally shows the next lower honor in sequence. Thus, playing the ♠ J shows that you hold the ♠ 10 as well. But here nobody cares that you have the ♠ 10. More importantly, an unusual high card (the ♠ J) shows suit-preference for the higher-ranking side suit.

• If partner had a singleton spade, let's hope she has the ♦ A and another diamond; she can win the first round of diamonds, and lead to your ♥ A to get her spade ruff for down one.
• If partner had a doubleton spade and the ♦ A, she'll need to lead a heart when she wins the first round of diamonds. Otherwise, declarer can discard heart losers on dummy's spades to make five if declarer's shape is 1=2=6=4 (or even six, if declarer has the ♣ A too).
• If partner had three spades to start with, declarer will discard a loser on the ♠ A and partner will realize you are showing her where your side-suit winners are.

THE PRINCIPLE: The play of an unnecessarily high card is always a suit-preference signal. You could have played the ♠ 7 as an encouraging signal in spades; the smaller spades still concealed in your hand ensure that partner would recognize the ♠ 7 as a "high encouraging" spade.

BONUS MINUTE: If you held the ♣ A instead of the ♥ A, you would have played the ♠ 2 as suit-preference for clubs. With so many spades in your hand, it is unlikely that a spade continuation is a possibility. More likely, partner had a singleton or declarer is void; in either case, partner will be trying to read your card as a suit-preference signal.

The complete hand:

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

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

Take Out Some Insurance

Suggested soundtrack: the Jimmy Reed blues classic from 1959, "Take Out Some Insurance"

In this installment, you and partner are playing "1430" key card responses to a 4NT query. There are five key cards: the four aces and the king of trump. Responses show 1 or 4 key cards (5♣), 3 or 0 key cards (5♦), or 2 key cards without (5♥) or with (5♠) the queen of trump.

Partner deals and opens. The opponents Pass throughout the auction.
You hold
  ♠ 10 7 5 3 2   ♥ 4   ♦ A K Q J 7   ♣ J 4.

Partner	You
1 ♠	2 NT1
3 ♣2	4 NT
5 ♣3	?

game forcing raise singleton or void in clubs one or four key cards

You have far too much playing strength for a 3 ♠ limit raise. A splinter raise of 4 ♥ is a possible bid, but partner will never expect five-card support and a solid source of tricks in diamonds in addition to the heart shortness.

You decided on a game-forcing Jacoby 2NT raise, fully expecting partner to show shortness in diamonds, but instead she showed a singleton or void in clubs. At most one club loser, at most one heart loser, a ten-card trump suit... even if partner has just a minimum opener, a slam seems very possible.

Your 4 NT bid asked for key cards; partner's 5♣ response showed either one or four key cards. Well! With four key cards over there, making 7 ♠ would be simple; draw trump, cash the outside aces, ruff dummy's club loser, and ruff the fifth diamond if necessary.

So, your call?

ANSWER: Cool your jets. Bid 5 ♠ to play. Because, what if partner has only one key card? Partner has no diamond honors, and at most one club; is it even possible that partner could have an opening bid with only one key card? Yes, it is possible, and if so even 5 ♠ might be too high. But if partner really does have four key cards, she will bid on over your signoff.

THE PRINCIPLE: When partner shows two possible holdings in a key card auction (one or four, or zero or three) and you can't make a slam across from the minimum, sign off at the five-level. That way, you take out some cheap insurance against partner having the minimum holding. If partner has the maximum holding, she'll keep the auction going.

For example, if partner has
  ♠ A Q J 8 6 4 ♥ K Q 9 6 ♦ 10 6 ♣ 9
she will pass 5 ♠ in a heartbeat.

But if she instead has
  ♠ A K J 8 6 4 ♥ A 9 6 5 ♦ 10 6 ♣ A
partner will bid 6 ♠ to let you know she has four key cards, and you can take over from there.

If partner has the extra key cards and a side-suit king, she should cue-bid the king if it is possible to show it without going past six in our trump suit. For example, holding
   ♠ A K J 8 6 4 ♥ A K 6 5 ♦ 10 6 ♣ A
partner will bid 6 ♥ to show four key cards and the king of hearts.

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

Room Measurements

South Deals None Vul	♠ 10 8 4 3 ♥ J 3 ♦ 8 6 ♣ A J 4 3 2
♠ A Q 7 ♥ Q 8 4 2 ♦ Q 10 7 3 ♣ 8 5	N W E S

YOU	North	East	South
			2 ♣
Pass	2 ♦	Pass	2 NT
Pass	3 ♣	Pass	3 ♦
Pass	3 NT	All pass

In a matchpoint game, declarer showed 22-24 high card points and denied a four-card major. You led your fourth-best heart. Dummy's ♥ J held, as partner followed with the ♥ 6 and declarer played the ♥ 10.

Declarer led the ♦ 6 from dummy, partner played the ♦ 2 and you won the trick with the queen over declarer's jack.

What now? Partner denied any heart honors. Maybe switch to a black suit? If partner has the ♣ K, she can get in and lead spades through declarer to your ace-queen. If partner has the ♠ K, leading spades will hold declarer to nine tricks. What do you lead now?

ANSWER: Lead a heart. Partner doesn't have a king. Declarer's 2 NT rebid showed at least 22 high card points. You have 10 HCP, and dummy has 6. That accounts for 38 points, so partner has at most two points: a queen, or two jacks. If declarer has a full 24, partner doesn't have any face cards at all!

THE PRINCIPLE: When declarer has indicated a specific point-count range, use that information to figure out how many high card points partner can have. Add your point count to dummy's and declarer's; the rest must be in partner's hand. This is commonly referred to as "how much room (for high cards) is there". With at most 2 points, there is no room for a king in partner's hand. You can use the same principle as declarer: if one defender has shown a specific range during the auction, you can similarly estimate the strength in the other defender's hand.

Why continue hearts? Declarer clearly has all the kings. So, leading a spade gives up a trick. If partner has the ♣ Q (there is room in her hand), leading a club will finesse partner's queen rather than making declarer guess how to play the club suit. (If partner has the ♣ Q 10 9, she doesn't need your help.) Underleading your ♦ 10 would give up a diamond trick if declarer originally held ♦ A K J 9. You know that declarer has only two hearts remaining -- the ace and king -- because she denied a four-card heart suit during the auction, and partner denied a heart honor at trick one. So declarer started with the ♥ A K 10; leading a heart is a safe exit, any other suit lead has nothing to gain and might give up a trick. The full hand:

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

BONUS MINUTE: Your best chance to defeat the contract is that either declarer bid 2NT with a singleton ♠ K, or else upgraded a 21-count with only the jack-small of spades (leaving room for partner to hold the king). To take advantage of those possibilities, you'd have to play ♠ A and then ♠ Q; but if you're wrong, declarer makes an extra overtrick. Those are very specific and unlikely cases; at matchpoints it is better to play the percentages and lead a heart. However, playing rubber bridge or IMP scoring you usually ignore overtricks and take the best chance to defeat the contract, however unlikely; here, you might go for broke with the ♠ A Q of spades and let declarer make six this time.

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