Tournament Bridge for Intermediate Players: Fifth Edition 2021

By Ken Casey

This book is designed to give a comprehensive and systematic view of the types of hands an intermediate player might expect to encounter in a tournament. The various categories of hands presented will teach you when to use the dummy reversal, when to spurn a finesse, when to duck a trick, when to do the avoidance play and how to handle a defender’s singleton. The book will also teach you how to discard, how to unblock, how to deceive and how to handle transportation problems.

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 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664177284

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: 06/23/2021

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

824628

CONTENTS

DEDICATION

INTRODUCTION

USE DUMMY REVERSAL (DR)

1:     USE DUMMY REVERSAL TO AVOID RUFF OF 4TH CARD

2:     USE DUMMY REVERSAL IF YOU NEED YOUR LONG SUIT FOR DISCARD OF N’s LOSER

3:     USE DUMMY REVERSAL (DR) WITH 3 SURE LOSERS + TRUMP LOSER

4:     USE DUMMY REVERSAL WITH SINGLETON OR VOID

5:     USE DUMMY REVERSAL WITH DOUBLETON, HOLDING 3 SURE LOSERS + TRUMP LOSER

SPURN FINESSE

6:     SPURN TRUMP FINESSE IF RUFF IS THREATENED

7:     SPURN FINESSE WITH VULNERABLE Kxx AND LONG SUIT

8:     SPURN FINESSE FROM DUMMY IF YOU ONLY HAVE ONE ENTRY IN DUMMY

9:     SPURN FINESSE OF W’s LEAD INTO DUMMY’s AQx OR SPLIT A-Q

10:   SPURN FINESSE OF W’s Q OR J LEAD INTO DUMMY’s K(x)(x)(x) TO SEE IF E’s ACE FALLS AS A(x)(x)

11:   SPURN FINESSE OF J WITH AK&J & FROZEN SUIT OR 2-WAY FINESSE; STRIP HAND & CONCEDE J

12:   SPURN FINESSE OF AQ OR KJ AT SLAM & 1ST TRY FOR DROP OF Qx(x) OR Kx(x) BEFORE FINESSING

13:   SPURN FINESSE OF AQ OR KJ AT 3NT & 1ST TRY FOR DROP OF Qx(x) WITH A&K IF DEFENDERS CANNOT BE LET IN

14:   SPURN FINESSE AT SLAM OF AQ OR KJ & 1ST TRY TO SET UP N’s 5TH CARD

15:   WITH AJxx-Kxx (or AKJx-xxxx), 1ST SPURN FINESSE OF J & TRY TO DROP Qx WITH A&K BEFORE FINESSING AQ OR KJ

16:   WITH xxx-AQxx, SPURN FINESSE OF Q & 1ST TRY TO DROP Kx BEFORE FINESSING

DUCKING

17:   DUCK 1st LEAD FROM KQxx WITH AJx-xx

18:   DUCK TO SET UP 5-3 OR 4-3 SUIT

19:   DUCK WITH DOUBLETON IF 2nd CARD IS A SURE LOSER

20:   DUCK TO PREVENT LOSS OF 2 TRICKS IN LED SUIT IF RUFF IS THREATENED

AVOID DANGER HAND WITH

TENACE OR Kx(x)

