How to lead and play : Ely Culbertson's own self-instructor on fundamentals of play - not bidding : for contract bridge, auction bridge

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HOW TO LEA AND, PLAY SELF-INSTRUCTOR — ON

FUNDAMENTALS

FOR CONTRACT FOR AUCTION

OF

PLAY

NOT

BIDDINGS

FOR BEGINNERS FOR EXPERTS

t

m ^sV ^JOCfi

?55""*

^m

>*r -^*''v3'

•

FOR BIDDING SEE CULBERTSOrS

£y

OWN CONTRACT

BIDDINCi

SELF-TEACHER

ELY CULBERTSONi/mse/f WORLD CHAMPION PLAYER AND AUTHORITY HHmH

BRIDGE SCORING CONTRACT LAWS ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL TRICK-SCORE

NOTRUMP

SUITS

« Each If

trick

20

over 6

20

doubled, multiply above values by

V

A

30

30

2.

If

1st,

Eoch

redoubled,

nultiply

trick

2d, 4th, 6th

3d, Sth, 7th

40

30

over 6

above volues by

Game

4.

is

100 points.

HONOR-SCORE Rubber:

If If

won won

in 2 in 3

games games

.

.

unfinished, winner of one premium for moking contract, If

(No

OVERTRICKS Undoubled, each Doubled, each Redoubled, each

gome

.

doubled or redoubl

Not Vulnerable

Vulnerable

Trick Value

Trick Volue

100

200

200 400

one hand

(5

Four trump honors

trump or 4 Aces at notrump) in

one hand

Little Little

Slom. not vulnerable Slom, vulnerable

150

100

500 750 1500

Grand Slam, not vulnerable Grand Slom, vulnerable

'd)

UNDERTRICKS 1st

NotVuln

2250

able

ND

undertrick

increase each subsequent undertrick by

lonor Premiums: All in

Slam

700 500 300

Thus, value of 2nd undertrick

150

3rd undertrick 4th undertrick

200 250

300 400 500

!

Ely Culbertson World's Greatest Player

and Authority Ely Culbertson

is

The immediate and widespread acceptance

whelming majority as the world's lop ranking master player. He was the captain of the American team which won the First Vorld Contract Bridge Championship in

Summer of 1933, in London. His Blue Book and Summary alone have not only sold ten times as much as all other Bridge

the

have broken

all fiction

and non-fiction records of the last two years. Author of several books, a daily syndicated newspaper article op Bridge, a series of movie shorts entitled "My Bridge Experiences," scores of magazine articles, radio talks, lectures, etc., and editor-inchief of The Bridge World Magazine, Ely Culbertson is unquestionably the world's greatest Bridge authority.

of Cul-

Own Contract Bidding Self -Teacher has led

the originator, with

Leads and Plays. The brilliant simplicity of his writings and the logic of his analysis have brought a complex intellectual game into the homes of millions of Americans, As a practical player, he has won more national and international championships and matches of importance than any other great player and is today rated by the over-

togetlier but

Piu'pose of This Self-Instructor

bertson's

the able assistance of his wife, Josephine Caltertson (the greatest woman Bridge player in the world), of the Culbertson (Approach-Forcing) System of Contract bidding and the Culbertson System of

books

The

to thousands of requests for the

teaching manual, based on

and Plays, and

same type of

my Red Book

setting forth in similar

self-

of Leads

form the basic and

principles of the Culbertson System of Leads Plays. It

is

nish, in a

the purpose of this Self-Instructor to fur-

manner which

will

be clearly and readily

understood, the fundamentals of expert card-playing. The student who reads this book will learn the most

important part of intelligent Contract Bridge— what to think about. A multitude of illustrative examples accompany this text. Then he may apply the knowledge he has acquired to the drill which will follow immediately after each lesson, so that he may have practice in correct thinking. Finally, correct answers to all questions are given in the back of this book, so that the reader may always know how much he has learned, and how well he has grasped it.

BOOKS BY Ely Culbertson Contract Bridge Blue Book. Culbertson's Summary of Bids and Responses. Contract Bidding at a Glance. Culbertson's Own Contract Bidding Self-Teacher. You can teach yourself ConBridge bidding. Culbertson's Siunmary of Leads and Plays. (In preparation.) Red Book of Leads and Plays. The Master Work on Expert Card-Playing. Famous Bands of the CulbcrtsonLen2 Match, in collaboration with Josephine Culbertson, T. A. Lightner, Waldemar tract

von Zedtwitz, and others. Contract Bridge for Auction Players. First World Championship — Official Record of 300 Hands.

