Countdown to Winning Bridge
By Tim Bourke and Marc Smith
()
About this ebook
Tim Bourke
Tim Bourke is a world-renowned collector and creator of interesting bridge hands, which he regularly supplies to authors such as David Bird and David Silver. He also personally owns what is probably the world's largest bridge library and is often consulted as an expert on matters of bridge bibliography. He lives with his wife Margaret, an Australian international player, in Canberra, Australia.
Related to Countdown to Winning Bridge
Related ebooks
Express Bridge Complete Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings17 Things That You Should or Should Not Do in the Bridge Game Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReversing the Dummy: And It's Cousin, the Cross Ruff Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Search for a Second Suit: It's in Here Somewhere Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTRUMP SUIT HEADACHES: Rx: For Declarers And Defenders Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSuit Preference: The Abused and Misused Signal Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTrump Promotion: The Uppercut Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlocking and Unblocking Plays in Bridge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElimination & Endplays Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShortness: A Key to Better Bidding, Second Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Reese on Play - An Introduction to Good Bridge Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Innovative Slam Bidding: Win Bridge Tournaments With Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDelightful Bridge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlanning the Play of a Bridge Hand Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Fun Way to Serious Bridge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Master the Odds in Bridge Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Advanced Bridge; The Higher Principles of the Game Analysed and Explained Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAdvanced Auction and Contract Bridge Tactics for the Keen Player Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlaying to Trick One: There Are No Mulligans in Bridge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTao Of Bridge: 200 Principles To Transform Your Game And Your Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Finesse: Only a Last Resort Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGlory of Notrump: World-Class Bridge in Action Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5KnightsBridge: Let's Play Better Bridge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBridge: Oddz and Endz Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBridge - from a to Z: Taking Your Game to the Next Level Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBridge for Bright Beginners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Guide to Contract Bridge - A Collection of Historical Books and Articles on the Rules and Tactics of Contract Bridge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTake All Your Chances Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBridge: Faux Pas: Let Me Count the Ways Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Little Book of Bridge: Learn How to Play, Score, and Win Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Card Games For You
Ultimate Book of Card Games: The Comprehensive Guide to More than 350 Games Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blackjack Card Counting: How to be a Professional Gambler Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hoyle's Rules of Games - Descriptions of Indoor Games of Skill and Chance, with Advice on Skillful Play Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Card Games: The Complete Rules to the Classics, Family Favorites, and Forgotten Games Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCard Games For Dummies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMagic The Gathering: Deck Building For Beginners Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPhil Gordon's Little Green Book: Lessons and Teachings in No Limit Texas Hold'em Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Phil Gordon's Little Gold Book: Advanced Lessons for Mastering Poker 2.0 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: 30th Anniversary Card Deck eBook Companion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlackjack: Play Like The Pros Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5150 Ways to Play Solitaire - Complete with Layouts for Playing Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Everything Card Games Book: A complete guide to over 50 games to please any crowd Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeat Blackjack Now!: The Easiest Way to Get the Edge! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Self-Working Card Tricks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Official Rules of Card Games - Hoyle Up-To-Date Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTexas Hold'em For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Encyclopedia of Card Tricks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bridge For Dummies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Win at Blackjack Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5To the River: Odds and Probabilities in Texas Hold’Em Poker Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow To Play Euchre: A Beginner’s Guide to Learning the Euchre Card Game Instructions, Scoring & Strategies to Win at Playing Euchre Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSelf-Working Close-Up Card Magic: 56 Foolproof Tricks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cribbage: A Strategy Guide for Beginners Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPoker: The Real Deal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Card Player: The Total Poker Manual: 266 Essential Poker Skills Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShuffle and Deal: 50 Classic Card Games for Any Number of Players Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Royal Road to Card Magic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Countdown to Winning Bridge
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Countdown to Winning Bridge - Tim Bourke
1. Why Count?
Do you remember sitting behind the wheel of a car for your first driving lesson? Like us, you probably wondered how you were supposed to watch the traffic while simultaneously making the car go where you wanted it to, let alone worrying about how you switched on the wipers or the turn signal. For many bridge players, the word ‘counting’ seems to evoke similar feelings of confusion and dread. This is particularly curious, since even small children can count to thirteen. The good news is that, with practice, counting at the bridge table can become as routine as driving a car or riding the proverbial bike. In this chapter, we'll also show you how useful a skill it is to acquire.
