grizz: hi all, any questions while we are waiting? mitche: just got Kit Woolsey's book on partnership defense... tough, tough hands BILManager (Lobby): => Club: !D!DGrizz Lesson Table on Defense is now open in the BIL Lesson starts in about 5 mins. All members are invited to attend this very informative lesson on Defense!H!H ->mitche: y, his stuff is really arcane wyoming33: how does one improve their card counting? Miksa: No question, just an apology for not finishing the promissed LIN movie for you :(. I am not the master of my time, alas... :( ->Miksa: lol npppppppp :) grizz: improving card counting BILAssist: !H are you going to have a play of the hands today or just lesson or a combo of both grizz: hi george :) ->BILAssist: no volunteers today drgarie2xx: hi grizz: back to the question about counting cards BILAssist: !H grizz: the first thing to count is who has what honors at Trick 1 grizz: then try to count your tricks grizz: and declarer's tricks grizz: and see where any extras can come from for either side grizz: always keep the bidding in mind, and watch partner's signals grizz: on play of declarer's suits, partner should usually signal count unless covering or winning mitche: i think the question was "what technique do we use to count distribution?" ->mitche: y, and there is no magic bullet mitche: practice, practice, practice - on every deal ... grizz: usually by trick 3 or 4 you can figure out what the distribution is around the table grizz: and the key to becoming proficient is to count every hand grizz: lol if it was easy, EVERYBODY could do it! mitche: instead of counting sheep, count the combinations of numbers that add up to 13 =0,0, 0, 13. 0, 0, 1, 12 .... grizz: Ron Klinger has written a couple books on the subject, and Mike Lawrence wrote a good one too marcat36: same here grizz: It is important to cultivate the habit of counting, and not allow yourself to get lazy BILManager (Lobby): => Club: !D!DGrizz Lesson Table on Defense is now started in the BIL. All members are invited to attend this very informative lesson on Defense!H!H grizz: we have worked on bridge logic before, and will continue to do so ->drgarie2xx: george, would you mind moving to the kibitzer gallery? we won't have any volunteers playing today mitche: one thing to start with: count # of outstanding cards in each suit, e.g. as declarer, I have (suppose) 9 spades. Opps have 4, and after 2 rounds at most I know both how they were ... mitche: originally distributed and present count. ->mitche: good idea, why not say that to the crowd? ->drgarie2xx: thx doc drgarie2xx: umw grizz: Hi everybody, thanks for attending another of a series of lessons on Defense. grizz: First some preliminaries. grizz: Chat logs and hand records are stored in your computer for later review. For information on how to retrieve them, go the BIL homepage or email me at grizz.den@gmail.com. grizz: I teach private individual and pair and small group lessons. If you would like to know more please email me at grizz.den@gmail.com grizz: As all you you know, there are a lot of different systems for bidding in bridge. They all have strengths and weaknesses. mitche: on counting: suppose as declarer, you have 9 spades between you and dummy: that means initially, defenders have 4, and after at most 2 rounds, I know the original and present ... mitche: distribution of the outstanding spades. I can build the picture up as each suit is played, but I need to watch the cards - and also, form an image from bids and signals of ... mitche: defenders of the hand as a whole BILAssist->Kibitzers: Go to your desk top and click on My computer then to C drive. Then you will find a folder named BBO (gets installed when you install BBO) THen... BILAssist->Kibitzers: Look through the BBO folder to find the chat and hands that you want to see. You can open then and print them or copy and paste them to a word document or notepad for future ... BILAssist->Kibitzers: reference. grizz: Exactly grizz: start with the first suit led, and figure it out around the table grizz: Fill in the unknown information as each trick is played mitche: counting is like any form of exercise --- unless you do it, you wont see the benefits. grizz: Back now to systems ->mitche: thx mitche: yw grizz: There are a lot of different systems for bidding in bridge. They all have strengths and weaknesses. grizz: And there is disagreement about what those strengths and weaknesses are. grizz: The same is true but to a far lesser extent of defense. grizz: I am speaking of Jack Denies, also known as Coded 9 and T. This is a departure from the good old days, and not everybody thinks it to be an improvement. grizz: I think it is, so I teach it. Others may or may not, according to their opinion. grizz: You are free to pick and choose which systems work for you, and I encourage you to learn as much as you can and keep an open mind. grizz: Whatever systems you choose, discuss them with your partner and make sure you agree. grizz: Are there any questions so far? grizz: There will be lots of questions. I want to address them all, but in a manner helpful to all, so please ask them in open chat. grizz: I cannot respond to private chat during a lesson. grizz: Last week we talked about notrump defense, went over some general rules and looked at some examples. grizz: Let us review those rules. grizz: Notrump is a race to see which side can establish and cash its winners first. grizz: Both sides usually have enough tricks to get the job done, but one side runs out of time. grizz: Notrump defense is about long suits and entries. Long suits are where the extra tricks are, and entries allow you to cash them. grizz: That is why it is usually best to start with your side's long suit. grizz: The race to develop tricks starts at Trick 1, and if the defense does not get on with its Job #1 then momentum and timing shift to the declarer. grizz: Here are some general rules for NT leads as a review, for those who may not have attended previous sessions. grizz: By the way, these rules are for 1st hand LEADS, they do not apply to 3rd hand FOLLOWING! grizz: 1. If your partner has bid a suit, lead it, unless you have a strong suit of your own and an outside entry. grizz: 2. Strong top-of-sequence leads from 4-card suits (KQJx. KQTx. QJTx) are better than weaker but longer suits (Jxxxx, Qxxxx). grizz: 3. If you have the choice between an unbid major or an unbid minor with similar strength in each, the major is usually a better prospect. grizz: 4. If dummy uses Stayman he can be assumed to have one or two 4-card majors. grizz: 5. If your hand is dreadful, try to hit partner's long suit, even if he hasn't bid. Any suit that he might have bid at the 1 level but didn't will be an unlikely candidate for ... grizz: this desperation lead. grizz: 6. If dummy has announced during the auction that he has a long, strong suit, you must make an aggressive lead in another suit. AKx. KQx or QJx are better in this case than ... grizz: weaker but longer suits. grizz: 7. Partner needs to know whether you have any honors in the suit you lead. If a switch must be made at Trick 2, partner needs to know and act quickly. grizz: A. The lead of a low card in an unbid suit promises an honor. So if you lead low, expect partner to return that suit if he gets in. grizz: B. Likewise, the lead of a big spot card tends to deny an honor. Partner is notified that he must switch. grizz: C. Leading from a strong 4-card suit like AQTx, AQJx, AJTx, or AKTx usually costs a trick. Odds are that RHO has the missing honor, and a lead from one of these sequences goes ... grizz: right into declarer's tenace. grizz: But it is a GOOD idea to lead from a strong 5-card suit, such as AQTxx, AQJxx, AJTxx, or AKTxx. grizz: D. The lead of a Q shows either the top of a sequence (QJT, QJ9) OR a powerful combination headed by the KQT9. If the opening leader may have that combination, that is you do not ... grizz: see the K,T or 9 but you do have the J, you should play it at Trick 1. grizz: Otherwise you would give a Count signal. grizz: So opening lead of a Q calls for Unblock the J or Count grizz: E. The lead of a K shows either a sequence or a short suit (AKx, KQx). grizz: F. Leading an A shows a very strong suit, headed by AKQ, AKJT, AKJ (or AQJ with an outside entry). Since the A is a guaranteed entry, it is rare to waste it on the opening lead. grizz: G. Playing Coded 9's and T's, also known as Jack Denies (and T or 9 Implies), the lead of a J denies a higher honor, but guarantees a sequence if it is an unbid suit. grizz: The lead of a T or 9 now specifically shows 0 or 2 cards higher. If leader has 2 higher cards, they are specifically a touching tenace (KJT9, KT98, AT98, AJT9, etc.) grizz: Remember, these rules are for 1st hand LEADS, they do not apply to 3rd hand FOLLOWING. grizz: We will talk about 3rd hand play in following weeks, but here is a sneak peek at the rules, and you will be happy to know that they are much simpler. grizz: 1. Win the trick, unless there is a good reason not to. grizz: 2. Give Attitude on partner's lead - tell him whether to continue the suit or switch. grizz: 3. Give Count on declarer's lead, to help partner figure