When the dummy’s hand is faced on the table you should take a little time planning how you are going to make your tricks. Don’t just win a few aces and kings early in the hand before deciding your strategy.
In a notrump contract you look to make both high-card tricks and tricks from long suits.
The high-card tricks will be won in the first three rounds of the suit. The length tricks are usually won in the fourth and fifth rounds of the suit.
It is rare to make a notrump contract from just high-card winners. Usually you will need to set up one or more length tricks.
A suit that will produce length tricks is usually one where you hold a minimum of seven cards counting the dummy’s and declarer’s hands together.
Once you have chosen a long suit, you should try to visualise the likely distribution of the suit and then watch to see the suit divides so you can make one or more length tricks.
- With a long suit fit of only seven cards you will usually need both your opponents to hold three cards in the suit to make a fourth-round length trick. You look for a three-three break.
After three rounds you hope to be able to make the fourth round and later rounds with the only card or cards remaining. Watch to see your opponents follow suit for three tricks.
Example: Your long suit is ♦AK962 in your hand and ♦54 in the dummy. After winning ♦A and ♦K, you play ♦9. When both opponents follow to the third round of the suit, you have established both ♦6 and ♦2 as length tricks.
- With a long suit fit of eight cards you hope one opponent has two cards in your suit and the other opponent has three cards. You look for a three-two break.
Watch to see that your opponents both follow suit for two tricks for the suit to divide evenly. You can then play the third round to establish one or more length tricks.
Example: With ♦A8762 in your hand and ♦543 in the dummy you play the suit at every opportunity. If the suit divides three-two you will have two length tricks. You will have to lose two tricks to your opponents.
Often the crucial decision for the declarer is choosing the best long suit to play on to develop tricks from length. You look for the suit that has the best chance of producing a fourth-round trick.
When you have a seven-card fit your suit will divide evenly only one third of the time. With an eight-card fit, the suit will divide evenly more than two thirds of the time.
In other words, you should look to play a suit with an eight-card or longer fit to make length tricks ahead of a suit with just a seven-card fit.
Example: With ♦A8762 ♣KQ43 in your hand and ♦543 ♣A76 in the dummy, you should look to play on diamonds to make length tricks rather than clubs.
Even though you will have to give two diamond tricks to your opponents, you are much more likely to make length tricks. If you play on clubs you will mostly set up a length trick for your opponents.
© 2022 John Roberts