You can now play the hand of the day on BBO+ and compare how you get on with the players in the article.
The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff
Opening Lead: ♥7
One of my readers, Orville St. Clair, sent me this deal. He was playing a practice session with three students of his, on which he took a shot at six clubs.
He won the heart opening lead with the ace and pulled a round of trumps, revealing the 2-1 split. So he led a second round, winning in hand.
Now the spades had to be played for one loser. St Clair realized that he would make if East had either the king or the J-10 of spades. But before leading spades, he cashed the diamond ace in case he could drop the king. Next he led the spade seven, intending to run it to East, but West put in the 10, covered by the queen and king. Back came a diamond, ruffed, followed by a heart ruff and a diamond ruff. When the king did not appear, St. Clair finessed in spades for his contract.
In addition to the bridge hand, St. Clair mentioned that he had been a gambler on the horses when he was young. In a fashion that would make all of us investors proud, he recently correctly named all winners in a Pick-Six. For the first time in his life, he bought a brand new car, and will now focus on mentoring younger players as his way of paying back the friendly folks who helped him when he was just starting in the game. It is very satisfactory when good things happen to nice guys.
Bid with the aces
Answer: 3♣
Your partner is NOT bidding two no-trump in an attempt to play there or in a no-trump game. As a hand that passed twice, he is scrambling for the best trump suit. He rates to have a weak hand with both minors and wants you to pick your longer suit. It is good strategy for responder to bid the cheaper suit in such instances, so bid three clubs and hope for the best.
This Hand of the Day was originally published on aces.bridgeblogging.com.
If you’re a BBO+ member, you can now play the Hand of the Day directly on BBO as part of your membership benefits.
Go to the BBO+ section, select BBO+ Games and Events, then click Play Today’s Deal to give it a try and compare your result with the players featured in the article.
