Re-evaluate

With every bid that is made by the other three players, your hand will either get better or worse. Let us say your ♦s are QJ (alone). Is this holding worth three points? The answer is that it depends: if partner bids ♦s then it is worth considerably more (partner may have eg ♦ K10xxx); but if an opponent bids ♦s then the queen and jack are virtual waste paper and your ♦ holding might just as well be ♦ 32.

When South first picked up his cards, he counted 15 points. Why, then, when his partner had given him jump support for ♥s showing 10-12 points, did he refuse to go on to Game? The answer is that his 15 points had dwindled down to 12 because his ♦ QJ were now almost certain to be worth nothing. Even 3 ♥ should have failed.

West led ♦ A, followed with ♦ K, then switched safely to ♣ 9. Declarer won ♣ Q, cashed ♥ AK drawing the opposing trumps, cashed ♣ AK, then trumped ♣ 4. He crossed to ♥ J then led dummy’s ♠ 4. East followed with ♠ 2 and he played ♠ 9.

West won ♠ 10 but had no good lead. If he led a ♦, declarer could discard a ♠ from one hand and trump in the other, and if he led a ♠ then declarer’s ♠ K would score a trick. Declarer had restricted his losses to two ♦s and two ♠s.

East should have risen with ♠ J – a tough play – when dummy’s ♠ 4 was led. Now declarer would have had to lose three ♠ tricks and fail.

ANDREW’S TIP: Keep re-evaluating your hand as the bidding progresses.