The

CULBERTSON (Approach-Forcing)

SYSTEM The Culbertson

(Approach • Forcing) System is the standard now used by at least 96 percent of the Bridge players of the world— average, advanced, and expert. If you know the Culbertson System you can play anywhere, with anyone. Learn the system that is universally used— the proof that it is the udnning system!

The Bridge World Magazine Ely Culbertson is editor-in-chief of The Bridge World Magazine, a monthly periodical devoted to Contract Bridge (news, interesting hands, tournament announcements, etc., etc.), $3 yearly A sample copy will be sent on request Write to Bridge World, 570 Lexington Ave, New York,

How It is

more,

to

Teach Yourself

easy to use this Self-Instructor—and, what*a it's

fun! Ecjuip yourself with a sharp pencil

and a copy of

book and you are ready to teach Turn to Lesson I on page 3 —read it through carefully. Be sure you understand every word of it, and try to follow the examples given. As soon as you think you know this lesson, turn to this

yourself Contract Bridge.

the practice drill that follows (in this instance, Drill

No. 1, page 5), and read the brief instructions. Then write on the page, in the spaces provided, the answers to the (juestions.

Wlien you have

finished, check the

correctness of your answers with those given in the

back of the book.

If

you have made any

errors, read

the preceding lesson or lessons again until you thor-

oughly understand your error and have been able to correct it intelligently. Proceed then to the next lesson, and so on through the book. You can progress as rapidly as you wish—but don't try to absorb too much in one sitting

you follow these instructions conscientiously, is no question that this book will teach you the modern theory of cards quickly and well. If

there

;

AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION For too many years

all

exclusively to the bidding.

books and

The play

all

methods in Contract Bridge have been devoted almost

of the cards, relegated to a subordinate position, has remained

unavailable to even the most earnest students, as though

it

were a dark secret which could not

be disclosed.

Such disregard of card playing and undue emphasis upon bidding is inherently illogical, for is nothing more than abstract play, and upon the play depends, in the final analysis, the ultimate result of every deal and every rubber. The play of the cards is the Proving Ground the bidding is only a prediction. The finest of bidding methods must fail when their user, though he has charted his course with beautiful precision, lacks the practical skill to follow it. all

bidding

During the

last ten years

diligently toiled, aided

by

and more

associates

who

are

I

have

among

the greatest Bridge players in the world, to develop the Culbertson System of Leads and Plays until it

might approach perfection in theory and in simplicity of application. My ambition to accomplish this end finds twofold fulfilment in the publication of this volume, which enables the student to acquire the fundamental principles of expert card playing, and in the shortly forthcoming publication of my Red Book of Leads and Plays, which wUl be the master work in which all possible card combinations are treated and

all

STUDY WITH A TEACHER The as

value of this book, clear and complete

it is,

becomes more than doubled when

it

studied in connection with lessons from a good Bridge teacher. Only Culbertson Certified Teachers are authorized and qualified to teach the Culbertson System of Leads and Plays. For the teachers, this volume fills a is

long-felt

need for a text book with which may be taught.

the fundamentals of play

plays are codified and explained.

All success and failure in Bridge is measured by the winning of tricks. In the bidding, we promise to win a certain number of tricks; in the play, we must fulfil this promise. So in this volume the reader is first taught how to vrin tricks with the high cards he holds, and how to establish other cards and win further tricks with them. The mysterious workings of the Time Factor are then described and made easy to understand, so that the reader will learn what cards to develop as tricks, and when to use them. The intricacies of the plays which create and utilize entries (Communication Plays) are explored, and the student learns how to plan and play the hands of Declarer and Dummy ; what to Lead ; the tactics of the Defending team, and the beautifully expressive Partnership Language of signals that they employ ; and finer points of the play, including Card Reading and Safety Plays.

The reader is urged to make the greatest possible use of the Practice Drills which accompany each lesson. It is not enough to believe that you have grasped the principles set forth in the text; you must test yourself and be assured that the underlying motives which make certain leads and plays correct have been sufficiently impressed upon you. If by these tests you find the knowledge you have acquired to be incomplete, you should return to the lesson and study it again, being sure that you understand each lesson before proceeding to the next. Do not try to absorb too much information at one sitting, for it leads to confusion; be patient, and slow, and methodical, and if possible take further instruction from a Certified Teacher for interpretation and guidance in points which you may find difficidt. You will then find yourself on the road to expert ability in the play of the cards. In the preparation of this volume the author received invaluable assistance from his wife, Josephine Culbertson, the world's greatest teacher. Without her aid the scientific arrangement of the material in a form suitable to study by novices would have been impossible, for there is no more difficult problem in teaching than an orderly and graphic presentation of basic facts. To Albert Morehead, Technical Editor of The Bridge World Magazine, the author is equally indebted for untiring cooperation and advice.

