Rodwell Files: Part 4 - The DOs and DON'Ts of Cardplay [Rodwell/Horton]

The original 'Rodwell File', the collection of notes on which these books are based, has been in existence for more than twenty years, but it is only now that the author is prepared to allow his 'secrets' to become public knowledge.

PART 5 - THE DOs AND DON'Ts OF CARDPLAY

Chapter 16: The DOs of Cardplay
1. Count HCP Shape, Winners and Losers
2. Reconstruct Both Unseen Hands
3. Pay Attention to Negative Inferences from Earlier Plays
and/or Bidding
4. Check Your Work for Errors  Do It Twice
5. Anticipate Possible Snags
6. Check Out a Minor Option Before Taking the Main Line
7. Look for the Possibility of a Dummy Reversal
8. Use the Defogging Questions when Your Analysis Gets
Bogged Down
9. Make Sure You Are Aware when the Play Follows a Tightrope
10. Keep Up with the Facts as They Become Available and
Restock Regularly
11. Make Sure You Register Information as it Becomes Available
12. Be Alert to the Need for a Change of Tack
13. Trust the Opponents Carding
14. Notice and Take Correct Inferences from Surprising Actions
by an Opponent
15. Look for Ways to Create a False Impression in the Mind
of an Opponent
16. Prepare Your Falsecards
17. Lead Toward High Cards to Prevent Them Being Ruffed Out
18. Cash Your Tricks Before the Opponent(s) Can Discard
in a Suit and Subsequently Ruff Your Winners
19. Routinely Unblock Spotcards
20. Be Alert for Situations Where One of the Opponents
Can Be Cut Off
21. Be Alert for Unusual Types of Holdup Play
22. Be Alert for (Perhaps Unusual) Ducking Plays
23. Try to Neutralize the Opponents Winners
24. Always Consider Partner's Problems on Defense
25. View the Play from the Danger Hand Perspective
26. Try to Figure Out Why an Opponent Is Playing a Hand in a
Certain Way
27. Be Prepared for a Play
28. Watch for Situations where Communication Problems Exist,
or Could be Made to Exist
29. Always Consider the Merits of Passive Play
30. Be Prepared to Make an Attacking Shift if the Situation
Demands It

Chapter 17: The DON'Ts of Cardplay
1. Don't Take Speculation as Fact
2. Don't Mire Your Thought Processes in Speculation Once
Facts Are Available
3. Don't Make a Play in a Crucial Suit Before All Possible
Information Is Obtained
4. Don't Strip Out Your Side's Suit as a Defender
5. Don't Forget to Use Trick Packages in Your Analysis
6. Don't Lose Your Train of Thought
7. Don't Succumb to Emotional Prejudice
8. Don't Get Locked into a Pattern
9. Don't Get Caught in a Thematic Freeze
10. Don't Concede to Analytical Fatigue

Download the other parts of this book:

• Download Part 1
• Download Part 2
• Download Part 3