Bridge Thoughts

[grog...@inav.net]

Hi Friends and bridge Colleagues:>
I thought you might be interested in this e-mail I sent to one of my
favorite persons as well as bridge partner.
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Hi LOve:>
I like you lots as a person as well as playing bridge with you.
As bridge means so much to you, I will do what I can to help you become
that dream that you seek so avidly. I admire your tenacity and fierce
desire. I am the best battle companion that you could ever imagine.
............................................................................
...
1. You have reached a point in your game where it is wise to discontinue
the Holy Grail search for a bidding convention to make you a winner. That
is a false god... a chimera... and the work of bridge devils from hell.
The game is analysis of situations and problems and those who solve them
are winners. Yes, I know, you don't think you can't do that! However, I
believe you can learn that just as you learned bidding in which you have
done an excellent job and helped me out with that as you do others.
2. Jim Hall and my game with Mark Lair was pure thought and very little but
basic stuff and not one mistake was made except that I bid 2 hearts
vulnerable over a 1NT opener. The whole set might go into a book called,
"The Way to Good Bridge."
3. You are responding to 1 club by me and your 2 clubs and/or 3 clubs
(inverted minor convention) in an unproductive manner. You raised 1 club
to 3 with an outside King and 5 clubs to the 8 (8xxxx). Yesterday, after
passing, you bid 2 clubs over my one club with a VERY minimum holding for a
constructive bid as it forces us to 2NT or the 3 level unequivocally, even
as passed hand. I bring this matter to your attention so that you give
more consideration to this sequence.
4. You are not yet quite rid of the desire to bid something each time it is
your turn. Out of 36 possible contracts, pass is 2.8%. Pass is a bid!!!
When there is nothing more to offer to the contract other than pass, do
that promptly.
5. You need to refresh your memory concerning our slam tools.
snipped
......c. I realize that it is frightening to abandon recipes for each hand
or play. In defense it is imperative to attack the declarer "if possible."
Top of nothing leads are not only a waste of the "top card" but a waste of
your turn because sooner or later the declarer is in control of the hand
most usually.
Let us take the case of 932 .... the 9 is a good middle card and should not
be wasted. If you lead the 2 partner will at least have the picture that
you have 3 or 4 cards and from his/her hand and dummy construct that as an
attacking lead of a suit either not mentioned or through a weakness in the
dummy. At the very least, partner gets a count of one suit which aids in
building a picture of the other suits. (and if he/she holds JT7654, not a
spot was wasted..((don't laugh))). The leads of 10 or 9 is either from a
sequence and with none higher or with 2 higher. That is an old, old
defensive communication to which I adhere. And as I try very hard NOT to
make "do nothing" leads, my 9's usually mean two higher.
From QT9 ... lead 9
KJ9... lead 9
QT953 ... lead 9
and so on
......d. A note about the hand where you have 5 spade trumps against you:
you take the diamond suit and build a cannon and blow the turkey right out
of his/her trumps. That's it. (And you thank the bridge gods for giving
you the cannon.)
......e. You must avoid "do nothing" things as a rule. Do not dwell on a
suit that is set up unless you want to squeeze the opps... go about your
shopping list which means you have lots of tricks to pick up before the
hand is over.
......f. I find sometimes in play a magical thinking that the opps will
throw all their Aces and Kings away if you play enough cards. To be able to
claim early spares lots of energy (a thing which I could be much better at
than I am).
......g. You must watch spots. In the NT game that you should not be in,
the spots were the key to making the hand.... 8's, 7's and 9's are the
bread and butter of making some games as well as good defense. Why
shouldn't an 8 be important? It is a better card than 76543 or 2
...Hmmmmmmmmm better than 6 cards in a suit with 13 cards... 46.15% as good
as an ace and a 9 is 53.85% as good as an ace and so on up the line to the
bridge god who controls aces, kings and queens. LOL
......h. I am still awed about that giving count helps so much in defending
hands... I am almost afraid that I am chasing a false god, but each time I
turn around it still works. Throwing the 5th card of a 5 card suit is
declarative to saying "I like this suit" or "don't worry about this suit, I
have it."
Perhaps in your reading you have run across this manner of defense. It is
new to me and I learned it as I tried to build a picture of suits so I
could either play or defend.
......i. Suit splits are the key to play, defense and bidding.
13 card suits, split 0-0
12 card suits, split 1-0
11 card suits, split 2-1
10 card suits, split 3-0 or 2-1
9 card suits split, 4-0, 3-1 or 2-2. As there is more probality of 2-2
than each of the others, I play for 2-2 most usually. I find that if I
vary that I am taking the wrong road often.
8 card suits split, 5-0, 4-1, 3-2 and again the even split has the edge.
7 card suits split, 6-0, 5-1, 4-2 and 3-3. As you can see, the shorter
the suit the more wold the suit becomes in splitting which emphasizes why 9
card suits are advisable in slams.
For example: 6 cards, split 7-0, 6- 1, 5-2 and 4-3. Although a 6 card
suit is more likely than not to split 4-3 the propensity for huge trump
stacks is considerable. 3 other alternatives, unlike 9 cards which have
only 2 other ways to split... (and then not with such disastrous
consequences). s split, of (I disregarded this algorithm when I tried to
manage a 19 HCP (1 Diamond doubled) hand with 6 total trumps and a side
suit of 9 cards which soon became thier trumps.... the power of two suiters
brought to me .)
......j. The distribution of key cards is important... A, K, Q, J and 10
are boss cards. If you hold this combination:
Dummy...A J 3 2
.....
Declarer..K 9 5 4
There is out Q 10 8 7 6
If you lead to the ace and 10 drops to your left, then this defender most
likely has either no others or the Queen. If RHO holding Q876 plays the 6
no information can be gained except that is either 3 or 4... if he/she
tries to signal then it is more likely he/she has cards to spare.. but the
Queen, who knows? Like a key card dropping with 9 cards there are reasons
for each expert player to chose either to finesse or play for the drop in
that situation. As I follow the law of restricted choice, I usually
finesse. I would appreciate your ideas on this matter.
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I really love this game and most of the times the people who play it.
Keep playing bridge and be good to poor Tuna and feed your guppies every
day with more practice.

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