In past lessons we've covered Counting Tricks, Counting Trump, and Counting HCPs - but another, often more important area of where counting can be used to improve your game is Counting Shapes.

North's preempt told you she has 7 hearts - if you can you find out what she has in the other suits, you might improve your chances of finding the missing CQ!

Play out your winners in spades and diamonds - diamonds first, then spades, ending in Dummy. You will learn that North started with 3 spades and 2 diamonds, to go with their 7 hearts.

That means North has a singleton club. Play the ♣ A (just in case it's the Q) - when North follows low, you can play a small club towards your hand, and confidently finesse the ♣ Q since you're 100% sure it is located it in South.

New Minor Forcing (NMF) is a convention that is available to the Responder after the bidding goes one of a minor - one of a Major - 1NT (Opener's 2nd bid)

1C-1S-1NT or 1D-1S-1NT or 1C-1H-1NT * or 1D-1H-1NT * 

     * note: some partnerships may agree Responder can skip over a poor 4-card Spade suit and bid 1NT 

With an invitational or better hand, Responder bids 2 of the unbid ("new") minor. This is an artificial bid, saying nothing about the suit. **

     ** NMF is artificial and ALERTABLE by the Opener, and aims to find 4-4 (or 5-3) fits in a Major, stop in a makeable partial, or explore game in NT.

NMF asks 3 questions of the Opener: (1) Do you have 4-cards in the unbid Major?, (2) Do you have 3-card support for my bid Major?, and (3) Do you have a minimum hand, or game interest?

In the lesson hand, Opener (South) would respond 2H "I have a 4-card Heart suit". North then can either bid 3H (inviting game) or bid the 4H game directly. 

Counting Tricks: After examining Dummy and the opening lead, North should recognize that Partner can be given a ruffing trick if they (North) take the CA and immediately return Clubs. North can also see the well-positioned K of trump guarantees the defense a 3rd trick. North sees that after she takes her CA, Dummy's Club suit will provide Declarer with a place to discard any losers she might have - but holding up the CA doesn't improve the picture. Before rushing forward with a half-baked plan, North should consider if there is a way to develop another trick to set Declarer's 4H contract. Should North be satisfied with just 3 tricks? No! Think again!

Counting Trump: North can surmise that South has 3 trump - per the bidding, Declarer showed 5, not 6. This means the club ruff is not going away - North can always stop trump being pulled on the 2nd round and give her Partner South that Club ruff. Might Partner will be able to ruff twice? No, even if I could get in to lead Clubs again (which I can't), Declarer would simply ruff high, draw two rounds of trump ending in the Dummy, and run those Clubs. So still no 4th trick!  Should North be satisfied with just 3 tricks? No! Think again!

Counting HCPs: Using her holdings plus info revealed during the auction, North can determine that her partner has 4 HCPs (plus/minus 1) - South may be holding an honor in another suit for the critical 4th trick! But what honor would gives us that critical 4th trick, and what does North need to do to insure collecting it? If South has the DA or SA, it doesn't matter which suit North leads - South will always get it. Also, if Partner has the DK, it's not likely to take a trick. But if Partner has the SK, then North needs North to lead a Spade thru Declarer's SA BEFORE Declarer can sluff any Spade losers on those Clubs! (LFTP98)

Safely bidding NT slams usually requires 33 or more HCPs - Suit slams can often be bid & made with less (sometimes MUCH less!), especially if there's a good fit with partner's suit distributions. Cue bids are a good way to discover if the partnership has the right cover cards (Aces and Kings in the short suits). 

After finding the bad break on the second round of playing the SA and low to the Dummy, South must come up with a revised plan to get to 12 tricks.

Most obvious is trying a H finesse which is 50-50 (and we can see, loses). Is there a better way, a way that guarantees making 12?

South wants West to lead a Heart into her AQ tenace. West has shown out of Spades; if he was on lead and unable to exit safely in Clubs or Diamonds ...

South begins by running 3 rounds of Clubs (K,J, and then low to the Q, retaining an entry to Dummy), thus eliminating the Defenders Clubs. Note that if Clubs also break badly (with 4 or 5 in the West, so that West retains a safe exit card), South can still fall back to trying the Heart finesse.

Next she takes her 2 remaining Spade winners (tossing the H2 and D4). At this point 8 tricks have been played and West is beginning to feel squeezed - he must protect the both HK and the DQ with his remaining 5 cards.

A diamond lead from Dummy is next. If East plays low, South lets West win this trick with the Q. If East plays the Jack, South wins this trick (A or K) and returns to Dummy to lead another Diamond. If East has and holds onto the Q, South will take finesse and take 3 Diamond tricks. If West has the Q, South's finesse allows West to win this trick. But whether West takes the first or second round of Diamonds, he must lead into either South's Heart tenace or her now-established Diamond tenace!   

South has both Majors. His longer suit is Hearts but bidding those first, then Spades would certainly be misinterpreted by his Partner, both in shape and in HCPs.

After East opens 1D South can use 2D (a Michaels Cue Bid) to show he has 5-5 in the Majors. This is the best description of his hand and enables her partner to show the Spade fit.

Notice that if South enters the auction with a 1H overcall, NS will likely never find their lovely Spade fit, and EW will have an easy time finding and making 12 tricks after bidding 5 (or 6) Clubs (or Diamonds)! 

North must plan his 2nd bid BEFORE he makes his first bid. The Opener has limited ways to show a BIG hand - one way is to use a 2-bid sequence (either by a jump-shift or a reverse).

Here the bidding would/could/should proceed (with EW passing) 1H-1NT; 2S (reverse) -2NT (saying “I see you are 4-5 in the majors with 18+hcps. I cannot support either Major, and I've got minimum responding points"). North will likely bid 3NT and hope her partner has some help in the minors.

The Defenders should be listening to this auction and planning their defense. West begins by thinking “NS limped into a 3NT game; a passive defense will force South (Declarer) to generate his own winners. I heard North show 5H and 4S; we might have enough tricks in the minors to set this contract. But to maximize our tricks in the minors, I want East to lead minors thru South, so I shouldn't lead a minor. South didn’t like either Major; his hcps are likely in the minors. If I lead low from my minors, it may very well give up trick.”