When you first started playing bridge, you probably found that you often seemed to freeze because there were so many things to think about that you did not know where to start. You had to count high card points and remember to add distributional points which, you were told, changed as the bidding progressed. You also had to work out how many points partner's bid showed and add them to your own. It is little wonder that, by the time dummy appeared, you had precious little energy left to count your winners and losers, let alone remember how many trumps were out. Fairly soon, though, you were able to keep a running total of the number of trumps played as a matter of habit. From there it was a small step to work out how many were outstanding — and your counting career had begun.
Counting during the play of the hand takes many forms. Keeping track of the number of trumps played is where we all start. As we gain experience, we learn to pay attention to the cards played in more than one suit, so that we know whether, for example, dummy's remaining low diamond is a winner. Having mastered these basic counting tasks, we learn to count the opponents’ hands too. In this book, we start at the very beginning by looking at how you should count — by using patterns. As we progress, so the hands become progressively more difficult. Even players with very little experience should have no trouble with our first hand; however, it allows us to introduce some useful ideas:
You must train yourself to count your tricks, even in simple contracts. This is something we are all taught as novices, and it is a process that even the expert player performs on every hand. Here you have eleven top tricks — one club, four diamonds, three hearts and three spades, so you must find two more to bring your total to thirteen. Your twelfth trick, you hope, will come from the fifth diamond in hand and the thirteenth from a 3-3 break in one of the majors. (More experienced readers will have noticed squeeze chances, but we are ignoring them on this hand in the interest of emphasizing the mechanics of the counting process).
West leads the ♣K, so you win the ♣A and immediately test diamonds. The skill you have acquired in counting trumps will make keeping an eye on the diamond suit a breeze, but it is worth mentioning quickly exactly how you should count the defenders’ diamonds.
Deducting your seven diamonds from thirteen tells you the defenders have six diamonds. Although counting to six may not seem overly arduous, it's still easier to think in terms of suit combinations. In this instance, the defenders’ diamonds may break 3-3, 4-2, 5-1 or 6-0. Both defenders follow to the first diamond winner, so you can rule out the 6-0 breaks. When you cash the second top diamond, everyone follows again. As the suit must now break either 3-3 or 4-2, you don't care who has the remaining diamonds. Rather than counting to thirteen, or even to six, you only had to count to two!
Now that your long diamond is a winner, you have twelve tricks and just need to find one major breaking favorably. How should you proceed? Moderately experienced players would cash the diamond tricks, throwing clubs from dummy, while keeping track of any major-suit discards. Perhaps you note that the defenders have six cards in each major, and as each major-suit card is played you mentally reduce the number of outstanding cards.
Until it becomes a habit, keeping track of both suits may be too much — it is also unnecessary. Choose one of the majors to watch — let's say hearts. After cashing your diamonds, play off the top hearts. Because you have been counting the suit you will know whether the thirteenth heart is a winner. If it is, your problems are over. Otherwise, play four rounds of spades and hope for the best.
With practice, these basic counting processes become routine. After progressing beyond the beginner stage, most players carry them out without conscious thought. The next step in learning to count a bridge hand is to work out the distribution of an opponent's hand. To appreciate the advantages of doing so, try playing a few hands with the defenders’ hands face-up on the table like extra dummies.
When you first try to count a defender's shape it seems like an impossible task, even though all the information is in your head. As with most things though, it is only a question of practice. Let's begin with a straightforward example to outline the thought processes you need to follow. If you are feeling industrious, take the South seat and cover the East-West hands.
As always, count your tricks before playing a card. Make a point of doing this on every hand and it will soon become a habit. Here you can count three diamond tricks, three clubs and three hearts on top. Driving out the ♠A will develop two spade tricks. That makes eleven tricks, so you need to find one more. The extra trick must come from spades or hearts.
Now it's time to play. You win the diamond lead in dummy and play a spade to the king, which loses to West's ace. After winning the diamond continuation, it is time to cash some winners to see what you can discover. Start by taking the top spades — if the suit breaks 3-3 you will have twelve tricks. Count the spades by watching to see if everyone follows to three rounds. (Remember that it is easier to count to three than to six.)
West discards a diamond on the third round of spades, and you have reached the next point at which you should pause for thought. As the spades have not broken, your twelfth trick will have to come from hearts. Should you play the three top hearts and hope the suit breaks 3-3, or cash the ace and king and finesse against the jack?
The answer is that it is too early to decide yet. There is still information available that may help you make that decision. For now, fix the spade division in your mind — the defender on your left had only two.
You play off your minor-suit winners and East shows out on the third diamond. That means there were originally five diamonds on your left, so you know seven of West's cards — five diamonds and two spades. You cash your club winners, and when West discards a diamond on the third round, you are almost home. All that remains is to count to thirteen.
