MISTAKES WE MAKE AT BRIDGE
By Larry Matheny
This great game is so
difficult and complex that it’s impossible to play flawlessly. Although the expert may explain it as “taking
a wrong view”, it still comes down to the same thing: we all make mistakes. In this session I will identify six of the
most common errors made by new and intermediate players. These are errors of both omission and
commission.
1. FAILURE TO BALANCE
It’s possible that failing
to balance loses more matchpoints than any other reason. You should rarely allow the opponents play at
the two-level when they have a fit.
So many players do not understand this.
It’s true you will sometimes be punished for entering the auction but
it’s also true that a score of -90 or -110 is usually below average at best so
in the long run you will lose very few matchpoints. Here are some situations where you should
balance[1]:
- The opponents have stopped in a low-level suit partscore (1 or 2)
-- especially if it's possible that you can find a 2-level contract of
your own (they've stopped in 2
, 2
or 2
or below). - The opponents have found a trump fit (they have bid and raised a
suit).
- The opponents have limited their high-card strength (they have
willingly stopped in a part score).
- You have length and high-card strength in the unbid suit(s).
- You're not vulnerable. The opponents will be less tempted to double
because a set might only score +100 instead of +110 or +140.
Here is an example:
OPP YOU
OPP PARD
1 P
2 P
P
?
1. 
A1093 63 K987 Q103 = Double
2. A93 63 K97 QJ1093 = Bid
3
3. A9 6 K10987 QJ1093 = Bid
2NT (minors)
Your partner must understand
that you are also bidding his hand. Your
main goal is to push the opponents to the three-level, nothing more.
2. BAD OVERCALLS
The average bridge player
loves to bid. Unfortunately, this
tendency is often not tempered when confronted with adverse vulnerability or
poor suit quality. The more experienced
players who have been burned by opponents eager to double are more
cautious. Take a look at this hand with
you in the South position:
IMPs
– none vulnerable QJ10 K5 AJ1092 987
WEST
NORTH EAST SOUTH
P
P 1 ?
Some would not hesitate to
overcall with this hand but in a recent bidding quiz all but one of seventeen
experts chose to pass. In fact, they
were adamant. Here of some of their
comments:
“It would not occur to me to
bid.”
“Bidding 2 is dangerous.”
“I try not to overcall at
the two level with a five-card suit.”
“You’ve got to be kidding
me!”
“Pass and more pass.”
“There is no compelling
reason to bid immediately.”
Here’s a classic hand from
Terrence Reese:
85 KQ875 3 AQJ84
OPP
PARD OPP YOU
1 P 2 ?
He recommended passing. By bidding you put yourself at risk, give
away valuable information, and probably have no hope of buying the contract.
I think you get the
picture. While an overcall at the one
level may be made with a light hand, when you start bidding at the two level
and higher, you must have the goods.
Remember, your partner might actually believe you.
3. FAILURE TO MAKE PENALTY DOUBLES
This is the other half of
the previous fault. If you aren’t going
to double the opponents, of course they are going to make pathetic
overcalls. They get away with them! Here are two examples of doubles that are
often missed:
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North led the king
and even when a good dummy hit, declarer was only able to come to six
tricks. North-South received a top score for +500.
Two important points: First a vulnerable
overcall with such a weak suit was extremely ill advised. The second
point is that since North cannot make a penalty double, South must not pass
simply because he holds a weak hand. His holding in the overcaller's suit
is the deciding factor. For example, if South held enough hearts to be
sure his partner was not waiting for a re-opening double, he should pass with a
minimum hand. This is an important part of the negative double
convention. As he left the table West
was heard to say "But I had a six-card suit".
Here’s the other one:
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This was bloody but West
managed three tricks for –1400. Of
course this is an extreme example but overcalling vulnerable is dangerous. Many players in the North seat forgot to
check the vulnerability and just bid 3NT letting their opponents off the
hook. Those who use “Stolen Bids” allow
the opponents to bid without fear of being doubled. I don’t recommend that agreement.