:

Lesson

ESTABLISHING WINNING CARDS

I

Only the highest card of its suit will win a trick whenever it is played. Ohviously, only the four Aces are always immediate trick winners. Since the primary piu'pose in Bridge is to win as many tricks as possible, you must learn how to win tricks with cards which were not originally the highest cards of their suits. This may be done in two ways 1.

By

eliminating your opponents' higher ranking cards of a suit until the card you hold

becomes the highest.

By creating a situation whereby a card which is not the highest of its suit will win a trick. opponent holding the highest card fails in his turn to play that card, the next highest card can then take the trick.) 2.

(If the

The maneuvers which develop secondary cards into winners are known as Suit Establishment Plays. Plays to develop winning cards with honors have three forms : Straight Leads, Plays for a Drop, and Finesses.

Straight Leads Every time a card

is played, the- next highest card is promoted one step in rank. "When the Ace played, the King automatically becomes the highest card of that suit. With honors in sequence (KQJ, QJIO, J1098) you simply allow your opponents to win tricks with their high cards until your remaining honors are promoted to top rank. (Cards in sequence are called EQUALS, because they are all of equivalent value.)

of a suit

is

WW

Do not forget that Bridge is a partnership game, and that any trick won by either partner counts for both. Even when a sequence is divided between two partners, the cards are still equals, and the method of play is the same. With these combinations: KQJ Q106 NORTH SOUTH

^ *

NORTH SOUTH

Q65

^ *

:

Lesson

I

When the indication is

A

THE FINESSE

(Continued)

finesse is

that the outstanding

an attempt

to gain a trick

honor is

by

sufficiently guarded, finesse.

utilizing the favorable position of

an

out-

standing honor.

Finessing to Avoid a Cover

A card which is not the highest of its suit hecomes valueless when it is captured (that is, covered) hy a higher card held hy opponents. The type of finesse we shall first consider represents a play to prevent a cover. This can he done when the only adversary holding the higher card which could capture your honor has played to a trick before you are forced to play to that trick. He will have no further opportunity on that trick to play his high card and yoiu- relatively low card can no longer be captured.

A32

A

2, East must choose his play before South. If East plays If North leads the A 6, South's Queen will win the trick. East cannot use his King to capture because no player can play more than once to any trick. It is obvious that the Queen will win when all four hands are exposed, but since in actual play South does King, be merely proceeds on the hope that East not know that East holds the holds this card and that the Queen will win the trick.

A

J 10

:

4kK6

A

A

the it,

A

A

When

AQ

the position of only one outstanding honor must be utilized, the play

is

called a Simple

Finesse. In the above example South gains a trick because East holds the A King. Had West held theV King, he could have captured the Queen with it. The success of a finesse, therefore, depends upon the favorable position of the outstanding honor; but since a Play for a Drop would not have worked in any case, there is no loss when the position of the; opponents' honor is unfavorable, since there could have been no means-of preventing that honor from miming; whereas when the position of the honor is favorable, a trick has been gained.

A

^

A finesse is a maneuver for position. Notice in the above example that if South were forced to play before East, he coidd not prevent East's A King from capturing his A Queen; and the Queen would lose all value. But when the lead is made by North, so that East must play first. South not only prevents the capture of his Queen, but likewise succeeds in creating an enveloping movement by which he can eventually capture

East's King.

Tenaces

A tenace is a combination of two ranking cards of the same suit, once separated in rank.

K

J, Q 10, J 9), when the Since the two cards of a tenace are only once separated in rank (A Q, intermediate card is held by the hand which plays before the hand containing the tenace is forced to play, a successful finesse can be made by playing the lower card of the tenace. This gives both cards of the tenace the function of equals. When the favorable poshion of an outstanding intermediate honor is properly utilized by leading toward the tenace, the opponents' intermediate card is of no value to them, and the hand containing the tenace wins as many tricks as though it held a complete

sequence which included the missing intermediate card. For example

A A973

AQ62

A432

A 654 A Q82

A

AKJIO North leads the A i. East plays the A 2, South plays the A 10- West must now play the A Ace to win the trick, exactly as though South had held K-Q-J and had led one of them.