West began with two spades, five diamonds and two clubs — that's nine cards that are not hearts — and, therefore, four hearts. It is now easy to cash the ♥AK and, if the jack has not fallen, to play a heart to the ten knowing your finesse will win. You could just as easily have counted East's hand — four spades, two diamonds, five clubs (eleven non-hearts) and so only room for two hearts. Note that you need only count one defender's hand. Trying to count both hands not only leads to mistakes but wastes valuable mental energy.
On the last hand, you were able to get an exact count of the defenders’ distribution. This will not always be possible, but that does not mean that a little discovery work will not pay handsome dividends. The next hand illustrates why any counting is better than none. If it's not too early in the day, take over from declarer and cover the defenders’ hands.
The lead is the ♠7, and you win the ♠J as East follows with the three (the lowest missing card in the suit, suggesting an odd number of spades). Stop to count your tricks — one spade, three diamonds and (you hope) six clubs, which is plenty. Clearly, if the missing clubs break 2-1 there is no problem. The only danger is a 3-0 club break. So, which defender is most likely to have a club void?
Diagram repeated for convenience
Based on the lead, perhaps you decide that West has five spades to East's three, so he is more likely to be short in clubs. This in itself is true, but what if North had somehow become declarer and East had led his longest suit — maybe hearts — and he proved to have five of those. Would that make him more likely to be short in clubs? Not really. In both situations, the leader led his longest suit, which is hardly surprising, and you should be cautious about reading too much into that information. (We shall discuss this trap further in Chapter 6.)
So, is it a complete guess? Perhaps, but you do have one opportunity to gain more information before putting your eggs in one basket or the other — you can cash your diamond winners. Eureka! East discards a heart on the third round of diamonds. Your contract is now guaranteed. West started with five diamonds and, presumably, five spades. What are the chances he also has three clubs? None, for then East would have passed as dealer, not vulnerable, with eight hearts to the ace-queen-jack-ten! Your thoughtful play is rewarded when you lead a low club towards dummy and West discards. It is now a simple matter to finesse against East's ♣Q on the way back and claim your contract.
Counting the defenders’ hands is crucial to sound declarer play. The more you know about how the opponents’ cards lie, the better your decisions will be. Try your hand at the following problem:
You have eleven top tricks and your contract hinges on locating the ♠Q. With no knowledge of the distribution, this is a 50-50 guess. Can you think of a way to improve those odds?
Initially, both defenders are equally likely to hold the ♠Q. Those odds will alter if the exact distribution of the spade suit is known. The defender with more spades is more likely to hold the queen:
Let's see what you can find out. You win the diamond lead and cash your hearts, noting that West follows only twice. Perhaps you decide that West has only two hearts (and thus eleven non-hearts) to East's three, so West is more likely to hold the vital ♠Q. This reasoning is correct, but it would be premature to play a spade to dummy's ten as you have not yet completed all your discovery work.
Can you find out more about the defenders’ hands? For example, wouldn't it be nice to know how clubs divide? To do this you must first duck a club — you have to lose a trick at some point anyway. You win the diamond return and play off your minor-suit winners. On the third round of diamonds, East discards a spade, so you now know that West began with seven red cards (two hearts and five diamonds). When you cash the ♣AK, your forethought is rewarded because East discards another spade. Note that it is only because you ducked a club earlier that you were able to see three rounds of the suit.
You now know twelve of West's cards — two hearts, five diamonds and five clubs. It is a simple matter to play a spade to dummy's ace and run the jack on the way back, assured that your finesse will win. This is the full layout:
This hand provides an insight into why successful players are often known as lucky guessers. What started out as a 50-50 contract became a 100% certainty by the time the critical finesse was taken. Was it so hard? Did you do anything more complicated than count to thirteen?
LESSONS FROM THIS CHAPTER
• Always count your tricks before you play to trick one.
• Count missing cards by watching how suits break.
• Knowing the shape of the closed hands is an enormous advantage. Use your counting to work out one defender's shape.
• The defender with more cards in a suit is more likely to hold a specific card in that suit.
• The more tricks you play (and thus the more defenders’ cards you see) before making a crucial decision, the more likely you are to ‘guess’ right.
2. The Mechanics of
Counting
‘How do you count to thirteen?’ This may seem like a silly question, but in this chapter we shall try to persuade you that there are better ways of doing it than the obvious ‘one, two, three… twelve, thirteen.’
Keeping track of trumps is a skill novices learn