jettison play & dr. evil

THE JETTISON PLAY & DR. EVIL

High cards often get in the Declarer's way, that is they block the effective play of the hand.A solution to these blocking problems is to throw away high cards. This unblocking coup is known as the Jettison Play. The dictionary defines jettison as to throw something away that is useless or a burden; to discard or cast off as superfluous. If players wish to jettison their partners, they should do so when all play has ceased. To do so during a game or match is disquieting to the other players. (see Playing with Dr.. Evil below )

In the example on the right, the contract is 7 No Trump and the opening lead is the J

. Count winners: 2 Spades, 6 Hearts, 4 Diamonds, and 1 Club; 13 tricks off the top. Enough to make 7 No Trump. But how are they taken? After the winning the first Spade trick the lead is in Dummy. Problem: the Diamond suit blocks. If the suit is played, the A

wins and the rest of the suit is marooned in Dummy. We must find a way to keep the lead in Dummy so the Diamonds can be played. What to do?
The A

wins the first trick. Play the K

and jettison the A

. That is, throw it away on the K

. Now you can play the K

, Q

, J

and 10

, thus making 7 No Trump. When the high card, the A

gets in the way, jettison it.
For the novice player it is counter intuitive to throw away high cards. However, the above example illustrates that frequently this is exactly what must be done.

	NORTH A K 8 7 6 5 K Q J 10 4 3 2
WEST J 10 9 8 3 2 9 8 7 K J 6 5		EAST 7 65 43 2 4 6 5 4 3 Q
	SOUTH Q A KQJ 10 9 A A 10 9 8 7

PLAYING WITH DR. EVIL*
Dr. Evil loved bridge. After conquering the world and killing millions, Bridge was perhaps his greatest passion. But as with a lot of us, he often was at odds with his partner. His solution was simple: under the table he had his jettison button. When his partner made a bad bid or play, Dr. Evil would press the button. The floor behind his partner opened up; and his partner's chair flipped quickly backwoods, jettisoning him down a long tunnel. As he was falling down the tunnel, he could hear Dr.. Evil chanting you stupid idiot, you stupid idiot, you stu. . . .over and over again until SPLASH! The partner hit water and was washed out to sea.
So if you ever have the opportunity to play with Dr. Evil as his partner, try not to make any mistakes. Being a good swimmer is also important.

* Dr. Evil has appeared along with Austin Powers as the leading
protagonist is several films.