21:   DUCK LOW LEAD WITH TENACE OR Kx(x) IN DUMMY

22:   DUCK HIGH LEAD WITH TENACE IN S

23:   DUCK HIGH LEAD WITH Kx IN S

MISSING TRUMP ACE

24:   MISSING TRUMP ACE, LEAD OUT SINGLETON

25:   MISSING TRUMP ACE, DISCARD SINGLETON WITH DUMMY’s HONOR: THE SCISSORS COUP

26:   MISSING TRUMP ACE, PITCH LOSER TO AVOID RUFF

27:   MISSING TRUMP ACE & FEARING RUFF OF 4TH CARD, PITCH LOSER ON 4TH CARD

28:   MISSING TRUMP ACE, TRY TO MAKE E RUFF YOUR LONG SIDE SUIT TWICE

29:   MISSING TRUMP ACE, LET E TAKE 1ST TRICK TO DEPRIVE E OF ENTRY

30:   MISSING TRUMP ACE, ELIMINATE W’s SAFE EXIT

AVOIDING A RUFF

31:   TO AVOID RUFF, DON’T LEAD OUT A&K; INSTEAD LEAD ACE, RETURN & LEAD UP TO K OR CONCEDE 2ND TRICK

32:   TO AVOID RUFF FROM LEAD OF ACE, AQ OR KQ, DUCK W’s LEAD FOR UP TO 3 ROUNDS

33:   IF E HAS x OR xx, TAKE DUMMY’s ACE, NOT YOUR K

34:   PRESERVE DUMMY’s HIGH TRUMP TO AVOID OVERRUFF

35:   WITH SPLIT AK&Q, LEAD UP TO YOUR QUEEN ON 3RD TRICK, e.g. Kxx-AQxx

36:   WITH LONG SUIT, CONCEDE SURE LOSER IN SUIT & DRAW TRUMPS

PITCHING A CARD

37:   WAIT TO SEE WHICH PITCH TO MAKE BY 1ST RUFFING

38:   USE PITCH TO SET UP 4-3 OR 5-3 SUIT

39:   USE PITCH TO GET RID OF LOSER

40:   USE PITCH TO EVEN UP SUIT FOR ENDPLAY

41:   USE PITCH TO DISCARD SINGLETON (OR xx) TO AVOID RUFF

42:   USE PITCH TO DISCARD SINGLETON WITH VULNERABLE Kx(x)

43:   PITCH FROM LONG SIDE SUIT IN S TO UNBALANCE N’s SUIT & THEN RUFF IN N

44:   LEAD AWAY FROM YOUR DOUBLETON HONOR WITH PITCH FROM N’s ACE (MORTON’S COUP)

UNBLOCKING & JETTISIONING

BLOCKING CARD

45:   UNBLOCK

46:   JETTISON BLOCKING CARD WITH TRUMPS

47:   DUCK 1ST OR 2ND TRICK TO JETTISON BLOCKING CARD

48:   JETTISON YOUR BLOCKING CARD WITH N’s LONGER SUIT

DECEPTION

49:   FEIGN SINGLETON WITH HIGH DISCARD

50:   FEIGN WEAKNESS TO PREVENT LEAD OF WEAK SUIT

51:   FALSECARD HIGH TO MAKE E’s MEDIUM DISCARD LOOK LIKE COME ON SIGNAL

TEMPTING DEFENDERS

52:   TEMPT DEFENDER TO COVER HONOR WITH HONOR

53:   TEMPT E TO PLAY HIGH HONOR WITH HHx IN N BY LEADING AWAY FROM N’s HONORS

54:   TEMPT DEFENDER TO PLAY 2ND HAND LOW

55:   TEMPT E TO RUFF WITH ONLY 2 TRUMPS IN N

SAFETY PLAY AT IMPs

56:   GUARD AGAINST BAD SPLIT OR ADVERSE HONOR HOLDING

57:   DISCOVERY PLAY

TRANSPORTATION

58:   WITH INSUFFICIENT ENTRIES, CREATE EXTRA ENTRIES

59:   WITH A VOID IN N, RUFF YOUR WINNERS TO GAIN ENTRIES TO N

60:   DROP YOUR KING UNDER DEFENDER’s ACE TO GET TO N’s Q OR J

61:   PRESERVE LOW SPOT CARD IN S TO REACH N

62:   TO GET TO DUMMY, LEAD J FROM Qx-AJxx or Q FROM Jx-AQxx, HOPING DEFENDER WILL TAKE HIS K

63:   LACKING ENTRIES, PLAY LOW FROM DUMMY

64:   WITH INSUFFICIENT ENTRIES TO SET UP N’s LONG SUIT, CONCEDE 1ST TRICK

65:   TO GAIN ENTRY TO DUMMY, CONCEDE ONE OF N’s TRUMPS TO SET UP OTHER

66:   FINESSE N’s INTERMEDIATE CARD IN ORDER TO GAIN EXTRA ENTRY

67:   WITH NO ENTRY, CONCEDE 3RD OR 4TH TRUMP

68:   PREVENT BEING MAROONED IN DUMMY BY TAKING SINGLETON OR DUCKING

69:   USE THE DANGEROUS ENTRY FIRST

70:   OVERTAKE HONOR FOR ENTRY

71:   ENDPLAY DEFENDERS TO GET ENTRY TO DUMMY

LET DEFENDER FINESSE FOR

YOU BY ENDPLAYING HIM

72:   STRIP HAND IF BOSS TRUMP IS OUTSTANDING WITH TENACE OR Kx(x)

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

74:   STRIP HAND WITH 2-2 OR 3-3 SPLIT IN N&S; THEN CONCEDE 2ND (OR 3RD) CARD IN SUIT WITH TENACE OR Kx(x)

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

76:   CONCEDE 4TH CARD TO E WITH TENACE OR Kx(x) IN DUMMY

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

78:   LEAD UP TO YOUR SPLIT TRIPLE TENACE (AQ8, AJ8, AJ10 or KJx) AFTER STRIP

79:   LEAD UP TO OPPONENT’s SPLIT TRIPLE TENACE AFTER STRIP & CONCEDE TRICK

PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTIONS

80:   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 re. 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 Everyone, 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 o 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.

