Tournament Bridge for Advanced Players: Fourth Edition 2021

By Ken Casey

This book is designed to give a comprehensive and systematic view of the
hands an advanced player might expect to encounter in a tournament. The various categories of hands presented will teach you when and how to use the endplay, when and how to squeeze, how to handle a forcing defense and how to handle a 4-1 trump split.

Ken has published more than 15 bridge books. These books have now been consolidated into a series of 5 core tournament books as follows: Tournament Bridge for Beginning Players (4th ed. 2020), Tournament Bridge for Intermediate Players (5th ed. 2021), Tournament Bridge for Advanced Players (4th ed. 2021), Tournament Bridge for Notrump Contracts (4th ed. 2020) and Tournament Bridge Tips on Defense (4th ed. 2020).

These 5 core books have themselves been condensed into a two-volume set called The Complete Book of Bridge Hands, Volumes 1 and 2 (2nd ed. 2019). In addition, Ken has published two books on bidding, The Casey 2/1 Bridge Bidding System (4th ed. 2021) and The Casey Simplified Precision Club Bridge Bidding System (2nd ed. 2021).

Ken served as a Russian interpreter during the Vietnam War and then spent over 30 years practicing as a tax attorney. Ken also has an MBA in accounting and a CPA.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664177246

Ken Casey

Ken served as a Russian interpreter during the Vietnam War and then spent over 30 years practicing as a tax attorney. Ken also has an MBA in accounting and a CPA.

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 by Ken Casey.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 06/18/2021

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

824629

CONTENTS

DEDICATION

INTRODUCTION

ENDPLAY WITH BOSS

TRUMP OUTSTANDING

1: STRIP HAND IF BOSS TRUMP IS OUTSTANDING WITH TENACE OR Kx

2: STRIP HAND WITH BOSS TRUMP OUTSTANDING & HOPE FOR RUFF-SLUFF

ENDPLAY WITH J IN W’s LED SUIT

3: STRIP HAND IF W LEADS K FROM KQ AND YOU HAVE J WITH TENACE OR Kx(x)

ENDPLAY WITH FROZEN

SUIT OR 2-WAY FINESSE

4: ENDPLAY WITH FROZEN SUIT

5: ENDPLAY WITH 2-WAY FINESSE

ENDPLAY WITH A-Q SPLIT

6: FORCE DEFENDER TO LEAD INTO A-Q SPLIT TENACE

ENDPLAY WITH K-Q SPLIT

7: STRIP HAND WITH K-Q SPLIT; LEAD THROUGH ACE & CONCEDE 2ND TRICK

8: STRIP HAND WITH Kxxx-Q10x OR Qxxx-K10x; THEN LEAD K or Q IF W HAS A-J

ENDPLAY BY HOPING FOR BLOCKAGE

9: STRIP HAND WITH Axxx-xxx(x); PLAY ACE & HOPE FOR BLOCKAGE

10: STRIP HAND WITH Axx(x)-Kxx(x); PLAY ACE & HOPE FOR BLOCKAGE

11: STRIP HAND WITH Qxx(x)-xxxx(x); HOPE FOR BLOCKAGE

ENDPLAY WITH LAST

LOSING TRICK IN SUIT

12: STRIP HAND WITH 1-1 or 2-2 SPLIT, e.g. Ax-xx

13: STRIP HAND WITH 3-3 SPLIT, e.g., Axx-Kxx

14: STRIP HAND WITH Kxx-NONE; RUFF TWICE & CONCEDE K

ENDPLAY WITH 4TH (OR 3RD) CARD

15: CONCEDE 4TH CARD TO W WITH TENACE OR Kx(x)

16: CONCEDE 4TH CARD TO E WITH TENACE OR Kx(x)

