{"id":2691,"date":"2011-08-31T09:43:03","date_gmt":"2011-08-31T17:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/?p=2691"},"modified":"2013-01-08T20:12:28","modified_gmt":"2013-01-09T04:12:28","slug":"polling-you-73-trump-leads-day-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/?p=2691","title":{"rendered":"Polling You #73, Trump Leads, Day 4"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Trump Leads in Bridge<\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Click the above Title\/Heading to view entire article &amp; comments<\/span><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" language=\"JavaScript\" src=\"http:\/\/survey.constantcontact.com\/poll\/a07e4qdrvzlgs0lvqjg\/start.js?v=1&amp;w=300\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n\n\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><\/p>\n<p><noscript><\/noscript><a href=\"http:\/\/survey.constantcontact.com\/poll\/a07e4qdrvzlgs0lvqjg\/start.html\">Click here if you have problems viewing\/completing the above\u00a0poll<br \/>\n<\/a>&#8212;&#8212;-<\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally it\u2019s time to delve into trump leads.\u00a0\u00a0 Candidly, isn\u2019t it true that deep down inside we love to make a trump lead?\u00a0 For some reason there\u2019s a thrill associated with beginning play in the opponent\u2019s trump suit as if, \u201cOkay, you want that suit to be trump\u2026 here you go, just try to trump this!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Yet hopefully our more logical left brain cautions us against unilaterally following the urge.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>In Mike Lawrence\u2019s book \u201cOpening Leads\u201d he aptly pointed out, \u201c\u2026it\u2019s right 20 percent of the time, it won\u2019t matter 30 percent of the time, and leading trump will be wrong about 50 percent of the time.\u201d\u00a0 So when in doubt, we are certainly far better off NOT leading a trump.\u00a0 Yet following some basic guidelines we can certainly do far better than always going one way or the other.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/bridgehands-videos.s3.amazonaws.com\/Polling_You_73_Part_1_everyone\/Polling_You_73_Part_1_everyone.html\">Click here to view Part 1 of the video commentary<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/freecontent\/Polling_You_73_Part_2_freecontent\/Polling_You_73_Part_2_freecontent.html\"><strong>Free Membership &#8211; Click here to view Part 2 of our video commentary<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/premiumcontent\/Polling_You_73_Part_3_premiumcontent\/Polling_You_73_Part_3_premiumcontent.html\">Premium\/ULTRA &#8211; Click here to view Part 3 of our video commentary<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/premiumcontent\/Polling_You_73_Part_3b_premiumcontent\/Polling_You_73_Part_3b_premiumcontent.html\">Premium\/ULTRA &#8211; Click here to view Part 3b of our video commentary<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/premiumcontent\/Polling_You_73_Part_3c_premiumcontent\/Polling_You_73_Part_3c_premiumcontent.html\">Premium\/ULTRA &#8211; Click here to view Part 3c of our video commentary<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Certainly the most obvious reason we might want to lead trump is to cut down on the declarer\u2019s ruffing opportunity.\u00a0\u00a0 Here are some of the top scenarios where leading a trump might generate extra tricks for the defenders:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>You have a longer trump suit than the declarer, particularly in a minor suit.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The declarer has side suit loser length and the dummy hand is short in the suit, allowing the declarer to ruff losers in an auction as:<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>1H \u2013 3H; 4H \u2013 AP<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The opponents have no more than 4-4 (perhaps 4-3) in the trump suit and you hold 4 or more trumps.\u00a0 It is quite common when a suit splits 4-4-4-1 that several hands will have a similar 4-4-4-1 shape or some other variation of shortness in the opponents\u2019 hands.\u00a0 Especially when your partner does not have many winners to give you ruffs, your persistent trump leads reduces the declarer\u2019s ruffing power, making the hand appear to play in a Notrump contract.<br \/>\n1H \u2013 1S; 2D \u2013 AP<br \/>\n1S \u2013 1N; 2C \u2013 AP<br \/>\n1S \u2013 1N; 2H \u2013 2S; AP<br \/>\n1C \u2013 1H; 1S \u2013 2C; AP<br \/>\n1C \u2013 1D; 1S \u2013 3S; 4S &#8211; AP<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Both the declarer and the dummy have shortness in different side suits, allowing cross-ruffs between the hands.\u00a0 The auction might be where opener has a 14-17 points (a 6 Losing Trick Count hand), making a side suit game try and responder accepts based on shortness in the side suit:<br \/>\n1S \u2013 2S; 3D \u2013 4S; AP<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Making an active\/aggressive lead may finesse you or your partner, especially when the declarer has shown a strong hand in the bidding phase.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Based on the bidding and deducing your hand has the remaining honors (partner likely to be bust).\u00a0 Leading away from an unguarded King or Queen will probably finesse your precious honors.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>You hold \u201ctight\u201d top trump honors not useful for ruffing, as King-Queen-Jack, Queen-Jack-10, etc.\u00a0 However leading a trump Ace-King doubleton will certainly not gather any honors from the opponents \u2013 let them lead the suit and knock out two of honors. Ditto with a \u201cstiff\u201d singleton Ace.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Leading another suit seems awful, such as having to otherwise lead away from unprotected Aces, suits headed by Jacks, etc.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Variations of the above include situations where opponents stole the auction with weakness, your partner passed your takeout double converting it to a penalty pass with a very long trump suit.\u00a0 Typical prerequisites for a penalty pass:<br \/>\na. Little chance for game<br \/>\nb. Honor strength (winning tricks) over opponent\u2019s side suit<br \/>\nc. Lacking a partnership fit<br \/>\nd. Suit length in RHO\u2019s suit.\u00a0 Also, \u201cslow tricks\u201d are often advantageous over raw primary honor strength where your side could make a Notrump game or slam.<br \/>\ne. Consideration to favorable or at least neutral vulnerability, negating the opponents\u2019 scoring advantages should a game be possible by your side.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The opponents are playing in a grandslam suit contract.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Polling You #73, Hand 1<\/strong><\/p>\n<table cellpadding=\"4\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" nowrap=\"nowrap\"><strong><em>Board 3<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nSouth Deals<br \/>\nE-W Vul<\/td>\n<td colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\" nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 6<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> K J 4 3 2<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> K 3 2<br \/>\n\u2663 7 4 3 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 A J 7 4<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> Q 7<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> J 9 6<br \/>\n\u2663 K 10 8 5<\/td>\n<td>\n<table width=\"64\" border=\"0\" frame=\"void\" rules=\"none\" bgcolor=\"#008000\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: #ffffff;\">N<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: #ffffff;\">W<\/span><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td align=\"right\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: #ffffff;\">E<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: #ffffff;\">S<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"left\" nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 Q 10 3 2<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> A 10 9 8 5<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> Q 7 5<br \/>\n\u2663 