AK5

A ASS

A J76 A Q

10 9 8

North leads the A 2, East plays the A 6, South plays the A S (an equal of the A 10 and thus equivalent to playing the A 10 from the Q-10 tenace). West must play the King or Ace to win the trick, exactly as thou:;h South bad held Q-J.IO.

[4]

A

K 10 7 5

A J94 A A

2, East plays the 9, finessing for 5, South plays the 10 the 10. Because the position of the his tentransforms is favorable, South ace holding into the equivalent of a

North leads the

A

complete sequence of Q-J-10.

A

:

DriUI

HONOR. TRICK PLAYS

In each of the following examples answer these questions 1.

What

2.

Must the position of any adverse card be favorable?

is

or West) 3.

the greatest

number

of tricks North and South can If so,

win?

what

card,

and who must hold

?

From what hand must the

AKJ

lead be

made— North,

KJIO

South, or eitlier?

AQ6

it

(East

FINESSING

Lesson 11

By a successful finesse you remove one of the

(Continued)

cards which guard the opponents' honor.

Sometimes the outstanding hibnor is sufficiently guarded at the start, but a successful finesse eliminates one of the small carTls. which guard it, and after thef finesse a Play for a Drop can be successful.

AK65 «10 7

North plays the A King, East anci Sonth playing their smallest cards. North now A 5 and East plays the nine. South plays the 4b Knave (there having been in- the East-West hands, it was probable that the Queen headed the threecard suit and was therefore sufficiently guarded). After Sonth's successful finesse, the Queen is alone and will fall when the Ace is led.

leads the

Q93

five

spades

* AJ842 Even if one finesse is not enough, when the lower ranking card of your tenace is accompanied by one or more equals you may continue to finesse until the outstanding honoo is no longer guarded and will drop.

AK4.3

74

North plays the 4t King, East and Sonth playing small cards. North- leads the 4t 3, East plays the eight, and Sonth plays the ten, finessing. However, the Queen accompanied by one guard and will win a trick if the Ace is led. To capture

AQ982 AJ

is still

A

East 8 Queen North must again be on lead to play the 4. Now, when East plays the nine, South's finesse of the Knave eliminates the last guard to the Queen, which will drop when South leads the Ace.

10 5

The Importance of Position Any card which is not the highest of its suit, or part of a complete sequence, when it must be played before an adversary holding a higher card plays.

loses all value

But if the adversary holding the only higher card or cards can be forced to play first, a trick can be won with the secondary card. Finesses which are designed to prevent an honor's being covered are not confined to tenaces. In order to take a trick with any honor which is not the highest card of its suit, you must play to prevent the capture of that honor by forcing the adversary who holds a higher honor to play before you. If North leads the King, East plays small and West wins with his Ace. East's Queen promoted to winning rank, and North does not take a trick. But if South leads. West must choose his play first. If he plays the Ace, North plays the six, and his King is promoted to winning rank. If West plays small. North's King will obviously win the trick. is

A Q7

:

Lesson

:

m

THE DOUBLE FINESSE

In certain cases you will hold two cards which are not the highest of their suit ; and win tricks with them you must prevent the opponents from covering either of them.

in order to

This requires two plays, and the position of both outstanding higher honors must be favorable.

A play to win tricks with two cards which are not high is known as a Double Finesse.

AKJ6

A AQIO

AKJ6

AQ7

A9875

A432

4432 A

A

6. North plays the Sonth leads the 2, West plays the Q 10 serve as 4k 10; this is a play designed to make the equals, as though North held J| .forced East's Ace and the same sitaation would have resulted as in the example above.

A

[8]

Lesson

V

FINESSING

Plays to Force a Cover Until now we have been concerned only with finesses which are designed to prevent an honor's being covered. It has been characteristic of these finesses that by covering an honor the adversaries could promote their intermediate cards to winning rank.

A A65 A

K972

A

J 10 4

If South leads the Queen, West can play the King. North must now play the ^^'^ '" '*"'" ^^^ trick, and East's J-10 will be the highest cards of the suit. If East has the 4^ King, of course. West will play a small card, and if North plays small East will win the trick with his King.

A

A Q83 In this case South must therefore play to prevent the cover of an honor, since by covering his honor the adversaries will estabHsh their own cards as winners on later rounds.

But when you yourself hold the intermediate cards, you have gained a trick when one of your low honors is covered by an adversary's higher honor ; for then it is your cards which are promoted to winning rank. '

A A65

4kK972

4jk

84 3

If South leads the Queen, and West plays the King, North can win with the Ace 4|k Knave (together with the Ten, which is an equal of the Knave) is a winning card; whereas if West plays a small card on South's Queen, North playi small and the Queen wins the trick.

