Many
players believe that counting a hand is too
difficult, an exercise best left to the
experts. We find that concession depressing.
Anyone can count to 13, and even the experts
start their analysis with this key number.
Each hand is composed of 13 cards, If you
know that a player has two spades, three
hearts, and four diamonds, then you know for
certain that he has four clubs. There are 13
cards in every suit. If you can see seven
spades in your hand and dummy combined, and
one opponent is known to hold four spades,
you know for certain that the other opponent
holds exactly two spades. Anyone can draw
logical conclusions from the evidence; the
experts have no monopoly on this important
aspect of play and defence.
Neither side vulnerable East deals
West |
North |
East |
South |
|
|
1 |
Pass |
1 |
Pass |
2 |
Pass |
Pass |
Dble |
Pass |
3 |
End |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:
K
East overtakes the
K
and cashes two more clubs, West discarding
the
2
on the third club. East switches to the
10
and you successfully finesse the queen.
Although there is more to this deal than
simply drawing trumps, it is not too early
to form a picture of the entire layout.
Let's count, keeping the number 13 in mind. West, who responded 1
will have four; East, who raised to 2,
must have three. With four spades and four
hearts, West would have responded 1;
if East had more than four hearts, he would
have opened 1.
Thus, West has three hearts, East four. West
has shown two clubs, East five. Put it
together and you can be certain that East's
shape is precisely 3-4-1-5, West's precisely
4-3-4-2. What now?
With trumps four-one, you must force out the
A
before drawing all the trumps (else East can
cash two more clubs).
The
correct play, which runs the small risk of
losing to the singleton
Q,
is to play a low trump to dummy's ten before
attacking hearts. If East wins the second
heart and plays a third, ruff with the king,
then run the
9,
repeat the finesse, and claim. If East plays
a fourth club, ruff in hand.
A footnote: with a hand worth only bid it is common to bypass a four- or
five-card diamond suit to introduce a major
suit.
On
this deal, however, you could come to the
right conclusions about the distribution
without delving into the opponents' style.
The four
hands were: