Thursday, January 09, 2003 3:20 AM

Subject: The Finesse

PITBULLS:

Bridge experts by nature do not like taking a Finesse. The odds of success with no other factors are just 50 % unless you are Peter Jones and it is less than that J . So what are the bridge tools to avoid a finesse ? Elimination of side suits and endplay is a technique to avoid a finesse. Another technique to avoid taking a finesse , is to throw the opponents in to find cards for you . This play is “opponent dependent” and will not work against good opponents very often. Playing out your long suit first and watch the opponents sluff wrong is another way to find a card. Again , this does not work against good opponents very well.

Opponents bidding finds cards for you as they announce a certain HCP strength . Get into the habit of counting points when they are played by the opponents . The extra concentration needed to do this will pay great dividends in the long run . Practice , practice , practice … When RHO has already shown up with the 13 HCP’s she announced then her partner holds that queen and you can play accordingly. Training is required and it is a necessary Bridge skill .

Patterns again will help you finesse or not finesse. If LHO shows up with 5-5-2-1 and you need to find the diamond queen it is x to 2 that the Queen is in the other hand . If you got nothing else to go on and you need to find a queen to make a 6 NT contract then play all the other suits first even if it means going down and extra trick if the finesse fails . Sometimes an opponent will show out of a suit rather quickly and you can get a fairly accurate count of her hand . If she shows up with 6 spades and 3 hearts and 3 clubs its pretty easy to find the queen of diamonds to make your 6NT. Opponents can be very honest and give accurate count for you . Take advantage of this and your finessing will be above 50 % .

Squeezes and strip squeezes are tools to avoid a finesse. Sometimes you can combine your chances by trying for the squeeze first and if that does not materialize then fall back on a finesse. There is a technique called “squeeze for the count” to find a queen . Say you are in 4♠ and you have to find the Q of hearts with Axxx on the board opposite KJx in your hand . RHO has to guard clubs also or your club threat is good. Run all you trump and RHO sluffs two hearts . You cash the Ace of hearts and a small heart and RHO follows to both of them ! You know that RHO has the boss club in this end position so you go up with your King and drop the doubleton queen ! Experts hate taking finesses and will do just about anything to avoid them .

Against good opponents , analyzing their opening leads will help you with your finesses. Why did they not make the obvious unbid suit lead ? Why did they lead a 4 card suit against your 3NT ? Watch for suit preferences by the opponents . If they are asking for a spade switch it is because they do not hold the diamond Ace . So when you get the inevitable diamond guess , play accordingly. Taking inferences from the way the opponents are defending a hand is another way of finding cards. Again this depends on the strength of the opponents.

Safety plays and good card playing technique is another way of maximizing your chances of finding a card. Law of restricted choice , spot watching and avoiding bad breaks add to your finesse techniques. If you have to finesse in one direction as it caters to bad breaks then of course you do it.

The last technique involved is table feel and the Terplawy rule . Hesitations , nervousness , ethics , knowing your opponent i.e. play the dentist for the card rather than Jones are more hazardous. These are all done at your own risk . Table feel to me is knowing the distributions , counting the HCP and knowing the techniques to avoid finesses rather then taking them . When all else fails , I ignore hesitations and go for the Terplawy rule . Anyway , I feel experts should be successful in finesses around 70 % of the time . Counting distribution & HCP along with card play techniques should bring it up to that percentage . Pitbulls should have a team percentage of better then 50 % for their finesses . Work on it !