J<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\" nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 K 9 8 5<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> 6<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> A 10 8 4<br \/>\n\u2663 A Q 9 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table>\n<colgroup>\n<col span=\"4\" width=\"64\" \/><\/colgroup>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><em>West<\/em><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><em>North<\/em><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><em>East<\/em><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><em>South<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">1 \u2663<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">Pass<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">1 <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">Pass<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">1 \u2660<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">Pass<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">2 \u2663<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">All pass<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table>\n<colgroup>\n<col span=\"5\" width=\"64\" \/><\/colgroup>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><em>Trick<\/em><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><em>West<\/em><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><em>North<\/em><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><em>East<\/em><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><em>South<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">1. W<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2663 5<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2663 2<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2663 J<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u2663 Q<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">2. S<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> 7<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> K<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> A<\/span><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">3. E<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u2660 J<\/span><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 6<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 2<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">4. W<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2663 10<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2663 3<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> 5<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u2663 A<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">5. S<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 4<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u2663 4<\/span><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 3<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">6. N<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> 6<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> 2<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> 5<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> A<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">7. S<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 7<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u2663 7<\/span><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 10<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">8. N<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> 9<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> K<\/span><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> 7<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">9. N<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> Q<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> 2<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> 8<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u2663 6<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">10. S<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> J<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> 3<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> Q<\/span><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> 8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">11. E<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u2660 A<\/span><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> 3<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 Q<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2660 K<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">12. W<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u2663 K<\/span><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> 4<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> 9<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">\u2663 9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\">13. W<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">\u2663 8<\/span><\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> J<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> 10<\/td>\n<td nowrap=\"nowrap\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> 10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>South opens 1 Club with 13 High Card Points, North responding 1 Heart with a shapely 7 HCP holding that piques East with 5 Hearts in hand.\u00a0 South also has a shapely 4-4-4-1 shape and rebids 1 Spade.\u00a0 Sensing a poor fit, North makes a preference 2 Club signoff rebid to end the auction.\u00a0 North should not rebid 2 Heart with no more than an average 5 card suit, particularly with so-so honors \u2013 rebids require a 6 card suit or a very strong 5 carder.<\/p>\n<p>Without hearing the auction, West disliked the lead alternatives.\u00a0 However hearing North take a Club preference and judging their apparent misfit, West wisely leads a low Club to cut down on the opponents ruffing opportunity.\u00a0 South wins the Club Queen and tries finessing West for the Heart Ace with the dummy King failing to East\u2019s Ace.\u00a0 With no better play after looking at the dummy, East returns a low Spade that is won cheaply with partner West\u2019s Jack.\u00a0 Note \u2013 West should not go up with the Ace for two reasons:<br \/>\n1.\u00a0 Partner East played a low Spade promising an honor,<br \/>\n2. Generally, early in the play of the hand the defenders should not \u201cgo up\u201d playing a cover card (primary honor over RHOs honor) .<br \/>\nNow it\u2019s up to West to find the correct trump lead.\u00a0 Taking a moment, West should realize the trump split is 4-4-4-1 (partner played a stiff Jack).\u00a0 Thus, with the King-10-8 and declarer playing the Queen, West must lead a Club honor.\u00a0 Otherwise, leading the Club 8 will lose to South\u2019s 9 spot that gives up the setting trick \u2013 spots sometimes matter.\u00a0 Now South wins with the Club Ace and ruffs a Spade in dummy. Returning to the Diamond Ace in hand, South leads another Spade again ruffed with dummy\u2019s final trump. \u00a0With two remaining trump and another two outstanding including the Club King, declarer leads a low Heart from dummy and ruffs in hand.\u00a0 With West owning the last four tricks, South goes down one trick attributable to West tenaciously tapping declarer\u2019s trump to avoid cross ruffs coupled with playing the Spade Jack instead of blindly playing the Ace, third hand high.<\/p>\nPlease login or register to view this content.<br \/>\nPlease login or register to view this content.<br \/>\nPlease login or register to view this content.<\/h4>\n<h4>Happy Bridge Trails and Tales,<\/h4>\n<h4>BridgeHands<\/h4>\n<div><strong><strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump Leads in Bridge Click the above Title\/Heading to view entire article &amp; comments Click here if you have problems viewing\/completing the above\u00a0poll &#8212;&#8212;- Finally it\u2019s time to delve into trump leads.\u00a0\u00a0 Candidly, isn\u2019t it true that deep down inside we love to make a trump lead?\u00a0 For some reason there\u2019s a thrill associated with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[39],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2691"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2693,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691\/revisions\/2693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}