17: CONCEDE 3rd CARD TO DEFENDER’s Qxx, Qxxx, or Qxxxx+

ENDPLAY WITH SPLIT

HONORS, e.g., AQ9 OR AJ10

18: STRIP HAND WITH AQ9; THEN LEAD TO 9

19: STRIP HAND WITH KJx or K10x; THEN FINESSE

20: STRIP HAND WITH AJx-Kxxx or AKJx-xxx; THEN FINESSE

21: STRIP HAND WITH AJ10 AND TENACE; THEN LEAD UP TO J

22: CONCEDE 2nd TO LAST CARD (OR MIDDLE CARD) WITH TRIPLE TENACE IN SUIT

23 USE PITCH TO EVEN UP SUIT FOR ENDPLAY

SQUEEZE PLAY

24: RECTIFY THE COUNT

25: ESTABLISH A THREAT CARD

26: WITH 2 THREAT CARDS IN N, SQUEEZE W

27: WITH THREATS IN N & S, SQUEZE EITHER W OR E

28: THE TRUMP SQUEEZE

29: AT GAME, RUN YOUR LONG SUIT

30: THE ENDPLAY SQUEEZE

31: SQUEEZE TO LEARN IF GUARD HAS Qx OR K SINGLETON

FORCING DEFENSE

32: DON’T RUFF WITH LOSERS TO DISCARD

33: CONCEDE 1ST TRUMP & PRESERVE 1 TRUMP IN DUMMY

34: AFTER RUFF, LET OPPONENT RUFF YOUR STRONG SUIT

35: WITH Axxx-x, CONCEDE 1ST TRICK

36: USE DUMMY REVERSAL WITH SINGLETON IN OPPONENT’s SUIT

TRUMP COUP & SMOTHER PLAY

37: WITH 4-1 TRUMP SPLIT IN E, EVEN UP YOUR TRUMPS WITH E

38: WITH 4-1 TRUMP SPLIT IN W, USE SMOTHER PLAY

SMOTHERING DEFENDERS’ HONORS

39: SMOTHERING OPPONENTS’ K & J (or 10) ON SAME TRICK

COMMON OFFENSIVE COUPS

40: BATH, AGONY, MORTON’s, SCISSORS, BELLADONNA & VIENNA COUPS

COMMON DEFENSIVE COUPS

41: DESCHAPELLES, MERRIMAC, & CROCODILE COUPS

THE GALILEO COUP

42: TEMPT DEFENDERS TO RUFF SO THAT BOSS TRUMPS CRASH (OR TELESCOPE)

THE COUP EN PASSANT

43: THE TRUMP COUP WHEN E HAS THE BOSS TRUMP; IF E RUFFS N’s 4TH CARD, YOU DISCARD YOUR LAST LOSER

THE DEVIL’s COUP

44: THE DISAPPEARING TRUMP TRICK: INDUCE W (WITH ♥K10x) TO RUFF 4TH ♦ WITH ♥K, LETTING YOU FINESSE E’s ♥Q

THE GITELMAN FINESSE

45: THE SPLIT AQ109 DOUBLE FINESSE

FOILING DEFENDERS

46: AVOID BEING MAROONED IN DUMMY WITH TRUMP OUTSTANDING BY TAKING SINGLETON OR DUCKING

47: AVOID FORCING DEFENSE BY TAKING 1ST FINESSE INTO W & RUFFING W’s 3RD LEAD

48: AVOID TRUMP PROMOTION, e.g. RUFF OF 4TH CARD IN SUIT

49: AT 3NT, PREVENT E FROM UNBLOCKING HIS HONOR TO REACH W

50: THE SCISSORS COUP: CUTTING COMMUNICATION TO THWART RUFF

51: MISSING TRUMP ACE, DISCARD LOSER TO AVOID RUFF

52: TAKE SIDE SUIT HONORS EARLY TO PREVENT DEFENSE FROM DISCARDING & GETTING RUFF

PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTIONS

53: PROBABILITY CONSIDERATIONS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

DEDICATION

If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Issac Newton

Normally I try to avoid showering praise on a single individual since most projects are a group effort. Nevertheless, I will make an exception here. Frank Stewart, a world-renowned bridge columnist has done more than anyone I know to advance the science of bridge and to inspire others. A large part of my learning has come from Frank even though we have never met nor even know each other. My books are infused with his teachings. There is no one to whom I owe more. Thank you, Frank; I can never repay you for all you’ve taught me. Frank is the champion of counting points and distributions. My two favorite books of his are called Who Has the Queen? and Play Bridge With Me. Other award-winning books published by Frank are Winning Defense for the Advancing Bridge Player, Frank Stewart’s Bridge Club and Frank’s World of Bridge.

