| card combinations standard / standard 2 / lack of entries / restricted choice |
|||
| standard combos 1 | |||
|
|
sandwich NORTH Q J 10 SOUTH A 7
4
|
A finesse is winning a trick with
a card lower than the one held by
your opponent. North
plays a card and
if East has the King it is sandwiched between North's honor and the
ace. If East does not cover, serve another slice of bread by playing
another high card from North. The King is trapped. |
|
| choiceless NORTH 7 3 SOUTH A Q |
Declarer has no choice; he must
lead from the North hand and try to win with the Queen: play small if
East plays small; win with the Ace if East plays the King. Playing the
Ace will drop the King if East with 8 cards suit opens sat the 4 level
and West has the singleton King. Could happen. |
||
| no, no NORTH Q 4 SOUTH A 7 2 |
Playing
the Queen from the North hand will always lose; assuming defenders
defend. If East has the king she will cover the Queen. You will win the
ace but lose to the Jack and 10. Take the real finesse by playing a
small card from South; if West has the King your Queen will be a winner. |
||
| maybe NORTH Q J 4 SOUTH A 7 5 2 |
You
always have 2 tricks, but how can you make 3 without a 3/3 split? East
will not cover the King when you play the Queen, but will cover when
the Jack is played. With the odds on 4/2 split you will only win 2
tricks. Instead play a small card from South; if West has the King you
will make 3 tricks. |
||
| winner take all NORTH J 8 4 SOUTH A Q 10 2 |
You
always have 2 tricks, but how can you make 3 without a 3/3 split? East
will not cover the King when you play the Queen, but will cover when
the Jack is played. With the odds on 4/2 split you will only win 2
tricks. Instead play a small card from South; if West has the King you
will make 3 tricks. |
||
| 3 or 4 tricks NORTH A Q 6 4 SOUTH J 7 5 2 |
You
will always make 3 tricks if the suit splits 3/2. To make 3 tricks,
play the Ace (in case the King is singleton), then small to the Jack.
Only way to make 4 tricks is if West has King doubleton. Lead a small
card from South, play the Queen then bang down the Ace and catch the
West's King. |
||
| standard combos 2 | |||
| with
6 - finesse jack NORTH A Q 10 4 SOUTH K3 |
Odds are when opponents have 7 cards, the suit will split 4/3 with the 4 card hand having the Jack. Cash the King then finesse the 10. Odds favor West having 4 or 3 cards and the Jack rather than East with 3 cards and the Jack. East will always win with 4 to the Jack whether you finesse or drop. | ||
| with 7 - drop jack NORTH A Q 10 2 SOUTH K 6 3 |
Odds favor a 2/4 split when opponents have 6 cards in the suit. Though the Jack favors to be in the hand with 4 cards, there is the chance of a 3/3 split and the Jack will drop. So cash Ace and King. If the Jack does not appear the odds favor East with the Jack. So play the Queen from the North hand. | ||
| making 5
tricks NORTH K J 3 SOUTH A 10 8 6 4 |
8 ever, 9 ever says take the finesse with 8. But which way? In this 2 way finesse the best way to make 5 tricks is to play East for the Queen. Then you are in a position to finesse twice if East has 4 cards in the suit. West with 4 to the Queen will always win a trick even after the King-Jack finesse. | ||
| no safety
play NORTH 7 4 SOUTH A K J 10 5 2 |
Do
you first play the Ace (or King) in case there is singleton Queen
floating around? No! If you did you would not be able to pick up the
lady if East started with 4 to the Queen, which requires finessing
twice. The chances are that there is 4 to the Queen on your right than
a lone queen on your left. |
||
| making 3 tricks NORTH Q J 7 4 SOUTH K 6 2 |
You
make 3 tricks with a 3/3 split. But if with the odds on 2/4 split you
were to lead to the King and lost to West's Ace, you might only make 2
tricks. Lead from South toward the Queen-Jack. If you win return to the
South h and lead another low card toward the Jack, making 3 tricks if
West has Ace doubleton. |
||
| losing 1
trick NORTH K 7 6 4 SOUTH Q 8 5 2 |
3 tricks with a 2/3 split. Let's say you decide that West has the Ace. Lead a small card from South to the King. If you guessed correctly the King will win. Now lead a small card from the North hand and play small from South. If West started with a doubleton Ace he has to win. You will make 3 tricks | |
|
| lacking entries | |||
| finesse 2
times NORTH J 6 4 SOUTH A Q 10 |
You are in the entryless North
hand for the last time. If East has the King it is quite finessable.
