Series - The Mistakes I make in Bridge


This bidding got me stranded in 2♠ because of Acol. That's actually not bad. You cannot make it against good leads. But neither can you make 1NT, the contract you might reach by downgrading the hand to a weak 1NT. On almost all other tables, the bidding started with a strong 1NT and continued to a good heart contract for E/W by the bidding below.


In that case, the "blocking" value of 1NT fails, and the direct mentioning of a spade suit works out to be superior.  

But I spoiled that advantage by going down twice. Actually, I could have made the contract after the lead of ♣K. It is always tough to play 1 4-3 fit, and this is no exception. I started with a heart won by East who followed with a trump to prevent ruffs. I now can ruff only one heart at the table.

The best line of play is to drive out the ♣Q now. If West takes it on the first round and returns a trump, you can play clubs to dummy and continue it. If he ducks one round, you need to find the finesse in diamonds to the J.

This is a more interesting one. Many tables reached the contract of 4♠ and made it with an overtrick. Most East players simply bid 3♠, knowing their partner has 5 and denying the heart stopper. 

On my table, Lia played Acol on North. Thus he repeated the diamonds, showing extra length. At that point, I should have bid 4♠. That can only be a 5-card suit, because with a 6-card suit I'd have repeated my spades earlier.

Due to not cashing two heart tricks, I made an overtrick. But that is not enough against 4♠ with an overtrick. In most cases, one should prefer a good 7-card major fit to a game in the minors.

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