My second hero is Eddie Kantar. No one comes up with more interesting hands in the Bridge Bulletin. I avidly read his Chalk Talk and his Test Your Play in every edition. I love his books, Take All Your Chances at Bridge, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2. Some of his other great books are Eddie Kantar Teaches Modern Bridge Defense, Eddie Kantar Teaches Advanced Bridge Defense, and Eddie Kantar Teaches Topics in Declarer Play at Bridge. When it comes to defense, you will always find yourself immersed in Eddie Kantar’s hands. He is a genius at all aspects of bridge, not just defense.

My third hero is David Bird. He is the king at giving tips. His 3 books, 52 Great Bridge Tips, Another 52 Great Bridge Tips, and 52 Great Bridge Tips on Declarer Play are 3 books that must be included in any expert’s bridge book collection. These 3 books alone would make David one of the greatest bridge authors. Then David published Winning Suit Contract Leads, and Winning Notrump Leads, two books which destroyed all previous thinking on leading. David would be my first to be included in any Bridge Hall of Fame for bridge authors. David has also written several other award-winning books including Notrump Contracts, Miracles of Card Play, Win at Bridge in 30 Days, Secrets of Expert Card Play, Secrets of Expert Defense, and Defensive Signaling at Bridge. Two other excellent books are Squeezes for Everone, Yes, Even You and Bridge Endplays for Everyone, Yes, Even You.

William Root is another favorite author of mine. Reading William Root’s books is like dancing with a fine dancer. He anticipates your every move. He anticipates your questions before the question even arises in your mind. His explanations are always succinct and to the point. At one point, bridge players wanting to learn how to play bridge would read Louis Watson’s book, Watson’s the Play of the Hand. Today that honor goes to William Root for his book, How to Play a Bridge Hand. He has also written three other fine award-winning books: Modern Bridge Conventions, Commonsense Bidding, and How to Defend a Bridge Hand."

My favorite books on bidding are Betty Starzec’s Bidding in the 21st Century, Audrey Grant’s Better Bridge Bidding, and Audrey Grant’s Opening the Bidding.

My favorite books on conventions are Barbara Seagram & Marc Smith’s, 25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know, William Root & Richard Pavlicek’s Modern Bridge Conventions, and Audrey Grant’s Popular Conventions.

My favorite books on the 2/1 System are Audrey Grant and Eric Rodwell’s 2 Over 1 Game Force, Mike Lawrence’s Workbook on the Two-Over-One System, Max Hardy’s Two-Over-One Game Force, Max Hardy’s Standard Bridge Bidding for the 21st Century, Paul Thurston’s 25 Steps to Learning 2/1, and Marty Bergen’s Understanding 1NT Forcing.

My favorite books on slam bidding are Marty Bergen’s Slam Bidding Made Easier, Ron Klinger & Andrew Kambites’ Understanding Slam Bidding, and Eddie Kantar’s Roman Keycard Blackwood. If you buy Marty Bergen’s book on Slam bidding, you also get a full explanation of the Bergen point count system, which I find to be the best point count system.

My favorite books on Probability are Julian Laderman’s Useful Probability For Bridge Players, Robert MacKinnon’s Bridge, Probability & Information, Brent Manley’s ACBL Encyclopedia of Bridge (7th ed.), Hugh Kelsey & Michael Glauert’s Bridge Odds for Practical Players, Kelsey & Glauert’s Never a Dull Deal: Faith, Hope and Probability in Bridge, Terence Reese and Roger Trezel’s, Master the Odds in Bridge, Jeff Reben’s Expert Bridge Simplified: Arithmetic Shortcuts for Declarer, and Schaum’s Outline Series Probability, Random Variables, and Random Processes.

Some other favorite books of mine are Ned Downey & Ellen Pomer’s Standard Bidding with SAYC, David Berkowitz & Brent Manley’s Precision Today, Andy Stark’s The Weak Notrump, Ron Andersen’s The Lebensohl Convention Complete, Gitelman & Rubens, Playing Suit Contracts, and Ruth Harrison’s The Player’s Guide to the Rules of Duplicate Bridge.

INTRODUCTION

In playing a tournament, be aware that the hands are designed to thwart the average player. You cannot depend on a finesse working 50% of the time. In most cases, the finesse will fail. For example, if dummy has the ♥AQxx and you, as declarer, have 4 hearts, your best bet is to concede the 1st trick in the suit, expecting E to have a doubleton ♥Kx. If you can win the contract without depending on a favorable split, go with that approach. If the contract looks too easy, plan on trumps splitting 4-1. If you have a two-way finesse, the average person will lead up to the hand with the longer suit. It is best to lead up to the shorter hand. Sometimes, you will simply have to make a reverse finesse.

You should be alert to inferences. If W bid a major suit, he probably has two honors in that suit as well as a 5-card suit. Knowing W has points can point you to endplaying W. You may also want to take a deep finesse of dummy’s suit if W has bid. Or you may wish to try for a drop of W’s doubleton honor. If W fails to open and shows 11p, you can be sure E has the missing Ace. If W preempts, he is probably short in trumps so finesse E for the trump Queen.

You can also draw a lot of inferences from W’s opening lead. If W leads a weak suit or leads trumps, it means W may have the missing Ace. If W must have a particular Ace for you to make the contract, then plan your play accordingly. If you and dummy have 8 combined cards in a suit and W leads that suit, assume that W has led a singleton. If W has two singletons, finesse him for length in the other suit. If W leads a poor suit and E shows several honors, plan for W to have the missing Queen. If W leads a long suit at Notrump, he probably has an entry in another suit.

If E starts discarding cards in a suit, it probably means that E is not protecting the Q of that suit. If E discards a card in a suit on S’s trumps, it probably means that E is discarding from a long suit. If W could get a ruff from E but fails to take that approach, it means E has a high trump. If you want more information on inferences, see Chapters 57-60 of my book, Playing Intermediate Bridge.

You should be mindful not only of points but also of distribution. If a defender shows out, stop for a moment to recalculate the distribution. Try to concentrate just on W’s distribution; it will make it easier for you. If one defender shows more than 7 points at a game contract, assume that the other defender has the remaining top outstanding honors.

The researchers who make up the hands, prearrange the hands based on the average player’s habits. For example, most players play 2nd hand low and 3rd hand high. Most players also cover an honor with an honor. There are exceptions for all these rules and you should be aware of those exceptions. For example, if dummy leads a suit from a sequence, you should not cover the 1st card. Everyone has rules of thumb. If you need to speed up your game or you are feeling tired after playing both the morning and afternoon sessions, you will find yourself relying on rules of thumb. This is sometimes referred to as the heuristic approach to bridge. Here are some common rules of thumb.

With respect to ruffing, always throw a loser instead of ruffing. The same is true for overruffing; throw a loser instead. With no loser to throw in dummy and a sure loser in your suit, e.g. AKxx-xxx, concede loser if split is 3-2 and hope that the defender with the 3 trumps also has 4 cards in the key suit; this assumes you have no boss trump in dummy. This will allow you to ruff the 4th card in the suit.

With respect to setting up a long suit, if you have just one entry in the dummy, concede 1st card in the long suit. If you have a 4-card runnable suit and the A&K of trumps, take out the A&K of trumps and hope the Q drops; then run the suit, throwing off a loser.

With respect to finessing, always finesse up to a lone Jack, lone Queen or lone King. With a split A-Q combination or a frozen suit, try to endplay opponents. With a split K-Q combination, take finesse of 10 if you have to break the suit yourself. If you can finesse in either direction, finesse into the safe hand with a tenace or Kxx. If you have 4 of the top 6 honors in a suit, plan on a backward finesse. With a singleton, always use a ruffing finesse. With 9 trumps, finesse into safe hand; otherwise go for the drop. If W leads a suit, hope E’s Q will drop as Qxx or hope E’s Ace will drop as Axx. With a singleton in your hand, always use the dummy reversal.

If you have 6 cards in a suit and W leads high, assume it is a doubleton. If you have 7+ cards in the suit, assume W’s lead is a singleton. Spurn trump finesse, e.g. AQxx, if ruff is threatened. Also spurn trump finesse if you have a vulnerable Kxx and can set up a long suit.

With respect to ducking, if you have a sure loser in your doubleton, duck W’s lead; it will cut communication between the defenders. If W leads his King or Queen, duck if you have a tenace in S. Similarly, if W plays a low card, duck the trick to E if you have a tenace in N. If you have a 5-3 suit, always duck lead with singleton or void in your hand; you may be able to set up the suit.

