July 2020 - 47
Newer Players
Lessons Learned
BY MICHAEL BERKOWITZ
michael@larryco.com
A friend on lead
My family doesn't often play bridge
with just the four of us. When we do,
it almost always ends in tears (mine).
One time we played on Christmas day.
Like all good Jewish families, we had
tickets for a 5 p.m. movie and dinner
reservations for the local Chinese restaurant. By mid-morning, however, my
sister and I were already driving our
parents nuts with our bickering.
They decided it would be a good idea
to get out of the house (and away from
each other) by going to the local bridge
club. I would play with my mother, and
my sister would play with my father.
We started out against each other. On
the very first board, my sister opened
1NT on my right. My father bid 4NT
(invitational to slam), and my sister
went into the tank. She stared at her
hand and shook her head. Then she
sighed. Finally, she bolted upright - a
stroke of inspiration. She turned to
me and, staring right at me, cracked a
predatory grin. 6NT found its way to
the table, her eyes never leaving mine.
Now came my turn to fret and worry.
I finally closed my eyes and picked a
card. Dummy came down and my sister
showed her hand to claim - a bare
minimum 15 points. "Why did you have
to bid six?" I whined. She said, "I had a
friend on lead."
Most bridge players are pretty good
when they get to play fourth to a trick.
For example, with K-4 in a suit; you
aren't likely to take a trick when playing first or second, but you will almost
always win a trick with the king, either
on the current trick or a subsequent
one, if you play last.
There are thousands of scenarios
where I'd rather play last. The A-Q is
always two tricks if my left-hand opponent leads the suit. The K-Q-10 is also
worth two tricks in that scenario.
Sometimes our friends don't help
us out on the opening lead (we can't
always play against our favorite opponents) and need a little prodding.
Instead of doing all of the lifting
ourselves, it's important to think about
how to get our friend or friends to lead
a suit for us.
Dummy
♠AK543
♥K4
♦765
♣932
Declarer
♠9876
♥A9
♦AKQ4
♣K64
You are declarer in 4♠, and West
leads the ♥Q. After winning the lead,
you draw two rounds of trump, and
your RHO discards a heart on the second round. What is your plan?
Let's count the losers on this hand.
You have a spade loser, no heart losers,
no diamond losers and three potential
club losers. You can hope that diamonds are 3-3 - about 36% of the time,
they will be - allowing you to discard
one of dummy's clubs. You could also
play for the♣A to be in front of the
king; that will happen 50% of the time.
Better, though, would be if LHO had led
clubs originally. Maybe, however, you
can coerce LHO into playing clubs for
you.
Many (dare I say most?) would
simply play diamonds and then, when
that fails, hope the ♣A was onside.
Look what you can do though, if, before
attacking diamonds, you play another
round of hearts first. If the diamonds
are 3-3, you can get rid of one of the
clubs in dummy. But even if they don't
split, if your opponent ruffs in, what
can West do? They have no more
spades or diamonds. A heart gives you
a ruff and a sluff, allowing you to get rid
of a club loser in dummy, while a club
lead goes up to your king.
So say West is clever and doesn't
ruff the third or the fourth round of
diamonds. When you play your low diamond, you ruff in dummy, creating this
possible layout:
♠Q
♥ 10
♦-
♣AJ7
♠54
♥-
♦-
♣932
♠98
♥-
♦-
♣K64
♠-
♥Q8
♦-
♣ Q 10 8
Now, don't play a club. Play a trump
- your LHO is your friend. West wins
the trick but must give you a trick no
matter what.