The auction revealed that NS likely have at most 7 Spades and 7 Hearts, giving Partner has 3+ Spades and 3+ Hearts. A Heart lead might help Declarer set up Dummy's 5-card suit, so leading a Spade from the T98 sequence seems least likely to give away a trick.

For his part, South knows neither defender has all 3 missing Aces (neither opened when they had the chance). West is the more dangerous opponent, since he could lead thru the Club Kx; Ideally he wants East to have to lead up to either Hearts or Clubs, giving him a 'free' finesse. Barring that, he wants to be in hand leading toward the strong Dummy. But first he should eliminate any safe passive leads from the defender's hands by running out his 4 spade winners (the opening lead would indicate West did not lead from a 5+card suit). This stops EW from returning the lead to Dummy.

NS will soon take their H winner. If the CA is offside, they will also get 2 Club tricks. West cannot afford a Diamond loser.

With 7 Clubs, the opponents have 6. If they split 3-3 (36% of the time) or 4-2 (an additional 48% of the time), then the long Club suit in Dummy can provide a discard from his hand.

But this means losing two Club tricks and the lead twice before Dummy's Clubs are set up. He must carefully manage entries to Dummy so he can get there to enjoy the discard.

(notice that, although not easy to find, an opening lead of a Diamond by N can hold EW to 9 tricks and set the contract)

W wants to reach at least game in Hearts. A bid of 3H would only be invitational - E might pass.

A bid of 4H here by W should NOT be interpreted by E as a closeout - instead, W is saying "I can see game even if you only have the minimum your bid shows. Do you have more?"

E has much more he hasn't shown yet (an extra Heart, 7 extra HCPs) and most E will explore for slam.

However, those E who pass and play 4H should not abandon all hope. They should realize that if they make 12 tricks (going +2), they can still best any other EW pairs who only take 11 tricks (if they bid slam and go down, or who also stopped at game but only make +1).

Declarer (E) should refocus, and plan to (after carefully drawing trump) discard a Club loser on a third Diamond winner Dummy's DQ.

. 

After E and S pass, W might consider bidding 3C - many partnerships play 3rd seat can open light if non-vul. After all, N is going to have an opening hand, if not more. NS will likely have a partial +110, +140, +170, or might even find game.

If W does come in with a 3C preempt, N doubles for takeout or penalty (partner's choice). With 10 hcps and only 1 defensive trick, S will bid 3S - or she might venture a game try of 4S. N will struggle to avoid a negative score in either contract. 

If W passes, N opens 1NT in 4th seat. NS will find their way to 3NT, even if W tries to interfere later. This should make, since East cannot lead Clubs for West to set the contract after knocking out the CA.

. 

That was a trick question! It's too late! The first thing East & West SHOULD have done was  ... stop and think BEFORE playing out trick one! 

When Dummy is faced on the table, the MAKE A PLAN stage begins, for both sides - the Declarer AND the Defenders. 

As defenders, West and East should be asking themselves questions such as: "What did the auction tell me/us about the suit distribution (shape of the hands)?", "How many HCPs do I think Partner/Declarer hold?", "Where might we get tricks?", "What might my partner have that we need to take tricks in those suits?", and "What can I/we do to get our tricks in each suit?" In this particular hand, looking at Dummy's Heart holding and her own, West should ask herself is "Who has the HQ?" 

West should anticipate that Declarer is likely to lead a Heart towards Dummy. West should be prepared to play low if & when Declarer does so - and to do so smoothly and in tempo. This will leave Declarer to guess whether to play the HJ or HK. Any hesitation by West will give Declarer a strong reason to suspect West has the HA and know to take the HK. If West hops up with the HA, the HK is promoted on which Declarer will later be able to discard his Diamond loser. 

If Declarer has led low away from the HQx, West will eventually capture the HQ with the retained HA on another round of Hearts (there are no winners in Dummy on which Declarer will be able to discard a Heart loser). And if Declarer has a singleton Heart (as here), the Defenders will get the Diamond trick INSTEAD OF the HA, so playing low loses nothing, while giving Declarer a chance to guess wrong (attempting to drive out the HA with the HJ) and give East the HQ.

South needs to get rid of at least one loser to make his game. Declarers can gain tricks by (a) ruffing losers in the short hand, (b) sluffing losers on winners, or (c) as a last resort, finessing. On this layout Dummy can't ruff either minor suit, and Dummy doesn't have any 'extra' winners (the SK has already been accounted for) on which to discard a loser. But there are also no finesses to try - what is South to do?

Winners often have to be ESTABLISHED in long (5+card) side suits. If South ruffs two round of Spades and establish a Spade winner on which he can discard a minor suit loser and make his game - but he must carefully plan and manage entries to Dummy - it is very painful to establish winners only to find out you can't get to them!

Both Declarer and Defenders should always stop and make a plan when Dummy hits the table, before playing any cards!

The Defenders should focus on finding 4 tricks for their side. North's lead promises he has the CQ with his lead. West should take the the first trick with the CA and lead back the suit. This 'surrounds' the CJ and allows North will then win two more Club tricks. After that, South plan is to win a natural trump trick with the HQ and set the contract. However ... 

If the Declarer thinks ahead and plans how to overcome a bad 4-1 trump break using his one entry to the Dummy. He must finesse the HQ, but carefully! He must start with the H9, in order to remain in Dummy for a second finesse of the HQ.

(Also notice he cannot take the HA to test for a 'stiff' HQ in North - that loses to the 4-1 trump break if the Q is in South)

Both Declarer and Defenders should always stop and make a plan when Dummy hits the table, before playing any cards!

The Defenders should focus on finding 4 tricks for their side. North's lead promises he has the CQ with his lead. West should take the the first trick with the HA and lead back the suit. North will then win two more Club tricks by surrounding the CJ. After that, South 'plans' to win a natural trump trick with the HQ and thus set the contract. However ... 

... the Declarer who thinks ahead can overcome the bad 4-1 trump break using his one entry to the Dummy to finesse the HQ, but only if he carefully starts with the H9, and remain in Dummy for a second finesse of the HQ.  Notice he cannot take the HA to test for a stiff HQ in North.

(the answers given here assume the defenders are playing standard signals)

WHAT DOES WEST KNOW?