If you lack the trump Ace, always lead out your singleton or dummy’s singleton right away. If W has led from an apparent doubleton, let E take the 1st trick to deprive E of a later entry. If W leads from an apparent singleton and you have the A-K split, take the Ace in your hand; don’t take dummy’s King.

If you have a blocked suit, always duck W’s first lead. If the blocked card is in dummy, run your trumps and unblock the key card with your 3rd or 4th trump. If the blocked card is in your hand and dummy has a longer suit than you have, use dummy’s suit to unblock your card.

With respect to transportation to a dummy with few entries, always preserve your lowest card in the trump suit. If trumps split, you will be able to get over to dummy with your preserved low trump. If you can’t reach dummy and dummy has some winners, consider using trumps as an entry by conceding a trump. If you have a singleton, play it early. You may need that suit for later transportation.

At a makeable game, you will normally find you have 4 potential losers. Your first hope is that you can ruff a potential loser or set up a long suit to discard the loser. Your 2nd hope is that a finesse may establish an extra trick. A finesse may constitute leading up to a lone Jack, Queen or King or KQ combination. If these options are not available, your next best bet is to look for an endplay. If that is unavailable, then you have to fall back on the squeeze play, especially if you have a 6-card suit.

Many teachers will not even bother to teach advanced techniques such as endplays and squeeze plays. If you use rules of thumb, you can play these techniques without even knowing it. You will win an extra trick and wonder how you did it. Typically, you will endplay the opponents without knowing you did that. If you have a hand with 9 trumps, such as 5 trumps in your hand and 4 trumps in the dummy, start stripping right away.

Try to eliminate at least two cards in each suit with a 9-card trump suit. In other words, assume the player who is endplayed will have two cards in that suit. For example, if you have Axx-xxx, you will want to concede one trick in the suit and then take your Ace. If you have the A&K of trumps, draw both of them hoping to drop the Queen. If you have a triple tenace, such as AQ9, AJ10 or K108, play that suit last and take a deep finesse. If you have a frozen suit and a suit with AK&J, play the A&K and concede the Jack. If dummy has 4 cards in W’s led suit, strip 3 of these cards and concede the last. With loser in doubleton or tripleton suit, concede last card.

With respect to squeeze plays, always squeeze with a 6-card trump suit; opponents often throw a key card. Assume W will be the guard and plan on winning a card in your 4-card suit, e.g. AKxx-Qxx. If you have a suit with a tenace, plan on conceding the other threat card to W.

With respect to a forcing defense (one in which the opponents have a solid suit), throw losers instead of ruffing. If you have to ruff in your hand, concede one trump keeping at least one trump in dummy. Then start running your long solid suit, letting the defender ruff. The defender who ruffs will have the long trump suit, so you will be safe. If you are faced with a 4-1 trump split with 4 trumps in E, play a dummy reversal.

In playing a Notrump hand, take W’s 2nd lead with 6 cards in the suit or take W’s 3rd lead with only 5 cards in the suit. Take your finesse into W first. If you have a suit with K-Q split, play that suit 1st if you have no finesse into W. If you need a 9th trick and you have a suit with K-Q split, play through the defender with the Ace in that suit. With stoppers in W’s suit and a suit with AQxx, concede a trick 1st. If you have a suit with AJxx-Kxx or KJxx-Axxx, play A&K and lead up to J (it must be in a suit with 4+ cards). With an 8-card suit and Jxxx-Axxx, lead Ace and hope Qx or Kx drops. If you have a solid suit, play it out; you may squeeze the opponents. If W leads from a 4-card suit and you have a tenace, throw W into the lead with his led suit. After considering the above rules, try to set up your long suit as soon as possible.

When I discuss a hand, I try to present the hand with more than one way to play it. Being a good player means you have to make good choices. Some of these choices are based on lots of experience or lots of hard work reading books on how to play hands. When you start making mistakes, you will often feel frustrated. You may want to blame your partner. Try to avoid that scenario. Oftentimes a partner can help you from making mistakes, so be good to your partner.

When in doubt as to how to play a hand, let the opponents take your sure losers. It is amazing how often an opponent will lead into your strength or make a mistake such as allowing you a ruff and sluff. If you have a long, solid suit, lead it out. It may squeeze the opponents. If you are in a possible endplay situation, lead out the A&K of a suit, hoping that this strips the defender of that suit.

