The San Francisco call., 1906-09-23
Copyright, 1906, by r.. #. Foster.
No. 9.

TT might be supposed that having
I mastered the system of leading
l which. has been expounded in pre-
vious articles. it would have been
sufficient for all purposes, but it is
not. 1t is designed with a special OBJ
ject-to secure the best results for the
leader himself and to make the situa-
tion clear to the partner under spe-
cial condition, and that condition is
that there is strong trump suit
against the leader and his partner.
When this trump suit is absent the
conditions are entirely changed, and
there is no necessity to take the pre-
cautions that are necessary against
trump declaration. Better results can
be obtained in an entirely different
way.
Unfortunately, nothing is more COM
mon than to find even fairly good play
ers who make no distinction in their
leads when playing against a no
trumper or trump declaration. 1t is
the weak spot in their game. and
costs them heavily in tricks, although
they may be quite unconscious of it.
In order to understand the distinc-
tion between the two systems of lead
ing the necessity of it must be made
clear.
In playing against a declared trump
there is one particular suit which will
inevitably win FIVE or six of the thir-
teen tricks to be played for. This is
the trump suit 1t has been found by
computation that the average number
of tricks that fall to the trumps is IA
on the deal. This leaves an average
of only two tricks each for the three
plain suits which would Indicate that
there was not much chance for any
thing but aces and kings.
| In actual play such is found to be the
case. and no good player will reckon
queen as good for a trick when opposed
to a trump call The dealer may make
a queen good by protecting it with his
trumps, but even he should not count
on it if it is unaccompanied by higher
honors
If queen is not of much value, how
much less must be the value of the
smaller cards in plain suits, and how
slight must be the hope of ever taxing
tricks with them.
Realizing these facts, the adversaries
+,
a declared trump, direct all their Ell
forts to getting. home what tricks they
can with hteir high cards. The one
shows by his leads what he can DO
in that line, and the other shows py
his play what he can run. mat Is
ali there is to their game. II the
average. for a plain suit is two rounds,
the PLAYER who holds both ace and
king is careful not to keep them too
long, but to make them while he mas
a chance.
The dealer, being strong in trumps,
can probably exhaust them at pleas
ure, and he can usually place the
lead in which hand he pleases, SO
as to discard the losing cards IN one
hand or the winning cards in the other.
If the adversaries are not quick about
making their winning cards before the
dealer gets these discards, they VIII
probably never make them at all, De
cause the dealer will trump them. 1t
must not be forgotten that II the
dealer has the winning cards IN
plain suit, he is going to exhaust the
trumps, so that you shall not run his
good cards. But II you nave winning
cards in a plain suit, he is going TO
arrange his game so that he can trump
them.
The most important thing in play
ing against a declared trump is 10
make your winning cards early in the
game To use common expression,
Don't carry home any aces
In playing against a no-trumper this
danger does not exist. The dealer
cannot trump your winning cards, and
they will probably be just as good
at the end of the hand as at the be-
ginning. At no-trumps high cards are
; often much more useful when they
are not led. Aces frequently do double
duty by killing the dealers kings,
which not only wins the trick, but
/; spoils a possible trick for the other
I side.
{ The conditions to which you are op-
posed in a no-trumper are entirely d1f-
/ ferent. With a declared trump, the
dealer depends upon one suit, the
trump, to win tricks in several suits,
2 and especially in suits in which ne
: is weak. At no-trump, on the con-
; trary, he depends on high cards In
several suits to win tricks for the
suits themselves. :.
In playing against him, therefore, 1t
should be obvious that in the first
case your best plan is to make your
winning cards before he gets ready 10
trump them, while in the second case
your only hope is to make tricks with
the smaller cards of the suits IN Wnicn
he holds the high cards.
This brings us to the fundamental
differences between the two games. In
the first high cards are everything to
the adversa1es; in the second, length
in the suit is most important. What
does it matter If the dealer holds both
ace and king of your suit IL you have
six. cards tothe queen? After his ace
and king have been forced out by your
leads your four remaining cards are all
good for tricks If there is no trump to
stop them. provided you can get in to
lead them.
But that is the rub---getting into the
lead
When you can take every trick in a
suit. no matter who leads it, the suit is
said to be established" 1t may be
Established from the start as when 1T is
headed by A X @ ], or it may become
established during the play of the hand
through the fall of the higher cards. In
1.-The first case you can run the suit right
off without losing the lead at all. In
the second you must be able to get into
the lead with the smaller cards of the
suit after the higher cards have been
played.