As West, you  should "know" where is the SK is. Does it seem likely that South has it and let the SQ win? Also, where is the SJ? Declarer must have it. East would have played the J (lower of equals) if he held SQJ. This is yet further proof South doesn't have the SK - with SKJ, he would certainly would have overtaken the SQ! Thus, West "knows" that East started with the SK and SQ. Finally, since South doesn't have 4 cards in Spades (his 2D response to Stayman), West also "knows" East started with at least 3 Spades, so SKQx(x).

WHAT DOES EAST KNOW?

East "knows" South has the SJ (West would have lead top of touching honors). East cannot be sure if her Partner lead from a 4 or 5 card suit. If East started with only 3 Spades, South may have also started with 3. East will switch suits to avoid giving Declarer both the SJ and SA and wait for you to lead a Spade thru the SA. But if East started with 4 Spades (and trusts you always lead your longest suit - at least 4), she "knows" Declarer now holds a bare SJ that can be pinned to the SA by leading her SK. This would set up 2 more potential Spade tricks for your side.

Here's a few more - try to "see" or "hear" what the cards are telling you (again, assume the defenders are using standard signals) before looking at the answers listed further below. 

(the underlined cards have been played to the trick) - what does the first trick reveal to you? and what do you "know" that your partner now "knows"?)

HAND 2          Dummy

Partner            9 7 3               East (You)

K Q T 8                                   4

                      Declarer
                      2

_________________________________

HAND 3  (Played in a suit contract)

                      Dummy

West              J 4 3                East (You)

A K 6 2                                   T

                      Declarer
                      5

_________________________________

On hand 2, East has said she dislikes the lead suit. Best guess is South has ducked. You want Partner to lead this suit thru Declarer's suspected AJ.

On hand 3, partner has signaled encouragement. Take a 2nd trick with the K to see if Partner has a doubleton and give her a ruffing trick. She might have had QTx and get a 3rd trick if it's an 'honest' suit. If not, and Declarer ruffs in the long hand, it's unlikely to give him a extra trick.. 

Like this lesson? See more examples in Larry Cohen's article on Interpreting partner's third-hand play in the October 2024 issue of the ACBL Bulletin - Larry says "Knowing the ins and outs of this topic is at least 10 times more important than learning a new convention"!

With 7 top tricks, you needs to manufacture 2 more tricks to make your contract. After the two honors, those Club pips look terrible. The Diamonds are a much better looking suit - you can create 3 guaranteed winners by forcing out the two missing Diamonds honors. If the DQ is in the West, you have more than enough entries in Dummy to finesse it until it falls to your DK. 

Of course, if the DQ is in East you'll lose the lead, they'll knock out your last Spade stopper, and eventually take the DA, a Club trick, and 3 Spade tricks, setting you -1. That means attacking Diamonds gives you a 50% chance of success.  

Instead, you should start by running the CA & CK! If Clubs are 3-2 split (a 68% chance), you can give up the lead to whichever Defender holds their last Club, setting up 2 lowly Clubs to be your 8th and 9th tricks, making your contract! And if you find the Clubs are 4-1 (or even 5-0), you can still try the deep Diamond finesse. That adds another 16% to your chances for a good outcome, for a total of 84%! 

(If neither works, no one is making 3NT, so it's likely a flat board.)

Take ALL your chances!

North's opener showed 12+ points and 5+ Hearts. South's response, promising 4 Spades and 6+ hcps, was unlimited (an unpassed hand) and therefore forcing. He is the Captain and needs to know more about North's holding.

If West had passed, North would bid 1NT showing a minimum opening point count (12-14) with a balanced or semi-balanced hand, denying support for Spades, denying a sixth Heart.. 

It would be a mistake for North to bid either (a) 2H which shows 6-card suit, or (b) 2S showing 4-card support, or (c) 2NT indicating he has a Diamond stopper and extras values (17+ points). 

But West had a perfect hand for his 2D overcall. His intervention means North is no longer 'forced' to bid since South is guaranteed an opportunity to bid again. North has no additional strength or distribution to show. He should pass.

South can rebid 2S, showing a 5th Spade and 9-11 or 12 points. This allows North to re-evaluate his hand and support Spades if he has 3 cards with some additional values (perhaps a singleton minor)..

NS have good prospects of making 2S or setting to 3D if West persists.

Contracts often make or go down as a result of the opening lead or decisions made by 3rd hand and Declarer on the first trick. This is why both Declarer and Defenders should always stop and make a plan when Dummy hits the table, before playing any cards!

On this hand, the Defenders should focus on finding 4 tricks for their side. East promised he has the HQ with his lead, but when Dummy hit the table he thinks sees that Dummy will trump a 3rd round of Hearts - he doesn't know West can overruff!

West should take the the first trick with the HA and lead back the suit. East will win with the HQ and, 'reading' the signal provided by his partner, lead a 3rd round of Hearts that East can overruff. After that, Declarer must lose a Diamond trick and go down one. 

(side note: an alert Declarer can foil East's plan if he asks himself the reason behind the unusual play and can still make his game with a Loser On Loser play - discarding the D6 from Dummy!)

(the answers given here assume your partnership plays standard signals)

On hand 1, you want partner to continue the suit if he regains the lead. Partner likely has lead from a 3 or 4 card suit. Even if Declarer has the J, it now will fall to your KQ. Signal your attitude ("Partner, I like the suit") with the 6 - it's the highest card you can afford that doesn't risk giving up a trick. Hopefully Partner can figure out your signal (the Dummy has the 8 7, and the 5 4 3 2 are all missing).

Here's a few more: (the underlined cards have been played to the trick and it's your turn)

HAND 2          Dummy

Partner            9 7 6               East (You)

K                                           J 8 2
_________________________________

HAND 3        Dummy

West              7 4 3                East (You)

A                                           K Q 6 2
_________________________________

On hand 2, the lead of the K came from the KQ (and likely the Ten). Tell Partner you have the "touching honor" (the J) by playing the 8. Declarer has one stopper (the Ace) - if he doesn't take it on the first trick, West can now play low to your J, which will either force out the Ace or let you return the 2 towards his K, setting up 3 or 4 tricks his (presumed) long suit.

On hand 3, partner looks to also have the K. You do not want Partner to continue the suit. You want to lead the suit (starting with the J, then then 2) thru Declarer's presumed Q stopper (he bid NT) to allow Partner to trap it. If your partner has the T, this will establish additional tricks in the suit for your side.  If Partner continues with the K, jettison the J under it to unblock the suit - Partner should only continue the suit if he himself has the Q and can run the suit without the help of the finesse!

