North Penn Bridge News

Greetings to the

North Penn Bridge Community!

Week of 03/014/2022

From the Club Manager

Dave Dodgson

Good luck to everyone playing at the NABC in Reno.

March Schedule:

-----March 16 - Shuffle and Deal 9:30-11:30 a.m.

-----March 28-April 1 - Super club championships - triple points.

Although we are no longer requiring masks, we ask that all be mindful of the health concerns of others and show courtesy and respect for fellow players while at the table.

Calendar

Click here to see a file you can enlarge.

Bobbie Gomer Memorial Team Event

The next 8 is Enough Swiss Team event will be held on Sunday, March 27 at the King of Prussia Bridge Club. Lunch will be served before the game which begins at 12:30 pm. Extra points will be awarded. The stratification is:

-----0-750 = C

-----751-2500 = B

-----2501+ = A

Teams will be reseeded after every round. Please register your team with Andy Rosenberg at [email protected] with copy to Ken Salter at [email protected].

Education

Bridge Classes for brand-new beginners with Deb Crisfield begin Thursday, April 21 and will run through June 9.

Please bring a friend. There’s nothing to lose because the FIRST THREE LESSONS ARE FREE AND THERE’S NO COMMITMENT REQUIRED UNTIL THE FOURTH CLASS.

Recruitment is the key to growing and sustaining our club.

Recognition

March ACBL Rank Achievements:

-----Ellie Goldman -- Diamond Life Master

-----Belle Miller -- NABC Master

We update our Facebook page regularly so be sure to check it out. It’s a great way to stay in touch with all the happenings at North Penn.

Tidbits

“With eight cards including A, K and J, it is usually best to finesse for the Q on the second round of the suit. With eight cards including the K, Q and 10, it is usually best to finesse for the J on the second round of the suit.”

From 100 Winning Bridge Tips

by Ron Klinger

Deal of the Week

by Bucky Sydnor

Hold On Before You Hold Up: Declaring 4NT

When declaring a No Trump contract, we learn to handle this holding in a special way:

-----♠96

-----♠A85

The standard treatment when the opponents lead their long suit is to duck the first two rounds and win the 3rd one, assuming, of course, that there is not a second suit that is dangerous for you if the opponents switch to it. The reason to hold up for three rounds is that if the suit divides 5-3 or 6-2, your RHO will not be able to lead it if she wins a trick later in the deal.

Often the following layout also calls for a hold up play:

-----♠A6

-----♠K85

With this holding, you have two options. You can duck the first round of the suit, or alternatively, win the first round and duck the second, and in either case win the 3^rd round. Again, this cuts off your RHO from being able to lead the suit a 4th time, should she get in.

You are West in today's deal:

You have found your way to 4N and receive the lead of the ♠4. You see 31 HCP between the two hands. Counting your tricks, you have 8 tricks off the top: 2 spades, 1 heart, 3 diamonds and 2 clubs. In addition, clubs will provide at least 2 more tricks and maybe 3. So you are going to make 10 tricks no matter what.

Turning to the play, you call for the ♠J from Dummy, which RHO covers with the ♠Q. What do you do, win or duck?

Don’t duck!

The reason is that you are going to make 10 tricks no matter what. But you have a chance of making 12 tricks. Ducking now makes it less likely you will come to 12 tricks.

Here’s the thinking behind not ducking. If you successfully find the ♣Q– and you are a favorite to do so, holding 9 clubs between the two hands–you can later take the heart finesse. Even if it loses, you will still have the ♠A as a stopper and can get in to get your second heart trick. Indeed, if you find the ♣Q you will take 12 tricks–2 spades, 2 hearts, 3 diamonds and 5 clubs–no matter whether the heart finesse works or not. (Against reasonable defense the heart suit will only deliver 2 tricks regardless of where the ♥K is, since you are also missing the ♥10 & 9.) Thus, there is little need to make the safety play of ducking the first round of spades.

To be sure, this situation–where you have 31 HCP and are in 4N or just 3N–will not come up frequently. But in matchpoints it is important to get that 12th trick and ducking the first spade trick is not the best way to go about getting it. (Sure, if you duck the first round of spades, and then find the ♣Q and the ♥K in the slot, you will come to the same 12 tricks. But it is a low percentage route to 12 tricks.)

Sometimes we have to go against what we have worked so hard to train ourselves to do. I know, painfully so, for after watching my partner duck the first round of spades on this deal and only get 11 tricks, I made the exact same mistake about 7 days later.

As you get better at bridge you learn that nothing is automatic. Virtually everything has its exception. Counting your tricks and forming a plan before playing a single card is the best way to avoid this type of error not to mention many others. It will help you spot that an exception has come your way, making you a winner more often.