out suit distribution around the table. grizz: Any questions? grizz: Now we will move around the table, and see what the opening lead looks like from partner's point of view. grizz: The opening lead is the leader's best idea for defending the hand. He has heard the auction and looked at his cards, but he has not yet seen dummy. mitche: gtg ... have fun grizz: His partner, the 3rd hand to play, has the benefit of seeing the opening lead and the dummy, and his play to the first trick usually shapes the defense of the hand. ->mitche: :) grizz: So 3rd hand needs to know what the leader is up to, and what he should do. grizz: Sometimes it is right to continue leader's planned defense, but other times the dummy requires a change of plan. grizz: We will assume that leader has attended our class and leads in accordance with the rules just restated above. grizz: 1. If the opening lead is low, and there are NO honors in dummy, then 3rd hand should play high. grizz: With 2 or more touching honors, win as cheaply as possible, playing the lowest of equals. That helps partner locate missing honors and figure out who has what around the table. grizz: Pay attention to spot cards in dummy, and play the lowest of equals in the two combined hands. grizz: 2. If the opening lead is low,and there IS an honor in dummy, then 3rd hand should finesse the dummy honor. We have looked at those cases already. grizz: 3. The situation changes completely when a high spot card is led. grizz: There are no honors to protect in partner's hand, so play high unless there is a good reason not to. grizz: One such case would be where you have a long suit with a top honor but no middle cards, like K6432. grizz: Partner has no power in the suit, so hand on to the K early, it might be useful later as an entry to the suit to cash length winners after declarer takes his tricks in it. grizz: Another such case is if you have all low cards, like 842. Show no interest in the suit by playing low, and partner will know that suit has not future. grizz: 4. The Rule of 11 can help you when partner leads 4th best. grizz: The Rule states that when partner leads his 4th best card, you subtract the number of the spot card led from the magic number 11. grizz: The result is the number of cards HIGHER contained in dummy, 3rd hand and declarer. grizz: Sometimes that calculation will be valuable and sometimes it won't, but you should always do it anyway. grizz: Example #1, and please kibitz East grizz: If the 6 was West's 4th best !s, then there are 5 higher cards in North, East and South combined. There are 2 in dummy and 2 in East, so South can only have 1. grizz: East plays high with no honors in dummy. grizz: That high card can only be the K, which plays at Trick 1. grizz: South cannot afford to hold up, and have East lead a !s through. grizz: There is no legitimate play for this contract, with 4!Ds, 3!cs and 1!s off the top, but it will make IF South can steal a !h trick. soracco->Club: for the rule of 11 is it equivalent to say 11-your 4th highest lead equals the number of higher cards in the other three hand? grizz: yes, subtract the number of the spot card from 11, and that number is the total number of higher cards in the other 3 hands grizz: Back to the action, he crosses to dummy with a !D, and leads the !HJ as if he is finessing the Q. grizz: If East is following the "2nd Hand Low" rule here, he loses big. South has stolen his 9th trick, now he abandons !hs and cashes his other 8 winners. grizz: It looks as though South is finessing the Q, which might be in West, but actually we have Attempted Larceny here grizz: How does East know to rise with the A? The Rule of 11 told him so. West's !ss are ready to run, and East leads them back for the coup de grace. grizz: Here is the whole hand: grizz: Can everybody see the layout now? wyoming33: to see you have to go to profile and click on show all cards catboo123: yes grizz: The Rule of 11 can lead to some other spectacular results. grizz: Example 2, and again we kibitz East. wyoming33: east knows west starts with 5!S cause south denied a 4-card major BILAssist->Club: I love it!!! and repetition is the best reinforcement of learning ->BILAssist: :) grizz: Sidebar: with 4333 distribution, and therefore no ruffing value, North doesn't really care whether South has !Hs jacquiek: the last hand ins't showing up in Movie (at least for me). grizz: sigh i claimed, and that usually works PedroG: I have on movie grizz: Anybody who can't get the hands to play, just email me at grizz.den@gmail.com and I will send them to you. loubel: yes it did j915: on last hand w should overf take ten with j incase e had qt doubleton grizz: quite right grizz: On to the next hand grizz: West leads the !S6, and the T54 shows up in dummy. East is looking at the J87. "3rd hand high" says play the J, right? grizz: Nope. Blind adherence to that rule costs a very beatable contract. Let's play it out and see. grizz: Declarer first test the minors, to see if one of them splits PedroG: by the rule of 11 there is only one higher card in S grizz: yes, and it was played at Trick 1 grizz: No luck in !cs PedroG: if I have 3 and dummy the T, I should have pick 7 it would have don ethe trick grizz: no luck in !ds grizz: exactly, we will replay it after we see what happens otherwise PedroG: sorry grizz: OK, West cashed his !s, but now he's endplayed grizz: OR mei ann: how do we give count in clubs when declarer led !C...Count or attitude grizz->Club: let's go back to trick 1 grizz: we can't afford to signal with honors, so just follow low grizz: Rule of 11, and East hopes S does not have the 9 grizz: But even if he does, it doesn't matter - he needs to guard the T in dummy wyoming33: west wd then have AKQ and would lead A I guess grizz: right grizz: problem Caitlin: why doesnt he play good DJ and CJ TALR: e doesnt have to hope he can be sure S have an honor otherwise W has AKQ in !s and he lead A soracco: why not win the A spac soracco: why not win the a spades grizz: At Trick 1 East can see that South can have only 1 card higher than the 6. It can't be the 9, because then West would have the AKQ and would not lead low from that combination. grizz: South therefore must have the A, K or Q, and so it can never be right to play the J. That just promotes the T on the board, and allows a crafty South to endplay West as we just ... grizz: saw. grizz: But East produces the J, cashes his long minor suit winners, and then says "over to you pard" with a !s, and South is toast. grizz: So East used the Rule of 11 to take partner off the endplay at TRICK 1!!!!!!! grizz: 5. 3rd hand must be alert to cases where it is necessary to overtake an honor lead and unblock. grizz: Example #3, and again we kibitz East. grizz: lol North missed the lesson on Stayman :) grizz: East cannot play low here, or the contract makes. He must overtake and unblock, and partner clears the !s suit before declarer gets in. grizz: The same rule applies where West leads the Q, and East has the doubleton K. grizz: Example #4, and again we kibitz East. BILAssist->Kibitzers: !D!D The 10 bds in the tourney have been prepared and annotated and they are specific to what you have been told today - a real BONUS the hands will have notes as part of them ... BILAssist->Kibitzers: that reflect the lesson when you review them later Register now to play in T471 - tourney button right of your screen grizz: Declarer just doesn't quite have enough tricks here, eventually he must lose the !d finesse and a long !c grizz: By unblockiong at Trick 1, West's !ss can run now grizz: 6. When 3rd hand wins Trick 1, and continues the suit, what card does he lead back? grizz: With 2 remaining, lead high-low to give partner count on the suit. grizz: With 3 or more left, lead back the original 4th best. grizz: Example 5, and again we kibitz East. grizz: st||md|3SQ92HKQT9DAT98CAQ,SKJ864H432DK32C32,S75HA76DQJ4CKT987,SAT3HJ85D765CJ654|nt||sv|n|mb|-|mb|p|mb|p|mb|1N|mb|p|mb|3N|mb|p|mb|p|mb|p|mb|-|mb|-|mb|-|pg||pc|S6|pc|S5|pc|SA|pc|S2|pg|| pc|ST|pc|S9|pc|S4|pc|S7|pg|| pc|S3|pc|SQ|pc|SK|pc|D4|pg|| pc|SJ|pc|DJ|pc|D5|pc|D8|pg|| pc|S8|pc|DQ|pc|D6|pc|D9|pg|| pc|H2|pc|H6|pc|HJ|pc|HQ|pg|| pc|H9|pc|H3|pc|HA|pc|H5|pg|| pc|H7|pc|H8|pc|HK|pc|H4|pg|| pc|HT|pc|C2|pc|C7|pc|D7|pg|| pc|DA|pc|D2|pc|C8|pc|C4|pg|| pc|CA|pc|C3|pc|C9|pc|C5|pg|| pc|CQ|pc|D3|pc|CK|pc|C6|pg|| pc|CT|pc|CJ|pc|DT|pc|DK|pg|| mb|pp1Np3Nppp| Chat log of Bridge Base Online session for grizz starting at: Sat Jun 16 15:21:35 2007 jacquiek->Club: what happened? grizz->Kibitzers: technical problems - error message when i uploaded a hand, and the system locked up grizz: technical problems - error message when i uploaded a hand, and the system locked up BILAssist->Club: !D!DGizz had a disconnect he is back in the room now!H!H grizz: more problems, i need to re-serve as a teaching table, please rejoin me in a minute grizz: sorry about that, very unusual problem grizz: i got computer code in the chat box, and nothing worked wyoming33: we did too grizz: y? guess it wasn't just my connection then BILAssist->Club: Grizz has to reset up the table as teaching please leave and re-join his table ->BILAssist: ready now grizz: let's wait a couple