Auction of To-day

by Milton C. Work

BLOCKING THE DUMMY

When the Declarer is playing a No-trump and the Dummy holds a long suit without reëntry, an adversary of the Declarer may have the opportunity, when he has a card stopping that suit, of blocking it and preventing the long cards from making, by holding the winning card until the Declarer has played what is necessarily his last card of the suit.

AVOID OPENING NEW SUITS

The adversaries of the Declarer should avoid opening new suits unless the situation shows it to be necessary. They should remember that when the honors of a suit are evenly divided, opening it is practically sure to cost a trick, and that the starting of any suit, which is not headed by Ace and King, or a three-card sequence, is almost invariably disadvantageous. The lead by the partner has been made with some object, and should, therefore, be returned, except when the holding of the Dummy or some other development renders such action plainly inadvisable.

Shifting suits is about as advantageous as swapping horses while crossing a stream, and the advice to return the partner's suit rather than risk a new one applies with equal force whether a No-trump or suit declaration is being played, but does not refer to the situation in which the partner evidently desires that the suit he has declared be led through strength up to him.

HOW TO RETURN PARTNER'S LEAD

When the original Third Hand returns a suit opened by his partner, he should lead the winning card, if he hold it. If without the best card, when the lead is against a No-trump declaration, it is far more important that a high card should be led through strength, and also that the holder of the length should be accurately advised as to his partner's high cards, than that he should be told the exact number of small ones. Therefore, when playing a No-trumper, the highest card should be returned from either three or two remaining. With four remaining (five originally), the holding may be longer than that of the original leader, and, therefore, the lowest should be led. If the partner be a keen counter of small cards, the next to the lowest is doubtless more informatory and just as advantageous as the lowest. When the original Third Hand returns a suit opened by his partner against a suit declaration, there is some difference of opinion among good players as to whether he should follow the Whist rule, which is the most informatory as to number, and lead the lowest of three remaining, the higher of two; or whether it is unwise to complicate matters by distinguishing between this case and the return when a No-trump is being played. The question is not very important as long as partners understand which convention is being used.

None of these rules applies in the case, readily distinguishable, in which the adverse strength in the suit is in the Dummy, and it is necessary to hold a high card over that hand; the play must then be made to fit the situation, and not according to any hard-and-fast principle.

THE FINESSE

The cards of the Dummy being exposed make it easy for the player sitting back of him to determine when to finesse. As the object of a finesse is to catch a high card on the right, it is folly to finesse against nothing—for example, the leader opens with Knave against a No-trump; the Third Hand has King and others; when the Dummy has the Queen, it is obvious the King should not be played unless the Queen cover the Knave, but when the Dummy holds only worthless cards, the Third Hand should play the King, as, should he finesse against nothing, he would allow the Queen to win. The leader has opened either from Ace, Knave, Ten, or a suit headed by a Knave-Ten combination. In the former case the play of the King insures every trick; in the latter, it helps clear the suit. It, therefore, is an example of the rule not to finesse when the Dummy has nothing.