Dummy Reversal, Balanced Suit for Trump, Entries


K 10 5 4 3
A 8 6 5
6 5
J 7
J 8 6 2 9 7
9 7 J 10 3
10 8 4 3 Q J 9 7
9 6 3 Q 10 8 3
A Q
K Q 4 2
A K 2 Contract: 6 hearts, 6 no, 7 hearts, 7 no
A K 4 2 Opening lead: varied

This one had so many lessons to offer, as indicated by the heading, that instead of putting it in several places, I guess "Lessons" is about the best place to sock it. I could also have included No Trump Slams, i.e., in a negative sense, for I have often suggested that on a balanced fit, defined as at least 4 card in each hand, the trump contract is likely though by no means certain to give you an extra trick. And I could also have tossed it in "Not Even a Finesse" for the person who led the J of clubs toward his A K, though that seemed such a wayward play that I didn't want to make a separate entry for it. And lastly, the scoresheet tells a lot.
Firstly, seven hearts should make, 6 no and 6 spades are the limit for those denominations, though declarers making those contracts fared (in no trump) better than or (in spades) equally as well as those in hearts not bothering to pick up that overtrick. Here's the skinny on the scores:
Seven hearts, 97%, 6 hearts with an overtrick 87%, not a big enough difference in my book for the added risk. But . . . 6 no was 65%, and 6 hearts without an overtrick 44%! Now, those are big differences and a lot of matchpoints to be throwing away for getting so comfortable in your 6 heart contract that you don't go for the overtrick. Forty-three matchpoints! And you'll note that there's a bigger difference between 6 no and six hearts with an overtrick than between 6 hearts with an overtrick and 7 hearts! There's also a bigger difference, a much bigger difference, between 6 hearts making six and 6 hearts with an overtrick, than between the latter and 7 hearts. So I personally wouldn't be ashamed of being in 6 hearts here. I would be ashamed of not picking up the overtrick and also of being in 6 spades, while six no would perhaps squeak by as umm-m-m, not flagrantly wrongheaded.
Well, to look at the hand. Yes, the balanced suit should certainly have been chosen for trump. Had spades split 3-3, the spade bidders would make out as well as the heart bidders and the no trump bidders would have been cockahoop. Well, there are no rules that will serve you well all the time, but the balanced suit was worth a lot here. As for no trump, that was covered above.
Now to the play of the hand, and how it was often butchered: First, the dummy reversal (several played with the above dummy the closed hand), in conjunction with entries. Where do you want to be when all trump are out? And how many entries do you have to dummy? Enough to squander any? Well, the answers is, in reverse order, no, you don't have enough to squander any, and you have two entries to dummy if hearts are splitting 3-2 (the second one being a club or diamond ruff) and of course will be in trouble like everyone else on a 4-1 split. Naturally, we're not counting the overtake of the Q of spades, which on another hand might do well, but here would make no sense whatsoever. So you want to unblock the spades and YOU * WANT * TO * BE * IN * DUMMY* AT * THE * END * OF * THREE * ROUNDS * OF * TRUMP. Capiche? Those who rather lazily didn't figure out where they'd like to be and went to the A of hearts first gave up their chance for 13 tricks. They can't be in dummy with all trump out and ruff a spade and get back. They've only two entries to dummy and they need them both. Well, actually, there is one line that would work. Go to the A of hearts (after unblocking spades) and ruff a spade. As the cards lie, the short spades sit before the closed hand and also sit in the hand with 3 trump. So an uppercut wouldn't mean anything. But I hope the reader sees that that's just a lucky lie of the cards and would still, to my way of thinking, indicate a declarer who wasn't sure of what he wants to do. And if you go to the A of hearts and come back with a heart, now you can't pick up the overtrick. 43%!
In any event, it should be evident that the hand's a cakewalk if you unblock the spades, cashing the K Q of hearts first, and then draw the last trump with the A of hearts, cash the K of spades, ruff a spade, and you're on claim.
Some other malfeasance. Spade to the Q. A K of diamonds and ruff a diamond. Oh, Oh, Oh! This is one who didn't see the dummy reversal. He's thinking of ruffing out the closed hand's losers. He now cashed his top clubs and ruffed a club. Now he cannot even use the K of spades, not to mention the 5th spade. However, he got more ruffs than others, and so at least got 12 tricks, losing one club.
Here's another way of missing the dummy reversal. This declarer got everything exactly right through trick six. Opening lead a heart, taken with the K, cash the Q, unblock spades, draw the last trump with the ace, cash the K of spades. Can't argue with that. It augurs well, I would say. But he now led the 10 of spades, sluffing a club! ! ! He had the overtrick in the palm of his hand. Forget clubs. Forget diamonds. If you're playing from dummy, there's only one suit to concern yourself with. And that's spades. Trump must be drawn, but there's no finesse and you either get a good break or you don't. But you don't want to concern yourself with club and diamond losers! Not if you play from dummy.
One with entries. Heart to the Q, heart to the A. I said above that declarer could still make the overtrick by ruffing a spade here. Whoops! Forgot. He's gotta unblock spades first. He skunked himself out of an overtrick by trick 3 when he went to the A of hearts.
Here's one who took his hearts in the exact right order -- at tricks one, two & three, or in other words can't make an overtrick since he hadn't unblocked spades. He now led to his A of spades. A little late.
Going down in six no. How many entries to dummy do you have? How many do you need if spades are 4-2? The answer is the same for each question. Two. In a no trump contract, it doesn't matter in what order you run your hearts. What does matter, however, is that you use your two entries productively to set up the spade suit (after unblocking), the only suit on this hand that needs and allows for development! This one went after his hearts in the best way for a heart contact, ending in dummy on the third round, which he didn't really need to do -- and then "finessed" the jack of clubs! Down one.
Seven hearts, down one! Oh, that must hurt to be in the best contract and kick away a 95% score by failing to note what entries you need to develop spades. The opponents even did him the favor of leading a spade. But now his plays were the K of hearts, one to the A (he's now finished, since spades weren't unblocked), and a heart to the Q.
Seven no had no chance, but here are two down 2 in 6 no. The first one, like a declarer above, started out beautifully. Opening lead a club, unblock spades, cash three hearts ending in dummy, K of spades, a club to the K! ! ! Oh, he only had to knock out the last spade and the 5th spade is his 12th trick. But now he has no club stopper, and doesn't have enough entries to get to dummy and then cash the 5th spade anyway. Through trick 7, unimpeachable.
And one more, now with impeccable play through the lead at trick 7. Diamond lead, unblock the spades, three hearts, ending in dummy, K of spades, sluffing the 4 of hearts and . . . the four of hearts! I just don't understand how he could bid so well and play half the hand so well and discard a heart by which he can reach dummy after losing a spade to establish his 12th trick anyway. For giving up that perhaps valuable trick he retained 2 low clubs and a diamond? He now led the fourth spade to West's J. At trick 12, the 8 of hearts was played uselessly, and at trick 13, the equally useless 10 of spades was played. I just don't understand. Sluffed the 4 of hearts.