minutes for folks to find us at the new table grizz: sorry about the technical trouble, i didn't do anything unusual grizz: Back to the action, East returns the top from 2 remaining cards grizz: Same example, if you have the AT32, return the 2. grizz: Same example, if you have the AT432, return and 3 (original 4th best) grizz: Example 6, the same principle applies if East has honor tripleton. grizz: if East does not unblock here, the lead winds up in the wrong hand grizz: And South has plenty of winners to cash grizz: Let's back it up grizz: In this case the return of the K both gives count and unblocks the suit. grizz: These unblocking positions occur time and again, and good defenders train themselves to unblock almost without thinking about it. grizz: Now we have some quiz examples. I will present a problem, and you are all invited to tell the crowd what card to play, and why. grizz: West leads the 3 against a NT contract, and dummy comes down with the 975 and plays low. What do you play with each of the following suits? grizz: A. KJ2 grizz: Any guesses? tigris: K peterb370c: K Grasti->Club: k grizz: This is a hypothetical hand, not the one shown jerripot: J grizz: K, 3rd hand high with no honors in dummy. jacquiek: king grizz: J would finesse partner, and let South win the Q if he has it grizz: B. AJ84 tigris: a wyoming33: A grizz: Again, West leads the 3 against a NT contract, and dummy comes down with the 975 and plays low. What do you play with each of the following suits? peterb370c: A grizz: A, same rule. grizz: C. KQ8 peterb370c: Q tigris: Q wyoming33: Q PedroG->Club: Q grizz: Q, lowest of equals. grizz: D. KT8 peterb370c: K tigris: k grizz: K, 3rd hand high with no honors in dummy. grizz: E. T84 peterb370c: 8 jacquiek: 8 tigris: 8 jacquiek: lowest grizz: Again, West leads the 3 against a NT contract, and dummy comes down with the 975 and plays low. What do you play with each of the following suits? grizz: 8, since with the 9 in dummy the 8 and T are equals, and we play the lowest equal. grizz: G. QJ8 peterb370c: j tigris: j grizz: J, lower of equals. grizz: H. QJT2 peterb370c: T tigris: t grizz: T, lowest of equals. grizz: I. QJT8 PedroG: 8 tigris: t grizz: 8, since with the 9 in dummy the 8 and T are equals, and we play the lowest equal. jacquiek: 8 grizz: J. KJT8 Grasti: k PedroG: k grizz: K, 3rd hand high with no honors in dummy. grizz: K. 842 grizz: this is a trick question PedroG: 8 Grasti: depends grizz: 2 - with all small cards, do not play high. Partner will know to hunt for tricks elsewhere. PedroG: :) grizz: L. KQJ6 Grasti: k PedroG: K tigris: j grizz: J, lowest of equals. grizz: M. QJ PedroG: J jacquiek: q tigris: l Caitlin: to lead from KQJx the Jack? tigris: j grizz: This one depends on partnership agreement jacquiek: high low doubleton grizz: Ordinarily you would play the lowest of equals grizz: but with QJ tight, some play the Q to show no supporting spot cards grizz: That concludes today's lesson, and next week we will look at signals. grizz: To be ready for that lesson, be thinking about when you would signal (or need partner to signal) Attitude, Count or Suit Preference. jacquiek: thanks Pete:) ydannac: THANKS GRIZZ !H:) grizz: If anybody needs help retrieving the hand records or chat log, please email me at grizz.den@gmail.com. Dianne0516: Thanks Pete :) tigris: thanks grizz grizz: I am also available for private lessons, you can email me at grizz.den@gmail.com for more information. Wanda310: thanks Grizz grizz: Thanks for your interest and participation, and I hope to see you next week. peterb370c: thanks, Pete jerripot: tx bye grizz: Thanks also to Maureen, Fred and the wonderful people at BBO who make this all possible. BILAssist->Club: !D!DBEGINNNERS INTERMEDIATES – Tournament #471 starts in about 15 mins. This tourney is restricted to your level. Please register to play for BBO Masterpoints and prize money. A ... BILAssist->Club: real BONUS is that all the hands are annonated - so a real plus in the review during and after the tourney. Compete with your peers - think Defense.!H!H PedroG: thank you Pete soracco: thanks grizz Caitlin: when yuo have time can you send me hands you have used here and in Club2/1 may be helpful for privates grizz: The tournament hands will be those we looked at last week ->Caitlin: sure, and i need to fix some bugs too grizz: Are there any questions? Caitlin: great TY any hands I have you want just say the word lots of 2/1 hands and slam hands ->Caitlin: :) grizz: If not, then good luck in the tournament, and I'll see you back here next week. PedroG: ty Pete grizz: Adios