When you first look at your hand, count sure losers and potential losers. Always treat a suit with AKx, as being a potential loser, not a sure loser; you may be able to endplay the opponents. The same is true of a suit with Axxx-xxxx. If there is a long suit to set up, start there, rather than ruffing, if you have to ruff more than 2 times. If you have too many losers, look for a long suit, i.e. any suit with 4-3 or longer distribution (an unbalanced long suit). If you are playing at slam, count both losers and winners. If you have decided to set up dummy’s long suit, check to see whether it might be blocked, e.g. AK5432.

ENDPLAY WITH BOSS

TRUMP OUTSTANDING

CHAPTER 1

STRIP HAND IF BOSS TRUMP IS

OUTSTANDING WITH TENACE OR KX

Throw W in with the ♠Ace (boss trump) after strip

of 2♥s & 2♦s; W will lead away from his ♣K

Here the contract is 6♠ and W leads the ♦Q. All the declarers assumed that they could throw off 3 clubs if hearts split 3-3 or take the club finesse. Another chance is to take out 2 rounds of hearts and 2 rounds of diamonds and then hopefully throw W in with the Ace of trumps singleton. While this is a small chance, it allows S to endplay W and to sluff his losing club. W will be forced to lead a diamond giving you a ruff-sluff, allowing you to sluff your ♣J. The moral of the story is that with 9 trumps, always strip out the side suits and throw one of the defenders in with the lead. Of course, W should have led his singleton Ace of trumps in order to prevent the endplay.

Throw W in with the ♠Q (boss trump) after

strip; W will lead away from his ♥K

Here the contract is 6♠ and W leads the ♦K. Will you take out the ♠A&K and then take the heart finesse? The key here is to strip W of his 4 diamonds. Therefore, after winning the ♦Ace, you must ruff a diamond. Otherwise, you cannot strip W of his diamonds since you only have two entries in dummy. After ruffing the diamond, you take out the ♠A&K, strip clubs, using dummy’s ♣Ace as an entry to ruff one diamond and using dummy’s ♣K to ruff dummy’s last diamond. Now when you throw W in with the ♠Q, W must lead away from his ♥K into your ♥AQ or give you a ruff-sluff. Whenever you have a tenace, plan on stripping the hand and throwing W in with the boss trump. The strip must entail ruffing out dummy’s diamonds since W is bound to hold 4 diamonds.

Throw W in with the ♥J (boss trump);

W will lead away from his ♦K10

Here the contract is 6♥ and W leads the ♠10. S took dummy’s ♠Ace, took out three heart trumps and ran the clubs. S threw his last spade on the 4th club and led dummy’s 5th club (throwing a diamond), which W ruffed with his ♥J. W led a spade and S ruffed in his hand but had to lose a diamond to W’s ♦K. Down one. The solution is to ruff out S’s losing spade, stripping spades. S should take his ♥A&Q, getting the news on the bad trump break. S then runs 4 clubs throwing his losing spade. S now ruffs dummy’s last spade. S goes to dummy’s ♥K to run dummy’s last club, throwing a diamond. If W does not ruff, S can throw him in with a trump to lead into S’s ♦AQ. Normally, S would like to keep a trump in dummy for a ruff-sluff but here W is stripped of all suits but diamonds.

Throw E in with the ♥Ace (boss trump)

after strip of black suits; E will lead away

from his ♦Ace or yield a ruff-sluff

Here the contract is 4♥ and W leads the ♣3. You have 4 spades (4 with a 3-3 split or ruff), 4 hearts, and 1 club. You need the ♦K for your 10th trick, which means you will have to endplay E; this means you have to hope E also has the ♥Ace. In a tournament, a finesse up to the ♦K is unlikely to succeed. You have 2 hopes. You can lead the ♥Q and hope that W covers with his ♥K, followed by the crash of E’s ♥Ace. Your 2nd hope is that E has the singleton ♥Ace. You have to strip E’s black suits. You lead to dummy’s ♠K and ruff a club in your hand. You next take out the ♠A&Q and lead the ♥Q. When E takes his ♥Ace, he has to give you your ♦K or a ruff-sluff. If E does not have the ♦Ace, you can win your 10th trick by leading up to dummy’s ♦K.

