The Joy of Endplays

In this lesson:

Clearly, the solution for an iffy suit is: "Last is best." When a defender leads a suit, your side plays last. What could be better?

You don't need to go up with an honor and hold your breath waiting to see if it is covered or captured. Instead, you can sit back and wait to see what they play before you have to commit yourself.

If you want to force a defender to make a helpful lead, you must have a throw-in card. This is an inevitable loser that you can afford to lose. But, before throwing a defender in, you must be sure that your problem will be solved regardless of which suit he leads.

In this lesson, Marty will discuss:

• - Why endplays are infinitely better than finesses
• - How to know if an endplay is possible
• - What must be present to achieve an endplay in a suit contract
• - When it is possible to have an endplay in notrump.
• - When it will matter which defender is thrown in
• - What must be done to set up the endplay
• - The great importance of managing your entries
• - The right thinking when you do your stripping
• - The correct mindset when given a ruff-sluff

Here is an example of what Marty will discuss:

You win West's heart lead with your ace. You have 4 possible losers: 3 in diamonds and possibly 1 in clubs. You cash the ♠10 and cross to dummy with the spade ace. Since the E-W spades are 2-2, this draws all their trump.

Now what?

First, ruff dummy's heart jack to strip that suit. It's time to think about the club suit. If clubs divide 3-2, you obviously have no problem. Your club intermediates are also strong enough to enable you to win four club tricks if either defender has a singleton honor.

But, if you exit with a diamond now and one defender was dealt four clubs headed by the J 10, you could go down. On the actual layout (see below), East should cash three diamonds and lead a club. Now, no matter what you do, you will eventually lose a club trick to West.

With the N-S club holding, the expert solution is to first cash one of your club honors. When you then exit with a diamond, you will NEVER lose a club trick. If one defender started with ♣ J 10 x x, he will have to lead the suit and "finesse himself," or watch his partner give you a ruff-sluff.

Here is the complete deal: