Treasure your Entries as Much as Your Aces

From One Hand or T'Other<TITLE> <CENTER><H1>From One Hand or T'Other </H1></CENTER> <dd> <TABLE ALIGN=center> <center> <TABLE WIDTH=70% BORDER=0> <TR> <TD ></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A Q</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A K 7 5</TD></TR> <TR><TD></TD><TD ><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A 7 2</TD></TR> <TR><TD></TD><TD ><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> Q J 9 5</TD></TR> <center><src img="green.gif"></center> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 10 7 4</TD> <TD ></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 9 6 </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> K Q 8 4 </TD> <TD >Contract: 6 clubs</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD ></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A K 8 3 </TD> <TD >Opening lead: 2 of hearts</TD> </TR> </TABLE></center> <dd>Declarer would've done well to count the hand from one hand or t'other before rushing to draw trump, which suit offers a lot of communication as declarer gets out the trump. If you count from dummy, you can dismiss concern for diamonds or spades (while taking the finesse, of course), but there are two low hearts to concern yourself with. If you count out from the closed hand, you'll just hafta hope that either diamonds split 3-3 or that the spade hook is off, but in any case, you've got a third round of spades to ruff, without any if's and's or but's. <dd>As for spades, with only 5 cards in the suit, I'd recommend taking that finesse early, the probability of running into a singleton in one hand getting a second-round ruff being remote. Unfortunately this declarer took three rounds of trump, cutting down his communication severely before tackling spades. Declarer won the opening lead in dummy, and cashed the Q J of clubs, getting the news of a 4-1 break, West holding the 4, which leaves him in the wrong hand for the spade hook. So he came to the A of trump and took a losing finesse. <dd>East returned a spade after taking his K, and we see that declarer must now come to the closed hand on a diamond, ruff a spade, cash the A of diamonds and, holding his breath, lead a third round of diamonds to the closed hand , note the 3-3 split, draw West's last trump and claim. <dd>Unfortunately declarer didn't recognize his need for that third round ruff of spades. For after winning with the A of spades, he cashed dummy's last high heart, for no good reason, though it did him no harm, then the A of diamonds, and now a diamond to the K, and the K of trump was cashed. The K of clubs was cashed? In other words, we're going to hand over the setting trick to the opposition? Or that third spade in the closed hand is going to metamemphose into a winner? Oh, maybe the opponents are going to toss away their high spades? Actually, West couldn't discard his winning spade if he tried! <dd> Here is the whole hand: <TABLE ALIGN=center> <center> <TABLE WIDTH=70% BORDER=0> <TR> <TD ></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A Q</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A K 7 5</TD></TR> <TR><TD></TD><TD ><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A 7 2</TD></TR> <TR><TD></TD><TD ><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> Q J 9 5</TD></TR> <TR> <TD ><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> J 9 6 3 </TD> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> K 8 5 2</TD> </TR> <TR><TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> Q 2</TD><TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> J 10 8 4 3</TD> <TD ></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 9 6 3 </TD> <TD ></TD><TD ><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> J 10 5</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD ><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 10 6 4 2 </TD><TD ></TD> <TD><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 7</TD> </TR> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 10 7 4</TD> <TD ></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 9 6 </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> K Q 8 4 </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD ></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A K 8 3 </TD> </TR> </TABLE></center> < </HTML> <TABLE ALIGN=center> <center> <TABLE WIDTH=65% BORDER=0> <TR> <TD ></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> K 9 7 3</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A Q 8 6 4</TD></TR> <TR><TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> ------</TD></TR> <TR> <TD></TD><TD><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 8 6 4 2</TD></TR> <TR> <TD ><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 2 </TD> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 4</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> J 9 5 2</TD> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> K 10</TD> <TD ></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A J 9 7 6 4</TD> <TD ></TD><TD ><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> K Q 10 8 5</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD ><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 7 3</TD><TD ></TD> <TD><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> K J 10 9 5 </TD> </TR> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A Q J 10 8 6 5</TD> <TD ></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 7 3</TD> <TD ></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 3 2</TD> <TD >Contract: 6 spades</TD><TD ></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD ></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A Q</TD> <TD >Opening lead: A of diamonds</TD> </TR> </TABLE></CENTER> <dd>Declarer ruffed the opening lead in dummy, came to the closed hand on a trump lead, finesses the Q of hearts into the K, and declined to finesse the club queen on East's shift to a club. So far, so good. Though we can see that the the club hook would have worked, we seem to have a more likely line to avoid that second round of clubs. How many entries to dummy's hearts does declarer have at that point, and how many does he need on a 4-2 split, the one most favored by the odds? And the answers are . . . Declarer has three entries at that point and needs exactly three, because he gets two rounds of hearts out of that ace. The hand would have looked like this: <TABLE ALIGN=center> <center> <TABLE WIDTH=65% BORDER=0> <TR> <TD ></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> K 9 </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A 8 6 4</TD></TR> <TR><TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> ------</TD></TR> <TR> <TD></TD><TD><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 8 4 2</TD></TR> <TR> <TD ><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> ------ </TD> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> ------</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> J 9 5 </TD> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 10</TD> <TD ></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> J 9 7 6 4</TD> <TD ></TD><TD ><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> K Q 10 5</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD ><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 3</TD><TD ></TD> <TD><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> K 10 9 5 </TD> </TR> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A Q J 8 6 5</TD> <TD ></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 7 </TD> <TD ></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 3 </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD ></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> Q</TD> </TR> </TABLE></CENTER> <dd>Go to the Ace of hearts and ruff a heart, noting that East shows out, meaning West still has one left. You ruff a diamond and lead a heart, ruffing out West's last heart, and now a low trump to the K gives you the established heart on which you'll sluff the Q of clubs. Simple? <dd>But this declarer . . . hm-m-mm, would do well to take finesses if he's going to be that careless with entries. <dd>He ruffed his diamond before touching hearts, when he'll need that entry after starting hearts. Now he cashed his ace of hearts and ruffed a heart, noting, presumably that East showed out. The hand would then have looked like this: <TABLE ALIGN=center> <center> <TABLE WIDTH=65% BORDER=0> <TR> <TD ></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> K </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 8 6 </TD></TR> <TR><TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> ------</TD></TR> <TR> <TD></TD><TD><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 8 4 2</TD></TR> <TR> <TD ><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> ------ </TD> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> ------</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> J </TD> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> ------</TD> <TD ></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> J 9 7 6 </TD> <TD ></TD><TD ><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> K Q </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD ><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> 3</TD><TD ></TD> <TD><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> K 10 9 5 </TD> </TR> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD><IMG SRC="spade.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> A Q J 6 5</TD> <TD ></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="heart.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> ------ </TD> <TD ></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="diamond.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> ------ </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD ></TD> <TD ><IMG SRC="club.jpg" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=15> Q</TD> </TR> </TABLE></CENTER> <dd>Wherein it is evident that though declarer could get to dummy one more time and ruff out West's last heart, he would have no access to the fifth heart on which to sluff the Q of clubs. And so he must go down. He chose to do it by leading a trump to the K, and then sluffing his club on the 8 of hearts, which West was happy to win with the J. <hr><dd>I might point out that had hearts split 3-3, declarer would have brought the contract home though he'd played badly and squandered an entry he would have needed on a 4-2 split. But if he would make on a 3-3 split, such plays don't augur well and hint of not making rather simple hands when the split isn't so favorable -- such as here. </HTML>