Auction of To-day Part 15

He is without information as to the location of the King; neither adversary has declared, and neither has by discard or otherwise in the play given a reliable hint as to the absence or presence of the all-important card.

His duty is plain. By finessing he may lose 27 points and a penalty of 50, 77 in all, but the finesse gives him an even chance to win the game; and whether it be the rubber, with its premium of 250, or merely the first game, but still a most important advance toward the goal, he should take his chance, realizing that the value of the object for which he is striving is far greater than the 77 he may lose.

Under similar conditions, however, if the Trump be Diamonds, the finesse should be refused. It would then take three more tricks to make game, and but two are possible. One completes the contract, and winning the finesse adds only 7 points, less than one-tenth of the 71 placed in jeopardy.

The 21 points in the trick column a.s.sured by refusing the finesse are, viewed from a practical standpoint, just as near a game as 28 would be, but 21 makes the bidding for game on the next deal much easier than if the effort to win the extra 7 had resulted in the score remaining at love. In this case, therefore, not only when the chances are equal, but even when unmistakable inferences of declaration and play indicate that the success of the finesse is almost a.s.sured, the opportunity should be refused.

"Penny-wise and pound-foolish" aptly characterizes a player who would risk advantage of position and 71 points for the chance of gaining a paltry 7.

PLAY FOR AN EVEN BREAK

The Declarer, in the absence of any positive indication to the contrary, should base his play upon the probability of an even division of the cards. That is, with seven of a suit in his own hand and Dummy, he should play for each of the adversaries to have three; with nine, he should play on the basis that the four missing cards are equally divided. In the long run, playing for the even break will net many tricks, but in a small percentage of instances it will result unfortunately. The case in which the question most frequently arises is when either in Trumps or in the Declarer's strong suit in a No-trump, the two hands hold nine cards headed by Ace, King, Knave. The division between the two hands may be

Ace, King, Knave, X, X and X, X, X, X

Ace, King, X, X, X and Knave, Ten, X, X

Ace, Knave, X, X, X and King, X, X, X

King, Knave, X, X, X and Ace, X, X, X

or any other.

In all these cases the Knave finesse is tempting, but it should be refused, and the Ace and King played with the expectation of an even break which will drop the Queen on the second round. The exceptions to this general rule occur when

(_a_) The presence of the Queen in either adverse hand has been indicated by some declaration or double.

(_b_) When one adversary has shown unusual length in some other suit.

In the latter case, it is sometimes wise to play on the a.s.sumption that the adversary, very long in another suit, has but one of the suit in question, and consequently to finesse the _second round_ on that basis.

GENERAL PLAY OF THE DECLARER

The Declarer, as soon as the Dummy's cards are spread, should size up the situation, see how many tricks are in sight, what suit or suits it is necessary for him to establish, and what, if any, finesse or finesses he will have to make in order to secure his declaration and his game.

In determining which way to finesse, he should be materially a.s.sisted by the bids of his adversaries, and during the play, as situations develop either in his favor or against him, he should be continually figuring on the best method to make his declaration. He should remember that failure to fulfil his contract will not only result in a material loss on the score, but, in the end, may cost the rubber. When the scheme of play he has planned at the start shows signs of becoming unsuccessful, he should, if possible, change it for one more promising.

The Declarer, especially if brought up in the Whist school, should bear in mind that he now has no partner anxiously seeking information regarding the contents of his hand, but that he has two adversaries from whom he should withhold, as long as possible, knowledge of his strength, weakness, aims, and schemes. When any method of play suggests itself which seems more deceptive than another, and yet produces the same result, it should be adopted. False cards should be used whenever possible, as they are less informatory than the conventional lowest of a sequence. The Declarer should worry his opponents in this way whenever the opportunity offers. In playing small cards, the higher should frequently precede the lower, and every means should be used to make it as difficult as possible for the adversaries to place the cards.

DECLARER'S PLAY OF NO-TRUMP

The Declarer will find that he is obliged to use different tactics when playing a No-trump from those he employs when a Trump has been named.

In the former case, his main object should be to establish his long suit or suits, and to shut out those of the adversary. When he has the Ace (without any other stopper) of an adverse suit, unless there be some other he fears more, he should refrain from playing the Ace until the third round, or until sure that the partner of the long hand has exhausted his holding of that suit. The reason for this is obvious. If the holder of the long suit can be kept from the lead, the suit will not be made. He may be without a reentry, so it is important that his partner be unable to put him in by leading that suit. In this case, the Declarer should take any doubtful finesse, which he has the opportunity of taking either way, so that, if it lose, the holder of the long suit will not be in the lead.

The Declarer should postpone as long as possible leading a suit of four cards in one hand and three in the other, headed by Ace, King, and Queen, but not the Knave, unless he be afraid of a long, adverse run which will force him to awkward discards. The reason is that, should either of the adversaries be long in that suit, three rounds will establish for him one or more cards which otherwise would not be made good. Leading even two rounds will be a warning not to discard from that suit. It should, therefore, be avoided, except for the purpose of placing a lead, until the other strength of the Declarer is exhausted, or until it becomes evident that, when next he loses the lead, the adversaries will control the situation. Then, and not until then, should he lead such a suit with the realization that, having postponed its establishment as long as possible, he has adopted the most probable method not only of shutting out adverse long cards, but also of making an extra trick for himself.