Like this lesson? See the Suit Combinations Quiz under the Useful Documents section on our Home Page!

South needs to get rid of at least one loser to make his game. Declarers can gain tricks by (a) ruffing losers in the short hand, (b) sluffing losers on winners, or (c) as a last resort, finessing. On this layout Dummy can't ruff either minor suit, and Dummy doesn't have any 'extra' winners (the SK has already been accounted for) on which to discard a loser. But there are also no finesses to try - what is South to do?

Winners often have to be ESTABLISHED in long (5+card) side suits. If South ruffs two round of Spades and establish a Spade winner on which he can discard a minor suit loser and make his game - but he must carefully plan and manage entries to Dummy - it is very painful to establish winners only to find out you can't get to them!

On the third trick, North 'tells' South what suit she wants lead - SIGNALING by a leading a high spade (S9) to indicate she wants a Diamond to be returned. In this layout that might be obvious just by looking at Dummy, but South MIGHT consider how many Clubs she sees and hope Partner is ruffing the first round of Clubs.

Unfortunately for NS, if West carefully manages her entries, she can still make her contract by establishing a Club winner on which to to sluff her DJ loser.

It is more likely that the Hearts will break 4-2, not 3-3. If South plays for the 4-2 break while many simply run the AKQ and find out too late., he should plan on trumping a low Heart in Dummy, making his 4th and 5th Hearts good.  This requires NOT pulling 3 rounds of trump until he uses Dummy's trump. He also should worry that IF the Hearts ARE 4-2, then Dummy could be overtrumped unless he uses the SQ to ruff the 3rd round of Hearts. Only then can he pull any outstanding trumps from the Opponents' hands. This requires Spades to break 3-2, since he will only have 3 top trump left after using the SQ - but the odds greatly favor that (68%) versus Hearts splitting 3-3 (36%). And if the trump are 4-1 (28%), he still ties everyone who found Hearts 4-2 (48%) after pulling trump.

Depending upon partnership agreements, 2NT can be feature asking or Ogust ("Partner, define you hcps and suit strength"). After South answers, North may explore further or stop at game.

Notice that if West guesses correctly and leads a Diamond (being Vul, it's probably too dangerous for East to have made a lead-directing bid), it will be tricky for South to make 6H. He needs to use North's trump to ruff his Diamond losers before he can pull trump and run the long Clubs.

South has 2 Spade losers. How can he get rid of one or both to score valuable additional overtricks? 

Dummy cannot trump Spades, but does have a long club suit - perhaps South can establish Club winners and sluff those ugly Spades. With only the A&K and 6 missing, he will have to ruff at least one, maybe two rounds of Clubs to build the necessary winners. He will also need to get back into Dummy several times (Hint: it's important how many times!) to make this plan work. 

We will leave it to the reader to figure out the best plan.

Actually, regardless of the opening lead, East can take all 13 tricks! 

Here's a clue how: How many losers does East have? How can he/she get rid of the most losers? (look to use a combination of multiple ways!)

Finally, how does that affect his/her plan, especially the order of playing the suits?)

NOTE: when playing 4-4 trump contracts it is often best to trump your losers (or set up your side suit winners) before drawing trump - even if you have all the top trump, like here.

As Captain, South has a choice of which Major to play game. Both easily make game and then some.

If he chooses the 5-3 Spades as trump, NS make an overtrick, but there is no avoiding the loss of 2 Diamond tricks. But if he decides to play in the 4-4 Heart fit and as long as trump don't break 5-0 (a pretty safe bet at matchpoints, since they break 3-2 68% of the time, and the odds of a 4-1 break is 28%), then NS can make 13 tricks!  Do you see how? Do you understand why 4-4 fits are usually your best 8-card fit?

When playing 4-4 fits, count the losers that are each hand and which hand can provide more "Cover Cards" (winners on which the other hand can to sluff losers).

NOTE: when playing 4-4 trump contracts it is often best to trump your losers (or set up your side suit winners) before drawing trump - even if you have all the top trump, like here.

An overcall of 2H is a perfect description of his hand, and it is a serious disruption of the opponents!

East may not risk continuing in the auction, and Many times EW will not even double - neither is strong enough defensively to see setting the contract. It is unlikely NS will go down more than 1 or 2 tricks, and will give up 50 or 100 instead of allowing EW to make 110 or better - or possibly a game. This is how to play for a top board at matchpoint scoring!

NOTE: two-suited bids (Micheals Cue bid and Unusual NT) are ALWAYS based on distribution, not hcps - don't be afraid to use them when the situation is right!

Bid 2NT! this is an Unusual NT bid that tells Partner you've got the two lowest unbid suits, and you want him to bid his best minor!

Yes, Unusual NT is normally a jump to 2NT over a 1-level bid, but in this situation, Partner should recognize YOU ARE NOT INTENDING TO PLAY IN NT!

If you pass, Partner in the balancing seat will have no idea what you have and will most likely pass. They will make 2S and score 110. But if you get to 3 of a minor and go -1 you will only give them 100. Based upon their bidding, neither E nor W has a hand they would judge to assure them of many defensive tricks. It is unlikely they will double you. They will either let you have it for 3C/3D or bid 3S. Either way you're bid achieves something. You might feel this is risky, but it's simply understanding how to win at matchpoint scoring, and playing the odds.

Marty Bergen, one of the greatest bridge players ever, came up with the acronym OBAR BIDS - (Opponents Bid And Raised - Bid In Direct Seat), and his long-time partner Larry Cohen popularized it in his classic book "To Bid Or Not To Bid: The Law of Total Tricks". Here your Partner passed in the Direct Seat, but you can keep the auction alive in balance seat using similar logic. Perhaps we should call this OBAR BIBS?

South must STOP AND THINK, AND MAKE A DEFENSIVE PLAN!

Partner's lead strongly suggests he has the ♣T and either the 9 or 8. (He might have ♣KJT, but that is less likely). If Declarer has the ♣K, taking his Ace without capturing an honor gives Declarer a 2nd Club trick. South MUST duck - his Ace should eventually take the ♣Q and (hopefully) Partner will get the 3rd Club trick. It is pretty much assured that Clubs are splitting 4-3-3-3. but even if Declarer has ♣Kx doubleton, South still gets his Ace.

