March 2003

BID BYTES

ME         YOU
Pass        1 Heart
2 NT

Q) How many points do I have?
A) I jumped the bidding after passing. Must have less than an opening hand, but not much less. This is a game invitation jump bid - 11 to 12 points - an a balanced hand.

Q) Now for the hard part - what is my distribution?
A) 2 hearts (I didn't raise), 2/3 spades (I didn't bid them), 4-4 or 5-3 minors.

THE RULE OF 11

Frequently the opening leader selects the fourth from top of his best suit, especially against notrump. When your partner leads fourth, subtract the value of that card from 11.

The answer tells you how many higher cards in that suit are held in dummy, your hand and declarer. Since you can see dummy and your own hand, you can calculate how many of them are held by declarer.

For example,  Partner leads the heart 7 and you see:

DUMMY          YOU
H) Q 8 2           H) A 10 3

Subtracting 7 from 11 gives four cards above the 7. You can see two of them in dummy and two in your hand, so declarer has no hearts higher than the 7. Play just high enough to beat the dummy card then return a heart on the second trick.

Be careful not to block the heart suit:
A)  cover dummy 8 with the 10, then return the A then 3.
B)  cover the dummy Q with the A, then return the 10.

WHY BRIDGE IS BETTER THAN SEX

1. It is perfectly acceptable to hire a pro to play with you.

2. If partner takes pictures of you at the table, you don't have to worry about them showing up in a tabloid when you become famous.

3. Your partner doesn't become upset about someone you played with long ago.

4. It is acceptable to play with a total stranger.

5. When you see a really good bridge player, you don't have to feel guilty about imagining the two of you playing together.

BridgeSnaps newsletter is produced by John S. Thomas, author of Standard American 21.