USE DUMMY

REVERSAL (DR)

CHAPTER 1

USE DUMMY REVERSAL TO AVOID RUFF OF 4TH CARD

Ruff 3♦s using DR to avoid ruff

of 4th ♣ with 4-2 ♣ split

Here the contract is 4♥ and W leads the ♦K. Clubs are bound to split 4-2. Therefore, one of the defenders will ruff your 3rd club lead unless you 1st take out 2 rounds of trumps and the person with 2 hearts (here E) also has 2 clubs, a low probability event. The solution is to play a dummy reversal, ruffing 3 diamonds in your hand. The moral of the story is that when you see that ruffing a loser is a low probability event, look to see if a dummy reversal is possible. Here you need 2 entries in dummy other than diamonds and other than trumps.

Ruff 3♥s using DR to avoid ruff of 4th ♦ with 4-2 ♦ split

Here the contract is 7♠ and W leads the ♣10 (top of nothing or a doubleton), won by your ♣J. You have 12 top tricks. Do you want to hope for a 3-3 diamond split (40%), do you want to take out 2 trumps and hope to ruff the 4th diamond or do you want to use the dummy reversal (100%)? You, of course, need to ruff 3 hearts from dummy. Do you have 3 entries to dummy? Yes, 2 clubs, 2 diamonds, the ♥Ace and the ♠K. On the 2nd trick, you cash the ♠A&Q, cash the ♥Ace and ruff a heart, and return to dummy’s ♦Q and ruff a heart. You next return to dummy’s ♦Ace and ruff dummy’s last heart. You next return to dummy with the ♣K and discard your losing diamond and claim. If W has 4 spades, you are down unless W has at least 3 diamonds. In such case, you can ruff your 4th diamond.

Ruff 3♥s using DR to avoid ruff of

3rd ♣ after trumps are drawn

Here the contract is 6♠ and W leads the ♠5, which you take with dummy’s ♠J. Looking at the S hand, you have 2 club losers. If you could take out trumps, you could throw off a club loser in the dummy and then ruff a club in the dummy. Whenever faced with this situation, use the dummy reversal. Your aim is to ruff 3 hearts in your hand, take your trump A&K, go to dummy and take out the last trump with dummy’s ♠Q. You then run your diamonds and take your ♣Ace. You score 3 spade tricks in dummy, 3 heart ruffs in your hand, 5 diamonds and the ♣Ace to land your slam.

Ruff 2♣s using DR to avoid ruff of 4th ♦ with 4-2 ♦ split

Here the contract is 7♥ and W leads the ♣K. S took his ♣Ace, drew trumps, used dummy’s ♠Q to pitch a losing club and played out the ♦AK&Q, hoping that diamonds would split 3-3 or that an opponent would discard a diamond. Down one. The way to avoid having to ruff the 4th card with a 4-3 distribution is to use the dummy reversal. S should pitch his losing club on dummy’s ♠Q and then ruff two clubs. S next draws trumps and claims.

Ruff 3♠s using DR with singleton if unable to ruff 4th ♣

Here the contract is 7♥ and W leads the ♦10. You take your ♦J and play the ♥A&Q. If hearts split 4-1, you have to hope clubs are 3-3 or that the opponent with 4 hearts has 4 clubs, allowing you to ruff a club in dummy for the 13th trick. If hearts are 3-2, you need to play the hand as a dummy reversal or hope that clubs split 3-3. You ruff out 3 spades by getting to dummy’s ♠Ace, ♦Q and ♣Q. Dummy still has the master trump so you cross to dummy with the ♣Ace to take out the last trump. You win 6 hearts, 3 diamonds, 3 clubs and the ♠Ace for 13 tricks.

Ruff 3♠s using DR to avoid ruff of 4th ♣ with 4-2 ♣ split

Here the contract is 6♦ and W leads the ♦9. You have 11 cold tricks. If clubs split 3-3 or if you can ruff a club, you are home. The actual S drew 2 trumps, cashed the ♣Ace and then ♣K, leading from dummy in case E had a doubleton. S then played his ♣Q and W ruffed. S next ruffed his last club but had to lose a heart. Down one. The solution is to play a dummy reversal whenever you have a singleton and a 4-3 side suit, which may break 4-2 as the clubs do here. In such case, you will lose an honor to a ruff or fail to ruff your fourth card. Here, S should win the 1st trick in his hand, play a spade to dummy’s ♠Ace and ruff a spade. Dummy is entered twice more with clubs for 2 more spade ruffs. S then cashes his ♦Ace, his last trump, and leads to dummy’s ♥Ace to draw W’s outstanding trump with dummy’s ♦Q.