Eventually, Declarer makes 4H=, but he will make 4H+1 if you jump up on trick 1. This smart defensive play by South is not very difficult to recognize and will be rewarded with an average or better score, losing only to those lucky EW pairs who got to punish a NS pair who dared to continue towards an unmakeable slam.

After Responder has bid 2NT South must Alert this artificial bid. If the Opponents ask, he explains that it shows 12+ HCPs and 4-card support for his bid major.

Opener's second bid helps his partner decide if slam is possible. His top priority is to show a strong (2 of the top 3 honors) second 5-card suit. If he has one, he bids it on the 3 level.

If he does not have that, his next priority is to show a singleton or void, which he shows by bidding it at the 4 level. Not that both of these bids indicate (explicitly or implies) that he has a singleton or void.

Finally, if he has neither, he shows his HCPs - with a minimum opener (12-14) he jumps directly to game (FAST ARRIVAL). With 15-17 he bids 3NT. This is NOT showing interest in playing in NT! It simply informs his partner (the Captain of the auction) of his better-than-minimum HCP strength. If he had a 18-20 point opener, he bids 3 of the agreed upon trump suit (SLOW ARRIVAL).

Jacoby 2NT is a powerful tool for investigating slams, but if your partnership is going use it successfully, you MUST learn these responses!

South needs to and make a plan for the Defense!

Looking at the opening lead from his partner, what is in the Dummy and his own hand, South should 'know' that Declarer (West) has QJx in Spades. North would have lead either the Q or J if he had it. He also sees the ST in Dummy, so he should recognize and trust that East is giving count by leading the S9, his highest Spade - showing an even number - so he only has two Spades. If South takes his A and K immediately, he has no realistic chance of getting back in, and his partner won't have a Spade to lead.

If he stops and thinks, South will realize he must duck the first round, forcing West to use his stopper. When East gets in he will still have one spade left to lead for South to take 5 Spade tricks and set the contract. 

NT play often involves taking your losers early in order to set up your winners. This applies to the Defenders as well as the Declarer!

HCPs and shape are not the only factors you should consider. Information was revealed by the preceding bids made by your partner and the opponents. Every bid - even passes - convey information.  Each time it's your turn to bid, review what's been revealed so far during the auction. Don't forget that vulnerability should also be taken into account.

On this deal, factors you should consider in the West seat:

(1) Vulnerability is favorable - our side can/should bid more aggressively. East and South passed, so neither has opening hcps.

(2) Assuming they have about 15-20 hcps total between them, and adding that to my 8, I KNOW North most likely has an opener.

(3) This hand will not be passed out, but will very likely play in a partial.

(4) the side that opens will most often take the contract.   

(5) I have good Spades- the 'boss' suit - always an advantage in a competitive auction.

(6) If North bids 1NT and becomes declarer, I would like my Partner to lead Spades.

Those are six good reasons to get your side into the auction - either by opening with 1S, or perhaps lying a little with a preemptive 2S bid, which may totally silence North. Depending on what partner holds, you might be make the contract. But even if you go down 1 (-50) or 2 (-100), they were probably going to make 1NT(+80) or 3C (+110).

Declarer always makes a plan (How can I make the contract? Are there possibly overtricks?) But the Defenders must also make a plan (How can we SET this contract?) These competing plans are based on how many tricks are needed to accomplish the competing goals.

After the obvious lead of the ♥A by North, Declarer will take a few seconds to assess the Dummy and make a plan. Both of the defenders (in this case, especially South) must also use this time to make their own plan. South cannot think "I've got one lousy point! Worst hand at the table (again)!" and mindlessly play his cards as if they didn't matter. He must keep his head in the game and do whatever he can to help his side accomplish their goal! As it turns out, he is the most important player at the table!

Here's why:

South can see his partner will most likely be taking the first trick and still be on lead. He needs to send a signal to partner to assist him/her. Usually third hand signals Attitude on Partner's winner, but that is not necessary here - North's lead says has the ♥K, but both N & S can see that Dummy will be trumping any heart continuation. After Attitude, Count is the usual next useful signal. But here Partner doesn't need to know how many hearts there are in South's hand. Again, it is obvious to both Defenders that count is useless info and shouldn't be signaled. Finally, Suit Preference is a useful signal, and the only remaining information South can offer. South should request a lead of the higher of the two remaining suits (not trump, not hearts) by playing his Highest heart (the ♥J) on the opening lead.

If North is looking for his partner's help and figures out the signal, he will lead a ♦ for South to ruff. Contract Down One!

As we said in last week's lesson, contracts often are made or set as a result of the opening lead (bad, good, or lucky). On short, quick auctions that give the defenders little information, the person who is making the opening lead is left to making an 'educated guess.'

Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't - on this deal, a ♥ lead (either 4th best or top of the interior sequence) puts pressure on Declarer. He/she is immediately put to the test - She needs to find a 9th trick somewhere and the HQ may or may not provide it. She also has chances of Clubs or Diamonds splitting 3-3. Will she risk putting up the ♥Q on trick one? 

As this week's lesson title reads: OPENING LEADS ARE IMPORTANT!

Often contracts make or are set because of a (bad, good, or lucky) opening lead. On short, quick auctions that give the defenders little information, the person who is making the opening lead is left to making an 'educated guess.'

He/she will usually fall back to the time-tested guidelines for opening leads - although, of course, there are LOTS of them to chose from! Lead partner's bid suit, lead top of a sequence, lead fourth best from your long suit (as long as it's topped by an honor and not part of a sequence), or lead a singleton in hopes of getting a ruff (in a suit contract), etc., etc. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't - on this deal, top of a sequence (the SJ) is the best (only) way to set the contract.

There are very few words available in the bidding language and you need to make the best use of them when it's your turn to bid. Every time it's your turn to bid you should consider what your bid tells partner, but also what your next bid will be after different possible responses by partner. Have you given him/her the most important information about your hand as you can? Will you be able to clarify, refine or improve your description of your hand with your next bid? 

Consider what happens on this deal if you open 1♥  and partner says 1♠  (showing 6+ hcps and a 4-card suit), what will you bid next? Bid 1NT says "I've got a minimum 12-14 hcps and no fit for you" and partner will likely pass and you'll likely miss a game. Bid 2NT saying "I've got 18-19 hcps" and partner will likely see game points with his minimum and bid you into a game that goes down. You would like to show partner your narrow point range and lack of significant length or shortness, but it's too late - you can't bid "one-and-a-half" NT. You also have problems with finding a second bid if partner responds 1NT. When you bid 1H with the East hand, you know that 1♠  or 1NT are the most likely responses he/she will make.