^""^ South's

QJIO In this case, since North and South hold the intermediate cards, it is to their advantage for a lower ranking honor to be covered by an adversary's higher honor; for the adversary's honor can in turn be captured and North and South hold the cards which are promoted by virtue of the play.

DriUni

FINESSING

In order for North and South to 2.

What What

3.

Who

1.

987

card or cards must

mn the greatest possible number of tricks,

EAST hold?

WEST hold? NORTH or SOUTH?

card or cards must

must

lead,

2

J106

3

AQ8

^

Q63

:

ESTABLISHING

Lesson VI

LOW CARDS

Long-suit tricks are developed by simply leading a suit until the opponents have played all their cards (because they must follow suit when able) Whatever card of that suit remains will win a trick (unless it is trumped). Any card over three you hold in a suit is a potential long-suit trick. .

five,

which loses to

Upon

Knave.

regaining the lead, he plays the four, which North's King wins. This process is repeated, the three losing to North's King. West 2 remaining in his hand. now has the When he leads it, it will win a trick.

A

A876S

4k

4;S2

109

AQJl

AQJ

Observe that in this example North and South have the same four high cards. But West has five spades instead

In this eifample, West has seren spades. When he has led' spades tirice, all the cards held by the opponents will have been played. West will have five

*QJ7 West leads the South's

A 10 9

A6S432

A1098

A5432

4AK

AAK7

4kAK6

of four, as in the preceding example. After the spade suit has been led three times. West has two email cards remaining which are winning tricks.

long-suit tricks remaining in his band. Notice that North and Sonth still bold

the four highest spades.

Most long suits combine the rank and mass elements. A suit such an A K 4 3^ 2 contains both honor and long-suit tricks. The Ace and King will win two tricks because of their rank. Later, the 3 and 2 may win two more tricks because of the length of the suit.

1 I

J

First make the correct play to develop what tricks you can with honors (Lessons I to V) While you are developing honor-tricks, you are at the same time eliminating from the opponents' hands the cards which would prevent your small cards from being long-suit tricks. When your honor-tricks are won, proceed to develop long-suit tricks. '

.

4AKQ32

3

AKQJ

AQJIO

4kJ109

I^AE432

4kSl

4k6S

4^A5432

4k76

A876

4987

A 10 9 8

The Ace, King and Queen, all being equivalent to the Ace, are immediata winners. When they have been led the 3 and 4k 2 in West's hand are'automatically established as long-auit

West leads the Ace and King. He ha^ now taken his honor-tricks, but his long-

West has only one honor-trick—the plays. He must now concede two tricks to North and South (by leading low cards) in order to establish the last two low spades in his hand at

tricks.

spades from North and South. The three and two are now established long.

A

suit tricks are not yet established. So be leads a small spade, conceding a trick but exhausting all the remaining

Ace— which he

trick winners.

snit tricks. '

While in all the foregoing examples there has been an even division of the outstanding cards,' do not forget that in many cases this is not so. For this reason, a four-card suit will develop a

long-suit trick only when neither adversary holds as many as four cards in that suit ; a five-card suit will develop two long-suit tricks if neither adversary holds more than three cards ; but only one long suit trick if an adversary holds four cards of the suit, and if an adversary should also ^hold a five-card suit, none. ,

WW In developing be

long-suit tricks, always

assume that the division of outstanding cards between the advcv*

saries will

Number of Cards :

Probable DivUion: l-I 2-1

2-2 or 3-1 3-2 4-2 4-3

A432 VQ109

Xk32

The greatest aid in determining distribution the Culbertson Law of Symmetry, This theory, as used by the champion players, is explained and made easy to understand in the Red Book of Leads and Plays, by Ely Culbertson— the master work on expert card-playing,

is

^

LONCsurr tricks

DriUIV A

In the following examples, answer these questions:

What

is

the

maxinnim number

of tricks North and South can estabhah (the distrihntion oi the

opponents' cards being as even as possible)

What

is

the

minimum

?

nimiber of tricks North and South can eatablish (with the most uiifarorahl*

division of the opponents' cards) ?