Ruff 1♣ using DR with singleton in

S if unable to ruff 3rd ♦ in N

Here the contract is 7♥ and W leads the ♦J, probably from a 5 or 6-card suit. If you can ruff your 3rd diamond, the contract is cold. Since this is a tournament and since all the experts will be at a grand slam contract, you need to question what the result will be if E has only two diamonds. If you ruff the 3rd diamond with a high trump in dummy, you will go down if trumps split 4-1. Why take all these chances? Whenever you have a singleton, consider using the dummy reversal. All you need to do is ruff one club. You throw off the other clubs in dummy on your 3 good spades. Whenever you have a 4-4 trump split, ruff in the hand which cannot be overruffed.

Ruff a ♠ & 2♣s using DR, if unable to ruff 4th ♦

Here the contract is 4♥ and W leads the ♥3. There are two sure diamond losers, a club loser and a potential 3rd diamond loser. Every time the opponents get in, they will lead trumps. You have to give up two diamonds to ruff your 4th diamond but, by that time, dummy will be void in hearts. Since you will be unable to ruff your 4th ♦, you need to execute a dummy reversal, ruffing 1 spade and 2 clubs in your hand. You may think that you will lose a 4th heart but it will go away on a loser. You win the 1st trump in your hand, cash the ♠A&K and duck a club. W wins and leads a 2nd trump to dummy’s ♥10. You now ruff a spade, go to dummy’s ♣Ace and ruff a club high. You return to dummy’s ♦Ace and ruff dummy’s last club high. You have won 9 tricks and dummy still has the ♥K. Dummy has only 3 losers: 2 diamonds and a club. You win 2 spades, 3 hearts, 3 ruffs, the ♦Ace and the ♣Ace, making game.

Ruff 3♦s using DR to avoid ruff of 4th ♠ with

4-2 ♠ split (with hope that E has 4♠s & 4♥s)

Here the contract is 6♥ and W leads the ♦K, followed by the ♦Ace, which is ruffed by S. Use the dummy reversal whenever you have a 4 card suit, here spades, that you need to ruff once. Since declarer could not expect a 3-3 spade split, he chooses to use the dummy reversal. He led a spade to the ♠K, ruffed a diamond, led a club to the ♣Ace and ruffed his last diamond. Unfortunately, this left only 3 trumps in dummy with 2 trumps in the S hand. As a consequence, E’s 4th trump took the setting trick. The solution is to take out 2 rounds of trumps after ruffing the 2nd diamond. When E shows out, W shows a 7-card diamond suit with a likelihood of perhaps only one trump. Discovering the bad 4-1 trump split, S should then attempt to trump the 4th spade, hoping that W, with the singleton trump, also has a doubleton or tripleton in spades.

Ruff 2♣s in S (after ♣ pitch with ♠Ace)

using DR to avoid ruff of 4th ♦ with 4-2 ♦

split (with hope that E has 4♦s & 3+♥s)

Here the contract is 7♥ and W leads the ♣K. You will pitch your losing club on the good ♠Ace in dummy. You lead a trump learning of the bad split. Now you know that it will be difficult to win the 4th diamond since diamonds must split 3-3, a 36% chance. The solution is to use the dummy reversal. You take the ♠K&Q, go to dummy with the ♥Q and pitch a club in your hand. You ruff 2 clubs. You take out trumps and voila, dummy is good. The moral of the story is to always use the dummy reversal when it looks like you will be unable to ruff your 4th card.

Ruff 5♣s using DR to avoid ruff of 4th ♦ with 4-2 ♦ split

Here the contract is 4♠ and W leads the ♣Ace. From S’s hand there are 4 sure losers, 2 diamonds & 2 hearts. From dummy’s hand, there is only 1 heart loser, 1 diamond loser, and a possible trump loser. The key to the hand is to get to dummy 4 times to set up dummy’s last club. This is one of those few hands when it does not matter whether you have 3 trumps in dummy since you plan to lose a trump to the opponents. If you count winners, you have 10 winners. Even though E has 3 trumps, E will end up trumping one of S’s losers. Of course, E must have 2 diamonds and 2 hearts for this to work. The moral of the story is to trump dummy’s long suit even if you have to spend all of S’s trumps but be sure to first count winners. Do not worry about E trumping your 3rd heart or 3rd diamond; you have already consigned those tricks as losers.