A 1NT opening bid (or overcall) is the most descriptive bid there is in bridge - it is packed with information. It says "Partner, I've got 15-17 hcps and a balanced hand." In one bid, you've given your partner a very good idea of your strength (16 hcps, + or -1) and shape (no voids, no singletons). It makes his or her job as the Captain much easier than other opening bids which have much wider point ranges and much less description about shape. In addition, Responder has a precise set of tools for describing their hand. In auctions that start with a NT opening bid the opponents are often left with little information about declarer’s hand, and the strong hand will usually become the declarer. 

You may still find a game fit in a major (yours or partner's). In fact, there are several conventions that can be used to look for those fits - but don't rush to add them to your card until you've spent time studying them!  And don't be upset if you get passed out in 1NT - it's often the best place to play. A 1NT contract played well (either making 90/120 or going down 50/100) is frequently a top board, so study and practice playing NT! 

Opening with 1NT also has the additional benefit of forcing your LHO (left hand opponent) to bid on the 2-level if they want to get into the auction - they may very well overbid trying to find a fit and go down, so don't forget to look for an opportunity to double them! 

For all these reasons the modern style is to open 1NT with all the balanced hands that contain 15-17 points – even with a 5-card Major. 1NT should be one of your favorite opening bids!

Modern bidding often includes interference bids and fiercely competitive auctions - less than 30% of auctions are completely one-sided. But those annoying interference bids also provide an opportunity to better describe your hand to your partner. Over the 1S bid by RHO, you now have a new bid (double) that would not be available if they had passed. Here a double by Responder (a.k.a. a Negative Double) can be used to tell partner (1) you do not have support for his/her bid suit and (2) you do not have a stopper in the opponent's bid suit. In addition, AND it normally shows 4 cards in any unbid major. So North can show South exactly 4 cards in Hearts without actually taking the partnership to the 2-level, and reserve the bid of 2H to promise 5+cards in that major. Using these two bids allows you to more accurately describe your hand and helps your partner decide if your side can continue competing in the auction.  

NOTE: If the bidding had gone 1C-1D, North's double should show 4-card length in both Majors. Partners should also discuss and have an agreement on what a 1NT bid means after an overcall.

Use your opponent's overcalls to improve your communication with your partner!

You know your side has game points, and also know you don't have an 8-card fit in either major. You have a balanced 3=2=5=3 with hcps distributed across all the suits, and a stopper in the unbid Majors. As Captain you need to get your side to a 3NT game bid, but who do you want to be Declarer?

If your first bid as Responder is 1D, North may very well become Declarer in NT, and the auction may reveal your side's shortness in the Majors. An opening lead of either Major from East would be dangerous to your stoppers.

If instead you bid NT first and become Declarer, your stoppers will be sitting 4th in the closed hand, and so be in less danger from an opening lead coming from West.

But beware! After a 1C opener, bids of 1NT or 2NT by Responder are NOT forcing - North could pass and you would miss getting to the desired 3NT game. So as Captain, you may want to consider an immediate 3NT bid. This has the added value of getting to game without revealing any additional information about the NS hands, leaving the defenders to guess what suit to attack. 

Sometimes you can take steps to keep the dangerous opponent off lead, even during the auction!

After winning the opening lead South might run his four Diamond winners, hoping to see someone discard Spades. But sooner or later he's got to tackle the Spades. Many sitting South would start by taking the SK (hoping for an unlikely stiff Q) then leading a Spade from the Dummy toward the AJ, hoping to find the SQ in the East. This works when the SQ is in the East, or stiff (a singleton) in the West, but fails if the Q is doubleton in West, as here. 

South can add 8% to his chances of success by leading out the SA, followed a lead to the SK. This line of play will drop the SQ if it is singleton or doubleton in West. But what if the SQ doesn't fall on either of those first 2 Spade tricks, you say? It would appear that South has given up the opportunity to finesse East. Watch what happens when South leads the last Spade from Dummy toward the SJ.

If East rises with the SQ, simply duck and later you will cash the SJ as your 9th trick - you will get back in before EW can set up their Heart winners.

If East plays low, go up with the SJ. If it loses to the SQ from West, then the Spades were 3-3 and you have a 13th Spade as a trick, again before EW can set up their Heart winners.

(note that this line of play works any time East holds the SQ - even if Spades are 3-3, 4-2, 5-1, or 6-0!)

If East shows out (on any of the 3 rounds of Spades), then West has the SQ (and the 4th Spade trick) - you were never going to get a 3rd Spade trick anyway. 

It doesn't seem like a big difference, but when you are missing an honor and the opposition holds 6 cards in that suit, that honor will be a doubleton 16% of the time - and half of those times the finesse loses!

BTW, if one of South's small Spades was instead the Ten, then leading to the SK and taking the finesse is the right way to go! (guaranteed 3 tricks, with a chance for a 4th)

Opening leads are difficult. Opening leads are often critical to defeating a contract. Opening leads are sometimes simply a guess. 

But there are some general guidelines (we've posted them under the Useful Documents section of our website) that the opening leader should follow (or at least consider). One of those guidelines is:

When the opponents wind up playing in their second bid suit, it is often advantageous for the defenders to lead trump.

This is because they often will be in a 4-4 (or possibly a 4-3) trump suit and will need to maximize the number of tricks they take by trumping, ideally by crossruffing. They will NOT want to to spend 2 trump for 1 trick by drawing trump. By leading trump, the defenders can reduce the number of tricks the Declarer can take.

West's best lead is TRUMP. 

North has described his hand and knows nothing about South's holding. South must take the wheel and steer them to the best contract. He cannot allow partner the opportunity to pass before they get there. A forcing bid is necessary - either 4C (if the partnership plays Gerber) or 4NT (but not if they employ Quantitative NT bids - partner will pass with 15 or a bad 16).

Why not simply bidding 6NT? South knows they have 33-35 hcps. The worst case (only 33 hcps) is missing 7 hcps, which might or might not be an Ace and a King. Even then, they might not both be in Diamonds, which is the major concern for South. And even if the opponents have both the DA & DK, It is possible East (who is on lead) may not lead Diamonds. With that many things having to all go wrong, the odds are pretty good that  they will make the small slam!