1

MAJUMUU

42

MINIMUM

AKQ2

AK653 4

732

MAXIMUM

AKQ

MAXIMUM

AKQ32

A Q 10 8 4 7

864

5

97643

MAXIMUM

MAXIMUM

MINIMUM

65432 10 QJ106

432

108 52 MAXIMUM

n

KJ

10

65

432

MAXIMUM

64

:

RUFFING -TRICKS

Lesson VII

follow suit, lie must do so ; but when his hand does not contain a card any one of the other three suits. If he plays a card of the trump suit, he of the suit led, he may play will win the trick even from the Ace of the suit led. The only card which will win from a trump is a

When a player is able to

higher trump.

Rujffers

An otherwise worthless trump card which will win a trick by ruffing is known as A432

A432

North

North

South

South

4kKQJ1065

AAKTeS

a

RUFFER.

4432 North

•

South

A1098765

In these three examples, spades are the trump suit. Observe that South, in each instance, can develop winning honorBut while South is making the plays which are necessary to establish his winning cards, North must follow suit until he has no trump card left. But if any card were led to which North could not follow suit, he could play one of his small, othenvise worthless trumps, and win the trick; and this would in no way inter jere with South's later developing his long-suit or honor cards.

tricks or long-suit tricks.

9^ In order to establish the greatest number of winning cards, always seek to utilize any ruffers in one

hand of the partnership before making the plays necessary

tricks in the other hand.

«09 % *

8 76 10 9 8 7 6

10 8

"fA

KQ87

53

4kJ543

North

Observe the following example

to establish honor- or long-suit

DriUV

A

WINTMNG TRICKS WITH RUFFERS

How many RUFFERS

has each player:

(Do not forget a Ruffer is an otherwise worthless trump) Example

Example

1

With Spades Trump

2

Example

3

A95

¥K75

a.

North

b.

East

AJ

10 8

* 732

2.

c.

South

d.

West

With Hearts Trump a.

North

b. East 4k

3.

c.

South

d.

West

North

b.

East

c.

South

d.

West

10

763

«9

.

.

.

.

AQ102 ¥ Q9875

With Cluhs Trump a.

North

b. East

B

7

With Diamonds Trump a.

4.

1098

¥ KQJ

c.

South

d.

West

.

.

.

.

10

AK73

:

Lesson

THE TIME FACTOR

VIQ

An analysis

of the methods of developing winning cards shows that it is possible in any deal more potential trick winners— three tricks may conceivably be won in each* suit by the Ace, King and Queen, in addition to at least one long suit trick. But there are only 13 tricks altogether, so some of these potential wnners can never be used. From this truth we derive the following general principle to develop 16 or

WtT" As a rule, you must seek tQ establisli establish and win theirs.

and win your

tricks before the

4^5

You can neither lead a winning card nor make a play to establish a

winning card except when

it is

6

your turn

to lead.

therefore a time

unit, or

is

Each opportunity to lead is Tempo. Even when you hold an Ace, which an immediate winner, you cannot take a trick with unless you have the right to play or lead it.

it

QJIO

opponents can

Drm

CONSTRUCTIVE PLAYS TO CONSERVE STOPPERS

VI

A. In the following examples the contract is notrump, and South (a) What suit should South lead first? (b) What suit should South particularly avoid leading?

K942

A ¥

¥AQ6

¥864 A753 8432

4K4

4k

QJ1053

AKQ7

"V

J74

¥ Q94

¥ Q10 9

(Declarer)

(Declarer)

K94

K3 AJ65

A3

AKJ

109

65

(a)

South should lead

(a)

South should lead

South avoids leading-

(b) South avoids leading-

(b)

South avoids leading-

(Dnmmy)

J 10

-VQ86

7

87

K65

--

-»KJ3

QJ9

93

852 52

AQ9 --

10 5 3 (Declarer)

(a)

(a)

(b)

(b)

Q43

this suit (at notrtunp)

7

-¥43 A63

(Declarer)

West leads

¥ J85 K74 K4

¥ KIO 852

432

4^Q4

If

South's turn to lead.

¥ A74 QJ109

¥A7

*--

is

(Dmnmy)'

4k43

5

7

South should lead

B. In the following examples spades are trimip, with South as Declarer. It (a) Should South finesse to win an extra trick in diamonds? (b) What suit should South lead to gain entry to the North hand? (Remember that South cannot see the hands of East and West.)

C

Dummy)

A A3

«K93

(Declarer)

(b)

(

10 9 J 10 5 3 2 J

A6

542

*10 7 5

(a)

Declarer.

(Dummy)

(Dummy)

1

is

J4

how many

stoppers have North and South?

