Listening To The Rabbi

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

West	North	East	You
1 ♠	Pass	Pass	2 ♥
2 ♠	3 ♥	Pass	4 ♥
All pass

East overtook the ♠ K lead with the ♠ A, and returned the ♠ 7 back to West's queen.

West cashed the ♦ A and continued with a low diamond to your king.

You can't afford any more losers. How do you play the heart suit?

With a ten-card suit missing only the king, the textbook play is to finesse the queen for a fifty-fifty chance of success. So, how do you play the heart suit?

ANSWER: Play the ♥ A. Your only hope is that the ♥ K is singleton. Were you listening when East told you that she doesn't have the king of hearts?

Recall that East passed after her partner opened 1 ♠, yet she showed up with the doubleton ♠ A. If she had two or three hearts with the king, surely she would have bid 1 NT with that 7 HCP hand. If East had the singleton ♥ K, she might not have bid 1 NT; but in that case the king will drop anyway. So there is no point in finessing East for the king.

THE PRINCIPLE: When the bidding and the play indicate that a player does not have a particular card, then it must be in her partner's hand.

This deal combines two themes we have seen before:

• Declarer's ARCH: In this case, Review the auction, recalling that East passed her partner's opening bid.
• Room Measurement: Yet East did have the ♠ A and another spade. There is no room (no "point count room") left in her hand for the ♥ K.

West has played the king and queen of spades, and the ace of diamonds. Based on her opening bid, and her rebid across from a passed hand, that is yet another clue that West has the heart king. If West has the guarded king, there is no hope for your contract. Your only chance is to play for the singleton king on your left.

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

BONUS MOMENT: When the king is singleton offside, play the ace. That is known as "The Rabbi's Rule," attributed to a New York City bridge player nicknamed "The Rabbi" who was well-known for (ahem) pontificating on a variety of bridge topics.

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