Auction of To-day

by Milton C. Work

IX

THE PLAY

It has been stated elsewhere that it is easier to advise an Auction player how to declare than how to play. This is unquestionably true, and as a rule instruction in print relating to intricate situations in the play is of little benefit to the reader.

End situations, and even those which arise earlier in the hand, seldom exactly repeat themselves. Pages may be filled with the description of brilliant plays by the Declarer and his opponents. The reader may study such examples until he becomes thoroughly familiar with every detail, and yet, so great and infinite is the variety of Auction hands, may play for years without ever having one of them arise. Mathematicians state that the 52 cards may be distributed in 53,644,737,765,839,237,440,000 different ways, and that a player may receive 635,013,559,600 different hands. There is no reason to question the accuracy of these figures, but even if they be grossly excessive, it is still self-evident that each deal is apt to produce some totally new situation.

All that will be attempted, therefore, in considering the play, is to offer a few general suggestions that it is believed will be found applicable to a considerable percentage of hands, and that it is hoped will prove useful.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLAY IN AUCTION AND BRIDGE

There is little difference between the play in Auction and Bridge, although in Auction, due to the bidding, all the players have much greater information regarding the strength and weakness of the various hands.

There is one point of variance, however, worthy of consideration:—

In Bridge, the player of the open hand is generally striving for the game as his only object. In Auction, the Declarer has two purposes in view; first, to fulfil his declaration; and second, when the making of the declaration does not in itself secure game, to obtain that also.

Naturally, the opponents of the Declarer play with exactly the opposite idea, their first object being to prevent him from going game, and their second, to keep him from fulfilling his contract.