Correct me if I’m mistaken but defending against the ruffing finesse is ultimately a game of entry denial, which in some cases may mean knowing exactly how many trumps partner has. Does that mean that signaling count in the trump suit is superior to other methods (i.e. suit preference)?
bobbywolffMay 17th, 2021 at 9:43 pm
Hi Mircea,
What you imagine is real, important, but in the long run it will become almost automatic, especially when your bridge table has four competent players.
As a defender, possibly the largest tell by the declarer, is the way, he goes about the hand, which, in turn will tell (usually, cannot help it) along with the bidding which got the declarer to his contract, all they need to know about the two unseen hands, (declarer and defender’s partner) especially often the exact 13 card original distribution of those two unseen hands. Not only important, but nothing short of REQUIRED, otherwise serious errors will occur, such as East covering the jack of spades the second round that suit is led from the dummy.
Entry denial looms, but as far as distinguishing what is really important is for both defenders to, ASAP, learn the unseen hands distribution and then the high cards held by everyone is next to be often, 100% disclosed.
The above is probably never discussed this way, but in effect that is what makes bridge so much easier for a player who was born with that arithmetical advantage rather than one who wasn’t.
However, even the have nots can learn to do it effortlessly, if they dedicate themselves to do it, but it will be work at first which will gradually, with the right experience, go away.
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Hi Bobby,
Correct me if I’m mistaken but defending against the ruffing finesse is ultimately a game of entry denial, which in some cases may mean knowing exactly how many trumps partner has. Does that mean that signaling count in the trump suit is superior to other methods (i.e. suit preference)?
Hi Mircea,
What you imagine is real, important, but in the long run it will become almost automatic, especially when your bridge table has four competent players.
As a defender, possibly the largest tell by the declarer, is the way, he goes about the hand, which, in turn will tell (usually, cannot help it) along with the bidding which got the declarer to his contract, all they need to know about the two unseen hands, (declarer and defender’s partner) especially often the exact 13 card original distribution of those two unseen hands. Not only important, but nothing short of REQUIRED, otherwise serious errors will occur, such as East covering the jack of spades the second round that suit is led from the dummy.
Entry denial looms, but as far as distinguishing what is really important is for both defenders to, ASAP, learn the unseen hands distribution and then the high cards held by everyone is next to be often, 100% disclosed.
The above is probably never discussed this way, but in effect that is what makes bridge so much easier for a player who was born with that arithmetical advantage rather than one who wasn’t.
However, even the have nots can learn to do it effortlessly, if they dedicate themselves to do it, but it will be work at first which will gradually, with the right experience, go away.