Throw E in with ♣K (boss rump) after strip of majors.

E will lead away from his ♦Q or give you a ruff-

sluff; you then lead to W’s ♣Ace, who is endplayed

Here the contract is 5♣ and W leads his ♥K. You ruff the heart lead. Do you now lead trumps? If you do, you go down. When the top trumps are outstanding, always try to strip the hand first. Here you need to strip the other heart and then strip spades, ending in dummy. Then play out one diamond to your ♦K in case the opponent who wins the trump has a singleton diamond. You have now stripped the majors and done a partial strip of the diamonds, stripping W of his diamonds. Next you lead a small trump. E is endplayed with his ♣K (the suit is blocked). Since E does not want to lead away from his ♦Q into dummy’s ♦AJ tenace, he leads a heart, allowing you to get a ruff-sluff. You ruff in dummy while discarding one of your losing diamonds. Now you lead a trump again and W must take his ♣Ace. W has to lead a heart or spade which gives you a 2nd ruff-sluff. You ruff again in dummy and throw your 2nd losing diamond. You end up losing only 2 trumps, making the contract.

Throw E in with the ♥K (boss trump)

after strip of minor suits; E will lead away

from his ♠K or yield a ruff-sluff

Here the contract is 4♥ (E having opened 1♣ and W having bid 1♦) and W leads the ♣3 (showing an honor), which E wins with his ♣J. E next leads his ♦J singleton, which you duck (E has now won a trick in each minor suit and will later win the ♥K). Viewing the hand as a dummy reversal, you have 4 spades (with 2 ruffs if you can endplay E), 5 hearts (finesses usually lose in a tournament) and 1 diamond. E opened so E can probably be thrown into the lead with his ♥K. After you duck E’s ♦J, E then leads his ♣Ace, which you ruff in dummy. You now cash dummy’s ♥Ace and lead a diamond, which E ducks (now wanting to waste a natural winning trump). You win with your ♦Ace and ruff your last club. You next throw E into the lead with his ♥K. E either has to lead away from his ♠K or yield a ruff-sluff. E leads the ♣Q, which you ruff in dummy (discarding a spade in your hand). You now lead dummy’s ♠Q for a ruffing finesse, ruffing E’s ♠K, and lead your 3rd diamond for another ruff. You then cash dummy’s ♠J and ruff dummy’s 4th spade. You lose a heart, a diamond and a club, making the contract.

Throw E in with the ♥Q (boss trump) after stripping

E of his ♠s & ♦s. Then concede 3rd ♥ to E. E will

lead away from his ♣Q10xx or give you a ruff-sluff

Here the contract is 6♥ and W leads the ♠Q, won by dummy’s ♠K. S next draws the ♥A&K, strips spades and diamonds and throws E in with the ♥Q (boss trump). E has to lead a club into dummy’s ♣KJx tenace or yield a ruff-sluff.

Throw E in with the ♠Q (boss trump) after

strip of ♥s & ♣s; E will lead away from ♦Ace

Here the contract is 4♠ and W leads his ♥Q. One-half of the S declarers made 4♠ and one-half made 5♠. Most of those who made 5♠ finessed E’s ♠Q successfully. One-fourth of the S declarers went for the drop. Almost all of these declarers scored 4♠. Here S took the ♥Ace and cashed his ♠A&K. S then led the ♣J, followed by a finesse of the ♣10. S next returned to dummy with the ♥Ace and finessed E’s ♣K, stripping clubs. S now stripped hearts and led a spade to E’s ♠Q. E was endplayed. E was forced to take his ♦Ace and then give S his ♦K. The moral of the story is that S should always strip his short suits, throw E in with the boss trump and hope E has to lead away from his ♦Ace. S lost the ♠Q and a diamond, making an overtrick.

Throw E in with the ♥J (boss trump) after

strip of ♥s & ♣s. E will lead away from his

♦K or give you an entry to N’s ♠ suit

Here the contract is 4♥ (W having overcalled 2♣) and W leads the ♣AK&Q. You have 5 hearts, 3 spades (if you can reach the dummy), 1 diamond and 1 club (via a ruff). You need to win the club ruff but if you play a low heart, it will surely be overruffed. The solution is to ruff with the ♥Ace. This means you have a sure trump loser, which you can afford. You draw 2 rounds of trumps with the ♥K&Q, unblock the ♠K and throw E into the lead with his ♥J. E cannot lead spades since you can run dummy’s spades. E also cannot lead diamonds since E will have to lead away from his ♦K10xx into your ♦Qxx-Axx. E leads a small diamond and you let it ride to dummy’s ♦Q, which gives you an entry to the dummy. You then cash dummy’s good spades for the contract. This hand is an example of using the endplay to force the defense into leading to the dummy.