Ruff 3♣s (after ♣ pitch on 2nd ♠) using DR

to avoid ruff of 4th ♦ with 5-2 ♦ split

Here the contract is 4♥ (E having opened 1♠) and W leads the ♠10, which is taken by E’s ♠J. E then leads the ♠K upon which you throw a club. There is no point in trying to ruff two diamonds since dummy’s ♥8 will not be high enough when the diamonds split 4-3 (a 68% chance). Therefore, aim for a dummy reversal. Dummy will win 1♠ (via a ruff), 2♦s, 5♣s (having pitched a ♣ & ruffed 1♣) & 2♥s. Here E bid 2♠ and shows up with the ♠AK&J meaning that W probably has the ♥Q and at least 3♥s. After discarding your 1st club on E’s ♠K, play the ♣Ace and then the ♥A&K. Return to dummy with the ♣K and lead a 3rd round of clubs. Whenever W overruffs with his boss ♥Q, you get to dummy by trumping a diamond and take dummy’s last club.

Ruff 2♥s (if the ♥K finesse works) & 2♣s using

DR to avoid ruff of 4th ♦ with 4-2 ♦ split

Here the contract is 6♠ (W having doubled your 1♠ opening) and W leads the ♣K, which is taken by dummy’s ♣Ace. You have 6 spades, maybe 1 heart, 3 diamonds and 1 club. You need diamonds to split 3-3 or be able to ruff a 4th diamond. Fat chance. Your best hope is to play the dummy reversal. If the ♥K finesse is successful, you can ruff 2 hearts and 2 clubs. Your winning count is as follows: 3♠s, 3♥s (with 2 ruffs), 3♦s and 3♣s (with 2 ruffs). After winning the 1st trick, you ruff a club and take the ♥K finesse. After that wins, you concede the ♥10. W leads a spade, which you take with dummy’s ♠K. You ruff a club. You get to dummy with the ♦Ace and ruff a heart. You next get to dummy with the ♦Q and ruff a 2nd heart. You next cash your ♠Ace, overtake your ♠Q with dummy’s ♠K, and cash dummy’s ♠10, drawing W’s last trump. You win 3 spades, 3 hearts (with 2 ruffs), 3 diamonds and 3 clubs, making the slam.

Ruff 2♥s & 1♦ using DR to avoid

ruff of 4th ♣ with 4-2 ♣ split

Here the contract is 4♠ and W leads the ♥Q. Here is a situation where S will not be able to ruff his 4th club. This is because every time S plays a low club, the defenders will lead a trump voiding dummy’s spades before S can ruff his 4th club. The solution when you cannot ruff your 4th card in a suit is to play the dummy reversal. S should ruff one diamond in his hand and ruff 2 hearts in his hand (S will overruff E on the 4th heart). S loses 1 heart and 2 clubs, making the contract.

Ruff 2♠s using DR to avoid ruff of

4th ♣ in case ♣s split 4-2

Here the contract is 4♥ (W having opened 1♠) and W leads the ♠A&K. S ruffs W’s ♠K with a low heart. S has 1 sure spade loser, 1 sure diamond loser and 1 sure club loser. S will need to ruff his 4th club, so S decides on using the dummy reversal. S has to ruff W’s ♠K but realizes this will likely cause him to lose trump control since trumps are likely to split 4-2. S counts his winners from N: 2 spades (with ruffs in S), 3 hearts (the ♥AK&Q), 3 diamonds and 2 clubs. In order to win 3 diamonds, S has to lose a diamond, which means S will have to deal with a spade lead. Accordingly, S concedes a diamond to E’s ♦10. E then leads a 3rd spade, which S ruffs with his ♥J. S now cashes his ♥A&Q and leads a diamond to dummy’s ♦Ace. S next cashes dummy’s ♥K and leads the ♦K, followed by a 4th diamond, which E ruffs. E leads a club and S takes his ♣A&K. S ends up losing 1 spade, 1 heart and 1 diamond, making the contract.

Ruff 2♣s & 1♦ using DR to avoid need to ruff 3rd

♠. Conceding 2♠s would allow W to lead trumps

eliminating N’s trumps, preventing the ruff

Here the contract is 4♥ and W leads the ♥2, which you win with your ♥Ace. You have 5 hearts, 2 diamonds and 2 clubs. You need an extra trick. Viewing the hand as a dummy reversal, you have 3 hearts in dummy, 3 diamonds (with 1 ruff) and 4 clubs (with 2 ruffs). If W had not led a trump, you would have ruffed your 3rd spade in dummy. However,