But suppose East has 3 or more cards. How to finesse twice? Simple
solution to a complex problem: lead the Jack and play the 10 from
South. If it wins play the 4 (finesse #2) to the A / Q; making 3 tricks. |
||
| finesse 3
times NORTH J 9 4 SOUTH A Q 10 2 |
You win 4 tricks when East has
the King. But you are in the North hand (no enties) and might have to
finesse 3 times. If you play the Jack and wins the first finesse, the
second finesse will give the South the lead. Start with the 9, then the
Jack and finally the 4 to the A / Q. Result: 3 finesses make 4 tricks. |
||
| unblock for
position NORTH A K 9 4 3 SOUTH Q 10 6 |
Can you make 5 tricks with an
entryless North hand? East with J x x x will always make a trick.
To guard against West with J x x x, play the 10 under the Ace then the 3 to the Queen. If East shows out take the known finesse to the King / 9. By leading the 6 to the King / 9 the lead is in the North. |
||
| can't win
finesse NORTH J 10 9 8 7 SOUTH A K 4 |
The lead is in the North hand (no
entries). By taking the finesse, lead the Jack and let it ride, the
suit will block and be untouchable. The only way to make 5 tricks is to
violate the 8 ever, 9 never rule and play for the queen to drop. When
it does play the 4 to the North hand for the rest of the tricks. |
||
| hit singleton
honor NORTH 6 5 2 SOUTH Q J 8 7 4 3 |
With an entryless North
there are 3 losers if East or West have the A K 10 or A K
9. There will also be 3 losers if one defender has a singelton Ace or
King and the Queen or Jack is played first from South. So play low and
if a lone honor is hit there will only be one more loser for a total of
two. |
||
| capture the
lady NORTH J 8 5 2 SOUTH K 10 9 4 3 |
Desperate situations require
desperate actions. With no entry to North, you can't finesse East for
the Queen by leading a low card to the King / 10. The only way to lose
1 trick is capture a stiff Queen. So bang down the King. If the Queen
doesn't fall, bad bridge karma. But if it does. . . Wow! |
||
| restricted choice | |||
| The choices in life are: do something, do nothing or eat. What about going to the movies? Or is that doing something? Bridge players have to make choices. A good player - one with a beating heart and more than a semi functioning brain - will make the right choice most of the time. | |||
| 1. double hook NORTH A J 10 SOUTH 9 8 7 |
If
in example 1 (double hook) on
the left South leads the 7 to the 10 and East wins with the Queen, does
he also have the King? Normally in this situation there are 3 out of
the 4 possibilities that would win 2 tricks: West with the King; West
with the Queen; or West with both honors. 75% of the time South will
win 2 tricks by playing for the honors (King and Queen) to be split
between East and West. But South has a choice and could apply the
Principle of Restricted Choice: the opponent who plays one of two
missing equivalent cards is less likely to have the other. |
||
| 2. had no choice NORTH K 10 9 SOUTH 5 4 3 |
In example 2 (had no choice) South plays small to
the 9 and East wins with the Jack. How does South later play to the
King / 10? Finesse the 10 or assume East for stiff Queen / Jack play
the King for the drop? Restricted Choice says that East is likely to
only have the Jack, therefore on the second lead finesse the 10.
|
||
| 3. false card NORTH Q 4 SOUTH A K 9 6 5 |
In example 3 (false card) play small to the Queen
and back to the 9. But suppose West plays the Jack when you play small
to the Queen. Restricted Choice principle says East has the 10 so play
small to the 9 on the way back to the South hand. Before you do
consider how well you know fish. Is West a shark? Will he false card
with J 10 2 by dropping the Jack when the suit is lead? |
||
| 4. watch east NORTH A Q 9 8 SOUTH K 6 5 |
In example 4 (watch east) play the Ace then the
King. If East does not drop the Jack or the 10, then play the Queen for
the 3 - 3 split. But if East does drop one of the honors then institute
the Restricted Choice principle and finesse
West (play small to the King / 9) for the other honor. If it loses then
pay off to East's briliant false card. |