Planning The Play Tutorial -------------------------- In this tutorial, I will discuss guidelines for planning the play as declarer. I will focus on NT contracts. In a subsequent tutorial, I will discuss the additional considerations when playing a trump contract. The most important habit to develop is, once the opening lead is made and dummy is tabled, STOP; do not play to the first trick until you have formulated a complete plan on how you will play the hand. Don't just think about the suit that was lead; think about how you are going to play all 4 suits. Here is a method you can use to formulate a plan: 1) For all 4 suits, calculate how many winners and how many losers you expect. Use the principles we developed in the last lesson on suit combinations. 2) Calculate how many times you can lose the lead and still make the contract. You need to take into account that if you lose the lead too many times, defenders will be able to cash low cards in their long suit and defeat the contract before you are able to cash your winners. 3) Formulate a plan whereby you lose the lead no more than the number you calculated and are still able to establish enough winners to make the contract. 4) Make sure that once you establish your winners, you still have at least one entry that allows you to cash the winners. Here are some basic declarer play techniques you can use: 1) Lose the tricks you need to as early as possible, while you still have high cards in the opponent's long suits. 2) For a particular suit, first cash the honors in the hand with the lesser number of cards. This prevents the suit from "blocking". For example, if you have KQx opposite Axxxx, you should cash the KQ first. If you cash the A first, you will have to waste an entry in order to cash the 2 low cards you established once the AKQ are played. 3) Try to keep the dangerous opponent out of the lead. For example, if you hold Kx in our hand and xxx in dummy, try to keep your right hand opponent (RHO) out of the lead. If RHO gets in, leads the suit, and LHO has the Ace, you could likely lose as many as 5 tricks. However, if LHO gets in, if he leads the suit, your K is guaranteed to take a trick before the opponents can establish the suit. 4) Use the hold-up play to disrupt communications between defenders. For example, if the opening lead is an unbid suit in which your have Axx in your hand opposite xx in dummy, do not take your A until the 3rd round of the suit. Your LHO is more likely to be longer in that suit (for example, LHO has 5 cards and RHO has 3 cards). Therefore, if you only lose tricks to RHO, the opponents will not be able to cash the 2 low cards they have established. Here is an example hand: (Dummmy) Kxx Axxx AKx AKxx (You) Ax Qxx Jxxxx xxx The contract is 3NT and the opening lead is a low spade. Using the method described above, you should plan the play as follows: 1) Counting the number of winners and losers in each suit: S - 2 winners H - 1 sure winner; 2 winners half the time after losing the lead once. (3 winners are possible but unlikely). D - 2 sure winners. 4 winners after losing the lead once. C - 2 sure winners. 3 winners if the suit breaks 3-3 (1/3 chance) after losing the lead once. 2) The opponents may be able to take 3 spades once the A and K are out. Since you can only afford to lose 4 tricks, you can only safely lose the lead once. 3) If you lose the lead once to establish diamonds, you will have 9 sure tricks (2S + 1H + 4D + 2C). 4) You must keep the Ace of spades until you establish diamonds. Therefore, you must win the spade K at trick one, then play the AK and another diamond. (An example of why you must STOP and think before playing to trick one.) Quiz ---- For each hand presented below, assume the contract is 3NT. Given the opening lead, plan the play. 1. (Dummy) xx xx AKJxxx xxx (You) AKxx Ax xxx AKxx a. Opening lead - low heart; RHO plays the Q b. Opening lead - low spade; RHO plays the Q You have seven top tricks, 2 spades, 1 heart, 2 diamonds, and 2 clubs. You also can count on at least 3 additional diamond tricks, but may have to lose the lead once in order to establish diamonds. a. With a heart lead, you will go down if you lose the lead. Therefore, you might as well make the best percentage playing of trying to drop the Q. b. However, with a spade lead, you can afford to lose the lead once. Since you have no outside entries, you should plan on taking the diamond, finesse because, even if it loses, you will still make the contract. You should play the diamond A at trick 2, return to your hand with the A of clubs, and take the diamond finesse. If it loses, you still will have 10 tricks. 2. (Dummy) xxx xx AJxx Kxxx (You) AKxx AJx K10xx AQx Opening lead - low heart; RHO plays the K You have eight top tricks (2 spades, 1 heart, 2 diamonds, and 3 clubs). You have a sure third diamond trick, but may have to lose a trick to the Q in order to establish it. The key to this hand is to keep East from getting in and leading a heart, because then you might go down (losing 4 hearts and a diamond). Therefore, you should win the A at trick one, play the A of diamonds at trick 2 (in the unlikely event the Q drops), and finesse East for the Q of diamonds at trick 3. Even if West wins and leads a heart, your jack will win a trick. 3. (Dummy) xx Axx AJxxx xxx (You) Axx Kxxx Kxx AKx Opening lead - low spade; RHO plays the J You have seven top tricks (1 spade, 2 hearts, 2 diamonds, and 2 clubs). You are likely to establish at least 2 additional diamond tricks, but may have to lose to the Q. The key is to lose at most 3 spade tricks if you lose to the diamond Q. Therefore, you should win the 3rd round of spades. You can then play the K of diamonds (again, in the unlikely event the Q drops) and a low diamond towards the J. If East wins the Q and leads a spade, spades are 4-4 and you will only lose 3 spade tricks. 4. (Dummy) Axx xx AJxx Kxxx (You) Kxx Ax Kxxx AJxx Opening lead - low heart; RHO plays the Q You have 7 top tricks (2 spades, 1 heart, 2 diamonds, and 2 clubs). You also have the potential of 2 additional tricks in one or both minors. However, you cannot afford to lose the lead, because the opponents will then take at least 4 heart tricks in addition to the minor suit trick you lose. It does not matter which minor you try to establish. However, say you choose clubs. You should cash the A and K of diamonds before playing clubs, in case the Q drops. This increases your another 10% - 15% above and beyond the 50/50 club finesse. I will point out another small subtlety that very slightly increases your odds. If you can determine which opponent has 5 hearts and which has 4, you should finesse through the opponent with 4 hearts, since he/she is slightly more likely to have more minor suit cards. For example, say West leads the 2 of hearts. East has 5 hearts and West has 4. Therfore, you should pick the diamond suit so you can finesse through West. (This is a pretty minor point, so don't worry if you didn't consider it.) Bonus Question -------------- This is an actual hand I recently encountered playing duplicate. Your left hand opponent opens 1NT followed by 3 passes. Your partner leads the 2 of hearts. You observe the following: (Dummy) xxx 10xxx Q10xxx A (You) Qxxx xxx KJx Kxx You should be able to determine declarer's exact distribution. What is it? See the tutorial on counting distribution for the answer.