8

9843

9

J^

TIME VALUATION

Lesson IX

The play of almost any hand involves developing winning cards, which means of the Suit Establishment Plays explained in the first seven lessons. It is

will

obviously futile to develop winning cards

never again have the lead (see the

first

if,

after those cards have

is

accomplished hy

been

established,

you

example on page 14),

Since ahnost any Suit Establishment Play requires that the opponents Le allowed to win tricks (because the opponents will usually have one or more stoppers ia the suit you are seeking to estabhsh), before attempting any Suit Estabhshment Play it is imperative that you count up all the niunber of times you must lose the lead in developing your winners, and then count the of stoppers (tempos) you have. If you have not enough tempos to make the niunber of plays necessary to estabhsh your winners in the suit you are considering and then regain the lead to win tricks with the cards you have established, you must abandon that suit and find another

number

suit

which it is possible

to establish,

even though the number of potential tricks be smaller.

This is Time Valuation—a precise count of the number of times the lead must be and then regained. 4k

K 10 94

The contract is three notrnmp, and West leads. Although West's longest suit diamonds, and he can therefore develop more long-suit tricks in that suit than first apply Time Valuation to determine whether or not it will be of any value to him to develop these tricks. By counting the tempos, West discovers that if South has two stoppers it will not help him to establish three tricks in diamonds, for he will never be able to regain the lead to use them. His

5^942

is

in any other, he should

74

0754 J3

4jk

fi„^

I

'VKQJ6

^

^K 10 863

a

JltA6

A Q765 Vl0 853

j52

" Sonth

4)k

I

S

I

lost

I

is as follows: His opening lead is one tempo; he leads a diamond and Ace. South uses one of his stoppers. West gains another tempo when he wins the He leads a second round of diamonds, removing South's last stopper. Now West gain lead with one of his before he can the established diamonds, but has three high hearts. North and South will have won nine triclss and their contract will be made.

counting

^83

A82

VA 7

a

Q9 4bKJ1092

For this reason West must abandon the diamond suit and seek a more favoralile means of developing tricks. The beart suit can be established with the loss of only one tempo, so when West regains the lead with his tj^ Ace his hearts will be high and he can win tricks with them. Later, Sonth will be forced to relinquisli the lead at least once in order to set a ninth trick; and whatever trick he gives up to East and West will furnish them with the setting opening lead, therefore, is the rKing.

np

trick. West's

proper

Timing a Notrump Hand This process of counting the winning and losing tempos becomes invaluable to the Declarer

when

deciding what suit to set up at a notrump contract

In applying Time Valuation to a notrump hand, the Declarer must not forget the overflow of potential tricks.

When the

contract

is

three notrump, the Declarer must win nine tricks. It does

not help him, however, to establish his full quota of nine trick-winners

if

the opponents can

first

take five tricks, for there will then remain only eight opportunities to win tricks, and two of his potential winners

must

at

some time

fall

on each

other, one thus being valueless.

The Time Valuation of a notrump hand must determine not only the number of tempos which must be relinquished to the opponents in the process of establishing tricks, but also how many tricks this niunber of tempos will allow the opponents to mn. Since the opponents will almost invariably attempt to develop the small cards of their longest suit

when they defend

a notriunp contract,

quota of winning cards before your

last

you must

seek,

when

possible, to establish

stopper in the adversaries' suit

(Lesson IX continued on next oaee)

[16]

is

gone.

your

full

Lesson IX (Continued)

COUNTING THE TEMPOS

When choosing which suit to establish at notrump contracts, the Declarer should methodically count the number of times he must relinquish the lead, and the number of tricks he will lose before his suit

is

established.

A63

^ QIO I KJ10874 «K74 J9752

Lesson

X

COMMUNICATION PLAYS (ENTRIES)

During the play of every hand, each partnership usually has several tempos, or opportunities to lead to the next trick.

gi^

It has been shown that high cards are increased in value when the suit is led up to them. Very often one player has more cause to desire the lead than his partner— so that he can lead up to his partner's high cards, or perhaps so that he caa cash a winning card. Both members of a partnership should therefore try to allow each tempo to fall to the partner who can make the best use of it. Any means of obtaining the. right to lead is an entry. Since the player who wns each trick has the right to lead to the next trick, any card which wins a trick is an entry-card.