Throw E in with the ♥J (boss trump) after strip of 3 of

E’s ♣s; E will lead his ♣Q, which you duck, stripping

him of ♦s. E must now lead away from his ♦Ace

Here the contract is 4♥ (W having opened 3♠, showing 7 spades) and W leads the ♠K, which you take with your ♠Ace. E’s only spade has been stripped. You have 1 spade, 6 hearts and 2 clubs. You need an extra trick, so you need to endplay E (there are not enough entries to set up N’s 5th club). You need to strip E of his hearts and clubs. You cash the top 3 hearts and the top 2 clubs, ruffing the 3rd club. You have not been able to strip E of his 4 clubs. When you throw E into the lead with his ♥J, E will lead his ♣Q, which you must duck, stripping E of clubs. E now has to lead away from his ♦Ace, giving you the contract. The moral of the story is to endplay the opponent (here E) who has not preempted. That opponent will often be void in W’s suit after the 1st lead so you will only need to strip 1 suit (other than trumps).

Throw E in with his ♥J (boss trump) after strip

of ♠s & ♦s; E will lead away from his ♣Q

Here the contract is 4♥ (W having overcalled 2♠, showing 6♥s and 6-10p) and W leads the ♣8, which you win with your ♣K. You have 1 spade, 3 hearts, 3 diamonds and 4 clubs. You also have 4 losers: 2 hearts, 1 diamond and 1 club (finesses usually lose in a tournament). Since W has shown 6 spades, you know that E has 3 spades so you can strip E of spades and diamonds, throw E in with the 3rd trump, and force E to lead away from his ♣Q. If W has the 3rd trump, W will have to yield a ruff-sluff. You strip spades and lead a diamond, won by W’s ♦Ace. W returns a diamond and you play a heart to dummy’s ♥K and E’s ♥Ace. E exits with a diamond, won by your ♦J and you cash your ♥Q. You now ruff your last diamond and endplay E with dummy’s 3rd heart, won by E’s ♥J (the boss trump). E is endplayed; E will be forced to lead away from his ♣Q and dummy’s ♣J will be the 10th trick. If W had not overcalled 2♠, you might have tried to finesse dummy’s ♣J.

CHAPTER 2

STRIP HAND WITH BOSS

TRUMP OUTSTANDING &

HOPE FOR RUFF-SLUFF

Throw W in with ♦Ace after running N’s ♣Q&J for

a finesse & stripping 4♥s; you pitch a ♣ from N on

ruff-sluff after pitching 2♣s from N on your ♥K&Q

Here the contract is 6♦ (W having overcalled 3♠) and W leads the ♠Ace, which is ruffed by S. Therefore, W has 7 spades, probably a singleton ♦Ace, and 4-1 (or 3-2) in hearts and clubs respectively. If W has 2 clubs, the contract is cold so it is best to assume that W has a singleton club. Accordingly, in order to strip W of his singleton club, S must lead the ♣Q (then ♣J if E does not cover) from dummy for a finesse and when the ♣9 shows up, W is known to have 4 hearts (and E to have the other 4 hearts). Thus, S must lead out 4 hearts, ruffing the last one in dummy high and then throw W in with his ♦Ace. There are 4 heart winners, 4 diamond winners and 2 club winners if the ♣K is in the E and clubs split 3-1. So where is the 11th and 12th winner? It is the 3rd & 4th club because your ♥K&Q will throw off 2 of dummy’s clubs and an endplay, throwing in W, will allow a ruff-sluff, whereby dummy’s 5th club (the Q and J having been played) can be sluffed.

Throw W in with ♥K after strip of ♦s; W will lead away

from his ♣K or give you a ruff-sluff, letting you sluff ♠

Here the contract is 4♥ and W leads the ♠J, taken by S’s ♠Q. S’s only hope was to endplay