Before he does anything else ... HE NEEDS TO MAKE A PLAN!

In suit contracts, it's usually best to identify, count, and look for ways to eliminate losers. That means either (a) trumping them in the short trump hand, (b) finessing them passed higher ranking cards, or (c) sluffing them on Dummy's winners. Which (if any) of these are available and which is best to use will vary from hand to hand, so in every hand, you need to Make A Plan! (BTW, this is also good advice for the Defenders!)

In this example, East has 5 losers (1H+2D+2C). So does he have 9 winners or 5 losers? It cannot be both - when the hand is over, there will only be 13 tricks scored, not 14 - looks like it's a race to see who gets there first!

After taking the DK, East recognizes he cannot begin drawing trump on trick 2 - if he let's the opponents get in with the trump Ace, they can immediately take 2D & 2C, totaling 5 tricks and prevent him from getting that all-important overtrick. Dummy's SA & SK look like a good place to use method (c) to discard some losers. But first, let's take this SQ winner and unblock the suit, so that we can dump BOTH of the remaining diamond losers in our hand on those VERY nice spade winners over there ... WAIT A MINUTE ...  HOW DO I GET OVER THERE?    I FORGOT TO PLAN! 

He could have overtaken the SQ with the SA, then tossed one of his diamond losers on the SK. Sure, he wouldn't get TWO discards, but he would have gotten ONE overtrick, and that's enough to score better than anyone who didn't plan, and tie anyone who was as smart as he was.

One in the hand is usually better than two in the bush, but in this case ... One loser sluffed on a dummy winner is better than two winners stranded in Dummy!

Entering the bidding after a 3-level preempt is often fraught with uncertainty. 

North could pass, judging his hand not strong enough (at the 3 level) for a takeout X. After East passes, South (with 19 hcps) doubles to re-open the auction, judging they should be playing, not defending, this hand. After West passes, North bids 5C, showing his 5-card Club suit and enough strength to bid game. (North should not pass to convert South's X to a Penalty - he doesn't have long Hearts) South now knows that slam is definitely possible, but is left to guess what the best contract is. 

Will most of the field settle for game and miss a 6C slam? North may be able to ruff one or both of his Heart losers. Or is 6C doomed, and stopping at 5C correct? Finally, is a 6NT slam going make for top? Does Partner have just one or both (or none!) of the missing Aces? Where are North's promised high cards?

Or North might boldly jump up with a takeout double. South has enough to try for slam by either cue bidding or bidding 4NT as Blackwood (note: no suit, no RKC), and should get to 6NT. Making the slam will then come down to finding the missing club Q. But South shouldn't simply rely on the fact that West's preempt showed 7 hearts (and it's exactly 7, since East followed on the opening HK lead). Yes, that bidding information reveals that East has more vacancies and therefore is "most likely" holding the club Q. But South can make 100% sure of the Q's location using a Discovery Play. By stripping the two remaining side suits and watching West's discards he can 'discover' additional information about the club suit distribution (count) of West's hand. After discovering West's hand was 2=7=2=2 he can confidently run the club Ace and King, knowing he will drop a doubleton Q, wherever it is.

This auction shows some of the considerations and gambles that can be involved in matchpoint play after a preempt by an opponent leaves you very little bidding space.

North opens his 5 card major 1H. East passes and South shows support for his partner's major. West passes and North passes after reevaluating his holdings and not seeing game. East is in the Passout (or Balancing) seat. East must consider the entire auction - NS are not showing any interest in pursuing game, so even though West passed, he must have something. So East 'borrows a King' (3 hcps) from North's hand and decides to keep the auction alive - hoping they can compete and perhaps even 'steal the bid.' For his part, West must recognize that East 'borrowed" the 3 hcps and not be overly aggressive when he gets another chance to bid. West bids 2S expecting his partner has enough support for them to be safe bidding on the two-level, and they likely have "the boss suit" (Spades) over the opponent's Hearts. NS will either leave EW in a comfortable 2S contract or risk going down at 3H - a very likely outcome. This auction show the partnership bidding that allowed EW to get a positive result by competing until NS bid too high. (see the 11/21/23 lesson which also shows a successful Balancing Seat bid).

West opens. North, with opening count, has no bid that describes his hand - he has no suit of his own, and has the wrong shape for a takeout. He must pass and hope his partner can get their partnership into the auction. After East passes, South is in the Passout (or Balancing) seat. After all, East was unable to respond (less than 6 points?) so it's quite possible (even likely) that North has some values but didn't have a reasonable bid. So South 'borrows a King' (3 hcps) from North's hand and decides to keep the auction alive - perhaps they can 'steal the bid.' For his part, North must realize South is 'borrowing" the 3 hcps and not be overly aggressive when he gets another chance to bid. This auction demonstrates how partnership bidding allowed NS to get a positive result by competing until EW bid too high.

Let's play a few tricks and see what happens.

After West leads a Diamond (his partner's bid suit) East takes his A (even if West led the Q) and continues with the DK. South trumps and runs two rounds of trump, discovering the 4-1 split. Not what he expected, but it happens 28% of the time. He switches to driving out the HA in an effort to set up his Heart winners, but West ducks - from South's bidding, he now knows South started with a 5=4=1=3 distribution, so East is sure of getting his A later. West also can deduce East has only 2 Hearts, so on the second round of Hearts he jumps up with the Ace and continues the suit to give East a Heart ruff. East can exit safely with a Spade or the CQ but NOT a Diamond - that would allow Declarer a ruff&sluff. Declarer will eventually lose a Club trick and go down 1.

South can make the contract by ignoring the temptation to trump that second round of Diamonds in the long hand. Instead, he can toss the Club loser from his hand (a loser-on-loser play) and trumping Diamonds in Dummy (the short hand) if they are lead again. This simply converts the sure Club loser to a second Diamond loser, but retains FULL control of the the hand, including the trump suit (even against the unlikely 5-0).

Because a 2NT overcall does not describe South's hand - it says "I have a good 15-18 hcp, balanced hand, with at least 1 Diamond stopper (more likely more than 1)." South is too strong for that bid - if North has as little as 4 or 5 hcps, he would pass and they would miss a game. South must use a forcing bid to force partner to respond and give South another bid. He doesn't have a long suit, so he Doubles for Takeout. That is forcing.  

