Asking for a Stopper for NTs ♥
In this lesson we look at the situations where a bid could be construed as 'asking for a stopper'. This often occurs when you think that playing in 3NT (or more!) is a good idea, but there is a suit that you are worried about that the opponents might
Hand of the Week #199 (Solution) ♣
N E S W 1♠ 1NT P P P Counting our top tricks (as per the 'TEE' principle), we have: 2 spades (♠AQ both guaranteed as tricks on a spade lead) and 1 heart only. With 3 top tricks, we have some work to do to make
Hand of the Week #199 ♣
N E S W 1♠ 1NT P P P South opens 1♠, and West overcalls 1NT which represents around 15 to 18 HCP, a balanced hand and at least one stopper in spades. This overcall ends the auction as neither North nor East want to venture further
Hand of the Week #198 (Solution) ♠
N E S W 1NT X P P P On first glance, this 1NT contract looks like a straight forward 'set your tricks up' type of hand. Simply get rid of the ♥A and the ♣K and we will have lots of tricks coming to us. Whilst
Hand of the Week #198 ♠
N E S W 1NT X P P P East opens 1NT (12-14 balanced) and South doubles. North knows that this double is for penalties because a double of a NT contract is always for penalties. West, North and East all pass, leaving this double in as
Dealing with Bad Breaks ♦
As declarer, normally, at the start of a hand, you will form a rough plan as to how you are going to play. Sometimes you get some bad news about the way a certain suit is distributed in the defenders hands that could lead to a change of plan.
Hand of the Week #197 (Solution) ♦
N E S W 1NT 2♦* P 2♠ P P P With equal length trumps in both hands, we could analyse either hand for losers here, but with dummy's long diamond suit it is likely that it will be easier to set the dummy up as the
Hand of the Week #197 ♦
N E S W 1NT 2♦* P 2♠ P P P North starts us off in this auction with a 1NT opener, East intervenes with a 2♦* overcall which this East-West pair are playing as Asptro, so 2♦* shows a 5/4 hand with one of the suits
Playing in a Misfit ♦
Occasionally you will find yourself in a trump contract but without 8+ cards in the trump suit. This is called a 'misfit' and can occur in a variety of different ways, some of which are unavoidable. In this video lesson we take a look at the declarer techniques you
Hand of the Week #196 (Solution) ♥
N E S W 2♣* P 2♦* P 2♥ P 4♥ P P P We have taken an optimistic view with our opening 2♣* bid with this hand so it is important to make this game if we can as not all other pairs will be getting