4. FAILURE TO REMEMBER THE AUCTION
This is another of the big
ones. The auction can tell us so much
about how to conduct the defense or play the hand. Here is an example:
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East wins West’s lead of the queen of diamonds with the ace. East now
switches to the jack of clubs which you duck. He continues with a club
won by West with the queen. West cashes the ace of clubs and exits with a
heart. Overtricks are important so how do you bring in the rest?
Just REMEMBER THE BIDDING and the solution is easy. East passed his
partner's bid and has shown up with the diamond ace and the jack of
clubs. That means the heart king and the spade queen are both in the West
hand. You must play for the spade queen to drop under your ace or
king. At the table, several declarers
just took the spade finesse without another thought.
Here’s another example:
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West led the jack of clubs and declarer saw he must lose two spades and the ace
of diamonds. That meant he must pick up the heart suit without a
loss. The normal play with this suit combination is low to dummy's ace of
hearts and then to finesse on the way back. However, the auction along
with the opening lead allowed declarer to place some of the defenders' honor
cards. For his opening bid, West would hold the diamond ace and some
spade honors but why didn't he lead a spade? The answer was clear: he was
missing the king. With the AK or KQ a spade lead would have been
preferred to the club lead. So, if East held the king of spades along
with the queen of clubs and passed his partner's bid, the heart queen must be
with West. Accordingly, South won the club lead and played the ace and
king of hearts and was rewarded when the queen dropped. All declarer did
was REMEMBER THE AUCTION and make logical ASSUMPTIONS from the opening lead.
5.
PLAYING TOO QUICKLY
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*Jacoby
Transfer
After his partner opened 1NT, North
bid carefully to a great grand slam. The
problem was…his partner was going to play it.
West led a heart won by the
ace. Without much thought, declarer next
played the king of spades and the slam could no longer be made. It should be clear that only a 4-0 trump
break could cause a problem and since you cannot pick up the suit if East has
four spades, your first play must be the ace of spades. Now you can pick up West’s trumps.
Hint: Look for the problem before you play to trick
one.
6. NEGLECTING TO COUNT
The simple task of counting
to thirteen seems to be beyond some players.
Here is an example:
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*Support
Double showing 3 hearts
West played three rounds of
diamonds with East ruffing the third. East now switched to the queen of
hearts and you stop to analyze your position. You can pitch one heart
loser on the queen of diamonds but will have to lose the other. That means
you cannot afford to lose a club. All of the clues are present for you to
know the exact distribution of the opponents' hands.
Let’s count: First you know West started
with five diamonds. West’s double showed three-card support and East must
have four of them. The spades must be divided 4-4 or they would have been
bid. This leaves West with only one club so you lead to the club king in
dummy and then the nine for a finesse. By simply COUNTING each suit, you
discovered West started with 4-3-5-1 distribution. At the table since one trump had been played,
several declarers played the top two clubs trying to drop the queen.
Here’s another example where
counting can solve your problem:
We spend approximately half
of our time on defense but most players concentrate only on bidding and
declarer issues. Here is a defensive problem that was solved by merely
counting points.
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*Negative Double
Seeing no future in his
spade suit, West led the four of diamonds. The eight held the trick in
dummy and declarer next led a club to his king. After winning the ace,
West started to play another diamond to establish his king but instead stopped
to analyze what he had learned. From the bidding he knew South held one
if not both of the spade honors. It was also clear declarer held the
QJ of diamonds and the top two (or three) club honors. Any logical
combination of those cards placed South with 12-14 high card points so one
thing became clear: South did not hold the ace of hearts. With that card
along with the others, he would have too many points for the auction. So
at trick three, West put the heart jack on the table and then continued with
the king and another. These six tricks for the defenses held declarer to
his contract and a great result. In fact, at two tables, N/S bid and made
3NT. Notice West did nothing more than
count the high card points South had shown from the bidding and play of the hand. The
best defense was found using simple math.
I hope this look at common
mistakes will help. I can’t guarantee
you will stop making errors but if you follow the suggestions shown above, your
game should improve considerably. As for
me, I’ll just try to not “take a wrong view”.