North must takeout (remove) the double when West passes. North bids 2H, his best (longest) suit. Although South likes Hearts, he cannot determine what is a safe level to be at - North's could have anything from zero to 8 or 9 hcps - and, in fact, North might even have only 3 Hearts if he has a long 4+card Diamond holding but not strong enough to pass and convert the takeout to penalty. He can now bid 2NT to show North he had more than 15-18 ("I couldn't bid a 2NT overcall") and invite North to go to a game IF he has something. Now 2NT means "I've got at least 19-21 - do you/we have enough to bid game?" Unfortunately, North's hand has very little to offer and the contract is likely doomed whether he passes 2NT or goes back to 3H. Perhaps South should have passed 2H and risked missing an easy game?

This demonstrates how you (and your partner) must think about what the bids you make mean and how the meaning of bids can change in the context of the entire auction!

(It also demonstrates how effective preempts can be!)

North decides he should set up a 3rd (or 4th) winner in the club suit while he still has a stopper all the suits. With 1 trick already in the bank, he count his top tricks - 3S+2D+2C tricks, so even if the club finesse fails and he only gets 3C tricks, he's got his contract cold, and an overtrick if the finesse works! His thoughts turn to "I can take the club finesse either way - which way will get me that overtrick?" - what is he missing?

The question North SHOULD be asking himself is: "If the club finesse loses, who's going to be on lead and what will they do?" 

If Declarer can safely lose the club finesse to East. Yes, East can take the HA, but he cannot run the rest of the suit. North will toss the H3 on the Ace and still have the HK stopper. 

But if Declarer takes the club finesse thru East and West wins the CQ, West can lead a heart through North's HK3, allowing East to run four heart tricks to set the contract.

West is the DANGER hand - he can lead the card that sets the contract!

BEWARE THE DANGER HAND! 

This is a bidding lesson - NS continue to Pass. 

As Responder he is the Captain - he must make sure to make forcing bids to get the partnership to the best contract.

Starting with 1S (go slow) which is forcing for 1 round, he assures himself of another bid.

East bids 2D showing his Diamonds.  (East should NOT bid 1NT - that's would be a minimum opener with a balanced 5-3-3-2 hand).

At this point, partnership agreements might come into play.

A 3C bid as Fourth Suit Forcing is used by many pairs as a GAME FORCING convention. The 4SF bid is artificial, saying nothing about the suit bid (although in this case West happened to have the CA). Note that 4SF is RED on your convention card, so it is alertable). A sequence of cue bids showing 1st and second round controls often follows.

If your partnership doesn't play the 4SF convention, a 3C here would still seem to be best, simply as another new suit forcing 1 round. West needs to make another forcing bid - as Captain he cannot let the partnership stop before game, and repeating any previously bid suit (or NT) risks being passed by East. After East further defines his hand (3D, showing 5-5 in the red suits?) West will likely begin investigating slam possibilities using the partnerships agreed upon version of Blackwood.

7NT is makeable, but only thanks to the SJ in East's hand. Without it, an EW pair bidding the grand slam would have to try a (losing) H finesse.

A1: After North opens 1D, East has enough hcps to overcall on the 1-level, but doesn't have a 5-card suit he can bid. He also doesn't have the right shape to make a takeout double (shortness in the bid suit, support for the 3 unbid suits, usually 4-card supports in any unbid major). 

A2: If the NS pair play a 5-card major bidding system, North cannot show his Hearts on his opening bid, so he bid 1D. After his Partner's 1S bid, N should not bid 2H because that would be a reverse, indicating a much stronger hand than he has (at least 16+ hcps). A bid of 2D would show a 6-card Diamond suit. His 1NT bid accurately tells his partner that he has 12-15 hcps and does not have 4-card Spade support.

Good Defenders will recognize the possibility of executing a trump promotion, also known as an "uppercut." West can lead a 3rd Heart even though he knows that South will be trumping AFTER his partner. East should trump with the SJ. He knows his SJ is very unlikely to ever take a Spade trick - it will fall under the one of the higher Spade honors when trump is led. Why use it to force South - if South is overtrumping (he doesn't know for sure) - to use one of those honors to overtrump? It might just 'promote' a trump trick for the defense if his partner has the Qx or Txx in Spades? 

Congratulations to the EW pairs who found this, and consolations to those who did but faced a wily South who (as Andrew showed us) saw how to still made his/her contract by not overruffing, but instead played low from Dummy (preserving the good HQ), then played loser-on-loser, discarding a losing Club from his hand on the delayed establishment of a Heart trick. 

EW must work together and communicate if they hope to thwart Declarer's plan.

Step 1: E & W must both Recognize the long Diamond suit as Declarer's best hope to make his contract

Step 2: When East wins the opening lead (assuming it is ducked in Dummy), he/she must continue Spades to force the removal of the SA - it is the only entry Declarer has to get to Dummy outside the Diamond suit.

Step 3: When Declarer starts playing Diamonds, hoping to drive out the Ace, E&W must communicate WHEN to take the Diamond Ace - East must "give count" by playing the D9 on the first Diamond trick and the D3 on the second Diamond trick. West must look for East's count signal and (trusting his/her partner) hold up until the third lead of Diamonds.

West wants to take his Diamond Ace when South leads his last Diamond. If he take it too soon, South will have a Diamond to lead to Dummy's winners. But if he holds up unnecessarily he will give Declarer an undeserved extra Diamond trick.

Declarer does get 2D tricks to go with his 1S, 3H and 2C tricks, but by using count signals, the defenders can avoid taking the DA too early and letting Declarer get to Dummy's long suit. They eventually got 2S+1D+2C and set the contract 1 trick.

When the first round of Diamonds is played, East must play his D3 to signal an odd count. West should be looking for a count signal to know when it is safe to take his Ace. He should (trusting his partner) take the second round of Diamonds with his Ace, holding South to only one Diamond trick. In this scenario, they set the contract 2 tricks and will likely get a top score.

Note that both defenders should discard their remaining Diamonds at their first opportunity to avoid being end-played (*) into leading to the Dummy's winners.  

(*) end-played (definition): a bridge term meaning to be put on lead and having no safe exit card that doesn't give away a trick.