Plays to Create Entries In planning Suit Establishment Plays, it is necessary to count the number of entries each hand and then maneuver to provide that hand with the necessary entry-cards.

will require,

South has the lead there are no trumps. North and South can take every trick if King is favorable. But for all three of East's guards to be elimithe position of the nated, three finesses must be taken. This means that North must lead three times— in other words, North needs three entries. South leads the 5f King. Since neither East nor 'Vyest could play a higher card than the King, it would win the trick; but North must overtake with the Ace. Korth leads the 2 and South wins with the 3, East plays the 10. Now South playe the Knave— another card which is high enough to win a trick. But since North needs this entry also, he plays the Queen— playing a card higher than South's card so he can win the trick and be on lead for another finesse in spades. After the second spade finesse, South can lead the 9, and North wins the trick with the^ 10. The third spade lead from the North hand removes the last guard from East's King. North and South win every trick. Had North not held three entries. East must have won a trick with his King. ;

4*7643

A

V AQIO

•

^

^

A

V

V

V

VKJ9

A

A

In cashing winning cards, it is often possible for either partner to play the higher card and thus win the trick. Sometimes careless play wUl result in one partner's winning a trick with his last remaining card of an established suit. His partner may have one or more long-suit tricks remaining in that suit, but no entry-card ; and the tricks will go to waste, for a long-suit winner must be led to have any value. This situation is known as blocking.

Unblocking Plays To avoid blocking, always be careful that the player holding the greater number of cards in a long suit holds the highest-ranking long-suit cards. This is accomplished by one partner's UNBLOCKING (throwing relatively high cards on his partner's higher cards).

Using Every Possible Entry South 38 declarer at a three notrump contract. He can win four tricks in spades, hearts and diamonds; he needs five more tricks in clubs. He plays the Ace, King and Queen of clubs from North's hand; on these cards South must discard the ^ 10 9 8, saving the Jft 2. On the third lead of clubs the Knave falls; North's i^ 4 3 are now winners. Since South has retained the 4> 2, North can lead the Jft 4 and win the trick, retaining the lead to cash th3 Jfi 3 for the ninth trick. Had South played the t)^ 2 on one of the three high clubs, he would now have the ten, nine or eight; he would be forced to win the fourth dub lead and North could never regain the lead to cash

hh last winning

club.

Here an entry must be created in the North hand, and then South must unblock to create more entries for North. The contract is three notrump. West leads the 9 with 8, South wins East's the if Ace. South plays the Ace-King. He can now establish a 4K543 462 long-suit trick by leading another diamond. ••KQ109 At this point, since both hands of the partnership have long AQ107 cards in diamonds. South must study the situation ar.d create an 4^7653 entry for the hcr.d which can use ii to the best advantage. AA.T10 8 North in this case needs an entry so t!int ha can lead toward A53 South's spade tenace. So South plays the ^ 8. West wins the * AK82 Queen, and leads a heart. East winning Lis three heart tricks, ^AlO ow East leads a club. South wins the Jft Ace and l-:ads the ft 2; North's * 6, being higher, is an entry. North now leads the 6, North mSs with the 4^ 4 and East plays the 4> King.

A

Driu xxvn 1

(Dummy)

42

m A864 4 J65

A 10 9 8

Opening Lead

AKJ5 A

10 7 2

KQJ74 (Declarer)

MAKING UP YOUR PLAN

lesson XXXn

PLAYING A NOTRUMP HAND

consideration in planning your play of a notrump contract is the number of tricks Your you need to make your contract ; but until you have found a means of developing them you must carefidly consider all the Suit Establishment, Entry-Creating, and Entry-Killing plays you have learned; and you must always make use of your knowledge of card reading. first

In most cases follow these steps in planning a notrump hand: 1.

(Dummy)

Look

at the card led:

determine the nature of the

and the probable distribution of

4kKJ6

leader's holding in that suit

VAJ964

the suit in the opponents' hands.

92

* J73

2. Count your sure winning tricks (high cards which do not require any preliminary Suit Establishment plays).

What is the contract? Determine first how many addiwinning tricks you must establish; and then how many you can afford to lose.

3.

tional

AA

10 7

tricks

VQIO A64 * K 10 942

South is Declarer; the contract is three notrump. West's Opening lead is the 5. South first notices that the lead is probably the fourthhighest of a suit of not more than five cards in length (since the 4 and ^ 2 can be seen in South's hand and Dummy) South then counts his sure winners: one diamond, two spades and one heait. South must establish

^

(Declarer)

Contract, Three

.

Notrump

five

Starting with the suit led, count

more winners

to

make

his contract.

how many

additional tricks can be established in each suit. South can develop four tricks in hearts if a finesse for the V King wins, and three if the finesse loses ; four tricks in clubs if East holds the Queen; one extra trick in spades if a finesse for the