Hand 61 — Slam Exploration
Play this handThe Deal
North
♠
A K J 10 6 2
♥
K 9 7
♦
6 5 3
♣
J
West
♠
9 8 3
♥
8 6 4 2
♦
Q 10 7
♣
8 7 3
East
♠
Q 7
♥
A 10 5 3
♦
9 8 4 2
♣
10 9 4
South
♠
5 4
♥
Q J
♦
A K J
♣
A K Q 6 5 2
North: 12 HCP, 6-3-3-1
East: 6 HCP, 2-4-4-3 (bal)
South: 20 HCP, 2-2-3-6
West: 2 HCP, 3-4-3-3 (bal)
Bidding Sequence
| W | N | E | S |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pass | 1♠ | Pass | 3♣ |
| Pass | 3♠ | Pass | 4NT |
| Pass | 5♦ | Pass | 6♠ |
Final Comments
Looking at the hands to see where we might lose a trick or 2.
We will lose to the ace of hearts, but that is all.
We can discard the 3rd diamond from hand on a good club.
In fact, we have 5 discards available to us.
So we discard 1 diamond and three hearts.
After drawing trumps, we have enough left over to trump the jack of diamonds, and the queen jacl of hearts, making all 13 tricks.
Planning
Rule of 20:
With 11-12 HCP and a strong suit, add your point count to the number of cards in your 2 longest suits. If the total is 20 or more, you should open the bidding.