Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-21
BRIDGE TALKS
BY MRS. JOHN MUNcE. 1R.

The subject for the discussion today
Is the play OF the declarer. Before he
plays his first card he should plan the
play of the two hands, so as to make as
| much as possible out of the combined
hands. At first the beginner will flnd
1t hard to plan the play of the whole
Is tricks, but he should make a be-
ginning toward acquiring the habit OF
| observing and remembering the cards
played. The time to start is after the
] flrst lead has been made, and after the
dummy hand has been put down on
the table. as it is now declarer's turn
to play from the dummy. OF course
the beginner cannot see all the posi-
| bilities at first. but 1t is better to make
plan, even though it may not work
out at first, than not to plan at all.
Should any player have the habit OF
playing from dummy as soon as lead
| er'S card is on the table, and then
planning the hand after the play, my
advice is to sit on your right hand until
you have planned the play of the two
hands, or at least decided on the card
to be played on this FIRST trick. Re-
member always that touched card Is
played card, and be very careful about
this in playing.
The beginner should start by count
ing his sure tricks, and then plan a
little. Gradually he will find himself
planning further and once the habit
Is acquired of going ahead with some
definite plan in view, the results will
be much more satisfactory.
AS to the expert declarer, he plans
what card he is to play on the first
trick, the card he will lead to the sec
ond trick, as soon as the dummy hand
Is exposed. and before he touches a
card in the dummy. He also plans at
the same time how he can most sue
cessfully play the combined hands. It
takes an expert only few minutes to
do this, and while it puts him on the
right track, 1t also saves many minutes
of thinking. after some thoughtleSs mis-
take has been made. One OF best ways
to tell when a player is an expert is
to watch and see If he plans his
campaign as soon as the first lead is
made
II playing a no trump contract. the
declarer has to make the decision as
to what suit or suits he should try to
establish. whether he should take the
first trick. and which hand he wants
to lead in for the second trick. Also
what suit or suits should be led from
dummy toward the closed hand, as we'll
as what suit or suits should be led
from the closed hand toward dummy.
If suit declaration is being played,
the declarer has to decide whether he
should exhaust tr1impS, or whether he
should try a ruff.
The beginner often wonders. with the
same cards in the dummy, and in the
closed hand, and with a small card led,
why the play from dummy should de-
pend on whether you are playing a no
trump declaration or suit. To meet
these situations the declarer must
necessarily vary his play. He realizes
that when the opening lead is a small
card in no trump, that it is being led
from long suit If the deuce be led
and the dummy contains king jack and
declarer holds no winning card in that
suit in the closed hand, the dummy's
play is somewhat of a guess, but expert
ence has shown that It is really better
to play the king. as the lead was likely
from a long suit headed by the ace.
In playing suit declaration. If
small card is led it Is apt to be from a
queen, and the jack is the card to play
from the dummy. If the closed hand
does not hold winning card in that
suit. II the dummy holds three or
more cards of the suit led, It Is much
easier to decide which card to play, but
the holding of the closed hand nearly
always governs which card should be
played.