While the probability of establis.h.i.+ng an adverse trick is not nearly so great when the Declarer has four cards of such a suit in each hand, it is still possible, and the method of handling it above advised, when the total holding is seven, should be followed even with eight. A thoughtless Declarer who has nothing to fear from an adverse run will often as soon as he gets in (and before he establishes some suit that demands attention) start with a suit of this character. Such tactics sometimes cost a declaration--sometimes a game; yet the thoughtless one rarely appreciates his folly.

An example may make this more evident:--

DUMMY DECLARER

Spades X, X Ace, Queen, X

Hearts Ace, X, X, X King, Queen, X

Diamonds X, X Ace, Queen, X

Clubs Knave, 9, X, X, X Queen, 10, X, X

The 2 of Spades is opened, and the Declarer wins the first trick with the Queen. He now has a.s.sured two Spade, three Heart, and one Diamond tricks, with a chance of one more in both Hearts and Diamonds; six sure and eight possible, without the Clubs. If he establish his Clubs, he can make 3 tricks in that suit, which will insure game.

If he open his Hearts, he may establish one or more for the adversaries and thus give up all chance of the game, as he is at best practically sure to lose two Spades and two Clubs.

It is impossible to gain any advantage by running the four Hearts before the Clubs, even if they all be good; in other words, it is a play which may cost the game and cannot by any possibility gain anything whatever.

When the Declarer holds a suit long in both hands, headed by the three top honors, two in one hand and one in the other, it is wise to win the first trick with one of the honors of the hand which holds two; this is apt to be beneficial in the event of an adversary refusing or having a singleton.

The Declarer, even when he has bid a light No-trump and received little a.s.sistance, should play with confidence. His adversaries do not know the flimsy character of his declaration, and will credit him with more powerful cards than he really holds. Even experienced players seem to feel that a No-trump declaration is ent.i.tled to greater respect than it deserves when made with the minimum strength which conventionally authorizes it. A clever player will frequently capture the odd with such a declaration, merely because the adversaries do not realize his weakness.

DECLARER'S PLAY OF A SUIT DECLARATION

The Declarer generally has a greater opportunity to display skill in the play of a suit declaration than of a No-trumper. With a suit declared, as soon as the Dummy is placed before him, he must determine which of two plans of campaign it is advisable for him to adopt: that is, he must either lead Trumps until the adversaries have no more, or he must play the ruffing game and make his Trumps separately. The latter is especially advantageous if, with his weaker Trump hand, he can take a trick or tricks that would, of necessity, be lost if he immediately exhausted all the Trumps.

The Declarer, therefore, should first look for a chance to ruff losing cards with his weak hand; when he does not find that opportunity, he should realize that the adversaries will attempt to do some ruffing themselves, and in nine cases out of ten, should exhaust the Trumps.

When the Declarer has a holding which makes him anxious that the Trump lead should come from the other side, and the Dummy contains short Trumps and a short suit (which short suit the Declarer cannot arrange for the Dummy to ruff, either because he has the same number as the Dummy, or because he has winning cards), he can sometimes induce an adverse Trump lead by opening the short suit, thus conveying to his adversaries the impression that he desires to ruff with the short Trumps.

If the Declarer have sufficient Trump length in his weak Trump hand to exhaust the adverse Trump holding, and still remain with sufficient Trumps for all possible ruffs, he should lead Trumps before taking the ruff, so as to avoid any chance of an over-ruff. An obvious case will exemplify this principle:--

The Declarer holds Ace, King, Queen, and one small Trump; the Dummy, four small; the Declarer, King, Queen, and two small Clubs, in which suit the Dummy has Ace and one small. Part of the Declarer's original scheme of play is to have the Dummy ruff his losing Club, yet to lead that suit before three rounds of Trumps would be the height of folly, as a winning card might be ruffed by an adversary or the Dummy over-ruffed.

Managing the Dummy so as to utilize all his small Trumps to the greatest advantage is one of the tests of the skill of the player of the combined hands. A simple example follows: With Hearts Trump, the Dummy puts down one small Club, and three worthless Trumps. The Declarer wins the first trick, has Ace at the head of his long Trumps; also, Ace, King, and two losing Clubs. His play is plain. He should lead his Ace and then a small Club; ruff the latter, lead a Trump from Dummy, and then the remaining losing Club, for Dummy to ruff with his last Trump.

PLAY BY DECLARER'S ADVERSARIES

The adversaries of the Declarer must realize that they are at some disadvantage in the play. The Declarer knows every card in the Dummy, but each of his opponents can at best only guess the holding of his partner. They should, therefore, strive by every means in their power to give each other all possible information.

They should always play the lowest, and (except with Ace, King, and one or more others) lead the highest of a sequence. The only case in which they should withhold information or play a false card is when such action may upset the calculations of the Declarer, and either cannot mislead the partner, or, if it do, will not affect his play. For example, with King, Queen, over an adverse Ace, Knave, 10, a false card is more than justified, as it tempts the Declarer to mould his play for another finesse; so also, in other cases in which the partner is without strength in the suit and his play is, therefore, unimportant, he may be treated as if he were a Dummy.

The advantage of forcing the strong hand is just as great in Auction as in Whist or Bridge, and as a rule it is the best play possible for the adversaries of the Declarer. The only exception is when the Dummy has an established suit and a reentry.

Suppose, for example, with four tricks to play, the Declarer has the last Trump (Hearts), one Club, and two Diamonds. The Dummy has three winning Clubs, and the leader a Diamond and winning Spades. He knows he can force the Declarer's last Trump with a Spade, and generally this would be his wisest play; but the long Clubs in the Dummy show that the usual tactics cannot now be employed, and his only chance is to lead a Diamond hoping that his partner has one or two winners.