◾
July 2020 Bridge Bulletin
47
July 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2020
In First Seat - Paul Linxwiler
Inbox -Letters to the Editor
A Message from the President
Unprecedented Success
Zoom Boom
Reinventing the Game
Lynn Deas 1952–2020
Cards for a Cause
ACBL Educational Foundation Names Board of Trustees
Confusing Cuebids by Mel Colchamiro
Yukon Gold
A Hand of Bridge by Augie Boehm
Ruling the Game
For the Record
Defensive Maneuvers – part 2
The Bidding Box
It's Your Call
Card Play 101 - by Phillip Alder
Parrish the Thought - Adam Parrish
Reasoning with Robert - Robert Todd
Startup Bridge by Lynn Berg
Ask Jerry - by Jerry Helms
Bidding Basics by Larry Cohen
Lessons Learned by Michael Berkowitz
Mike's Bridge Lesson - Mike Lawrence
Chalk Talk- Eddie Kantar
Boehm on Bridge
West Hands -Bidding Box
The Real Deal - by Larry Cohen
Challenge of the Month
East Hands -Bidding Box
Better Bridge with Bergen-Marty Bergen
Bidding Matters - by Karen Walker
Test Your Play
Mike's Advice - by Mike Lawrence
Solutions to Test Your Play
My Bridge and Yours - by Frank Stewart
Dear Billy - by Billy Miller
Bridge with the Abbot - by David Bird
George's World - by George Jacobs
New Life Masters
Life Master Milestones
In Memoriam
Obituary - Gerald Bare (1933-2020)
John Verkaik (1930-2020)
Puzzle Page
Tournament Directory
July 2020 - 1
July 2020 - 2
July 2020 - 3
July 2020 - 4
July 2020 - 5
July 2020 - In First Seat - Paul Linxwiler
July 2020 - Inbox -Letters to the Editor
July 2020 - 8
July 2020 - A Message from the President
July 2020 - Unprecedented Success
July 2020 - 11
July 2020 - 12
July 2020 - 13
July 2020 - Zoom Boom
July 2020 - 15
July 2020 - Reinventing the Game
July 2020 - 17
July 2020 - Lynn Deas 1952–2020
July 2020 - 19
July 2020 - Cards for a Cause
July 2020 - ACBL Educational Foundation Names Board of Trustees
July 2020 - Confusing Cuebids by Mel Colchamiro
July 2020 - 23
July 2020 - Yukon Gold
July 2020 - A Hand of Bridge by Augie Boehm
July 2020 - Ruling the Game
July 2020 - For the Record
July 2020 - Defensive Maneuvers – part 2
July 2020 - 29
July 2020 - The Bidding Box
July 2020 - 31
July 2020 - 32
July 2020 - 33
July 2020 - It's Your Call
July 2020 - 35
July 2020 - 36
July 2020 - 37
July 2020 - 38
July 2020 - 39
July 2020 - Card Play 101 - by Phillip Alder
July 2020 - Parrish the Thought - Adam Parrish
July 2020 - Reasoning with Robert - Robert Todd
July 2020 - Startup Bridge by Lynn Berg
July 2020 - 44
July 2020 - Ask Jerry - by Jerry Helms
July 2020 - Bidding Basics by Larry Cohen
July 2020 - Lessons Learned by Michael Berkowitz
July 2020 - Mike's Bridge Lesson - Mike Lawrence
July 2020 - Chalk Talk- Eddie Kantar
July 2020 - Boehm on Bridge
July 2020 - The Real Deal - by Larry Cohen
July 2020 - Challenge of the Month
July 2020 - Better Bridge with Bergen-Marty Bergen
July 2020 - Bidding Matters - by Karen Walker
July 2020 - Test Your Play
July 2020 - Mike's Advice - by Mike Lawrence
July 2020 - Solutions to Test Your Play
July 2020 - My Bridge and Yours - by Frank Stewart
July 2020 - Dear Billy - by Billy Miller
July 2020 - Bridge with the Abbot - by David Bird
July 2020 - George's World - by George Jacobs
July 2020 - 62
July 2020 - New Life Masters
July 2020 - Life Master Milestones
July 2020 - 65
July 2020 - John Verkaik (1930-2020)
July 2020 - Puzzle Page
July 2020 - Tournament Directory
July 2020 - 69
July 2020 - 70
July 2020 - 71
July 2020 - 72
July 2020 - 73
July 2020 - 74
July 2020 - 75
July 2020 - 76
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2024_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2024_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2024_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2024_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2024_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2024_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2024_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2024_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2024_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2023_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2023_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2023_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2023_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2023_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2023_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2023_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2023_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2023_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2023_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2023_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2023_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2022_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2022_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2022_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2022_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2022_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2022_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2022_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2022_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2022_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2022_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2022_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2022_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2021_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2021_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2021_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2021_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2021_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2021_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2021_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2021_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2021_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2021_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2021_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2021_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2020_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2020_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2020_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2020_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2020_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2020_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2020_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2020_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2020_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2020_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2020_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2020_01a
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2017_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2017_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2017_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2017_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2017_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2017_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2017_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2017_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2017_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2017_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2017_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2017_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2015_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2015_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2015_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2015_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2015_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2015_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2015_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2015_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2015_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2015_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2015_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2015_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2014_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2014_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2014_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2014_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2014_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2014_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2014_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2014_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2014_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2014_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2014_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2014_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2013_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2013_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2013_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2013_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2013_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2013_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2013_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2013_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2013_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2013_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2013_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2013_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2012_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2012_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2012_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2012_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2012_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2012_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2012_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2012_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2012_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2012_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2012_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2012_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2011_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2011_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2011_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2011_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2011_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2011_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2011_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2011_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2011_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2011_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2011_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2011_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2010_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2010_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2010_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2010_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2010_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2010_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2010_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2010_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2010_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2010_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2010_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2010_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2009_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2009_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2009_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2009_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2009_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2009_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2009_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2009_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2009_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2009_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2009_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2009_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2008_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2008_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2008_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2008_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2008_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2008_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2008_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2008_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2008_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2008_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2008_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2008_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2007_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2007_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2007_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2007_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2007_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2007_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2007_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2007_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2007_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2007_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2007_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2007_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2006_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2006_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2006_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2006_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2006_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2006_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2006_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2006_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2006_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2006_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2006_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2006_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2005_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2005_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2005_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2005_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2005_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2005_07
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2005_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2005_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2005_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2005_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2005_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2005_01
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com