Bridge Lessons

DECLARER PLAY: MYTHS & MISCONCEPTIONS with Maritha in 2012 We will be exploring some of the maxims of declarer play in bridge—and learning when NOT to follow the rules. We will cover many of the standard guidelines and give examples of when it is better to do something differently. All classes will be held at the Soledad Club on Monday mornings, 9:30 am to 11:30 am. Fee is $99   for 9 weeks or $15 per individual class. Please pre-register with Maritha (maritha@pacbell.net) so she knows how many sets of hands to arrange for the 1st class. January 9: Hold Up that Ace—Yes or No? Holding up an Ace can be vital (particularly in no trump, to cut communications between the defenders). Learn when it is wrong to hold up that Ace. January 16: Win as Cheaply as Possible Cheap tricks are usually a good thing in bridge. However, some “cheap” tricks turn out to be much too expensive for Declarer! January 23: Play Low in Second Seat Second Hand Low is not always correct—for defenders OR Declarer! January 30: Week Off—Maritha running Intermediate program for Riverside Regional February 6: Eight Ever; Nine Never Eddie Kantar calls this a convenient nursery rhyme and warns about depending upon it! February 13: Take Ruffs in the Short Trump Hand You will often get an extra trick or two by ruffing in the short trump hand, but there are times you cannot afford it (would prevent you from drawing trump; dummy reversal is better; takes out an important entry, etc.) February 20: Play Longest Suit First (and get those length tricks) Running long suits is fun—especially squeezing the opponents, but some hands demand you take other actions first in order to win in the end. February 27: Ruff Opponents' Winners The fun of having a trump suit is ruffing those winners of the opponents when you run out of their suit. At times, however, you have to resist temptation! Learn the principles of when to do so. March 5: Lead LOW toward High Cards (and hope those Aces and Kings Fall on Air) Leading low toward honors is often a good idea—but there are exceptions to this rule! March 12: Leave the Big Decision until Last Not all hands have time for detective work. Putting pressure on an opponent right away is best at times. Rules we won't cover, that hopefully you already know when to break: Draw Trumps Right Away (not with cross-ruff hands, when you need to ruff in short trump hand, when you need to use trumps as entries, etc.) Finesse Whenever You Can (finesse only when you must; before finessing look to see if you can do elimination and a throw in or end play; consider “backwards” finesses; give the opponents a chance to help you out).