Find the Best Line of Play

If you can learn the best way to size up the hand BEFORE starting to play, you will find yourself making more contracts than you ever did. Rather than spinning your wheels in many directions, these real-life deals will illustrate the approach you should take to focus on the key issues.

For each deal in the lesson, Marty will explain exactly how and what you should think about BEFORE committing yourself. Although many players like "playing" more than "thinking", hopefully you agree that is often destined to yield very unsatisfactory results.

In this lesson Marty will show you how to:

• - Give yourself an extra chance to make the hand
• - Avoid losing finesses
• - Overcome bad splits
• - Know what you must about suit combinations
• - Take advantage of clues from the opponents' auction
• - Know when (and why) to not follow "8 ever, 9 never"
• - Know when it's right to go for an endplay, and how to set it up
• - Execute a squeeze without being proficient on the subject
• - Know when it's right to play differently at matchpoints

Here is an example of what Marty will discuss:

Neither Vulnerable  |  Contract 4♠  |  Lead ♣J

You (South) are in 4♠ after you dealt and opened 1♠. Your partner responded 2♦ and then bid 4♠ after you rebid 2NT.

The form of scoring does not matter. How will you play?

Answer to How Will You Play?

You can't avoid losing three aces, so you must avoid your club loser. Before starting to play, to have a chance to play this deal correctly, you must first answer these two important questions:

Question # 1: Where should you win the opening lead?

Question # 2: What suit will you lead at trick 2?

Essential hint: Question #1 should not be addressed until you answer Question #2.

Answer to question #2: What suit will you lead at trick 2? You must avoid losing a club, so leading a trump at trick 2 is 100% wrong. An opponent will win his ♠A and lead another club. It will now be impossible to avoid losing a trick in each suit.

Leading a diamond at trick 2 is a better plan. Dummy's diamond suit is long and strong and offers a chance to avoid losing a club trick. However, when you knock out the ♥A, E-W will persist with clubs. You'll then need to discard your last club on dummy's 3rd diamond honor without anyone ruffing. For this to work, you need diamonds to divide 3-3, which is against the odds.

In fact, the correct suit to lead at trick 2 is hearts. The combined N-S heart holding is not as imposing as the diamonds, but your side's hearts include the same three honors as in diamonds. And since E-W have 8 hearts, neither opponent is likely to be able to ruff one of your winners. Sometimes, less is more.

Answer to question #1: Where should you win the opening lead?

You now know to lead hearts at trick 2. Your hand has the heart length, so you must preserve the only fast entry to your hand (♣A). Therefore, at trick 1, you must win dummy's ♣K.

At trick 2, you'll apply "Use up the honor from the short side first" and lead the ♥J, and E-W are now helpless.

Here is the entire deal: