Thursday,
February 20, 2003 5:41 PM
Hand Evaluation – Signals ( Ace from AK )
PITBULLS:
When Bridge first started , everybody played King from AK so that was the
standard. After confusion with K from KQ for decades , everybody switched to Ace from AK
and that became the new standard . Pitbull Pat &
Susan have taught me even a better way ! Vary your
lead from AK holdings depending on what information you want from partner !
This solves the age old problem of count vrs attitude when it is
imperative that you cash out in the right
order .The logic is simple . Vary attitude and count depending on what your
“switch hitting” partner leads with her AK combination.
The lead now takes judgment . Is count or attitude more important depending on the auction
and holding in your suit ? If the auction
dictates it , lead accordingly . Partner will show count with
the King lead but attitude with the Ace. You should never be confused in a cash out situation. If you do not care about count , you obviously lead the Ace . If an attitude lead , an established partnership could work in a suit
preference system.
In
the middle of the hand , same rules apply . If you are
exploring for a way to beat a contract even with a bare Ace you can lay it down
so partner will give attitude if she likes it . In the
middle of a hand you should probably lead 4th best from a KQxx combination anyway so that is irrelevant
. Partner may help you out and break the rule with attitude if it is
right.
In NT contracts ,
Susan Culham suggests using the Ace or King to not lead blind but requests partner to
show attitude . The Ace asks
partner to show attitude holding the queen
& the king requests partner to
show attitude with the jack. The
old fashioned way was show count with the Ace & attitude with the King. I
think Susan’s way has more merit.
I think being a switch hitter with AK
combinations makes a lot of sense . It will take some getting
used to but in the long run it is going to pay dividends .
Established partnerships should adopt this . Even old guys like Tom & I with poor memories J .
When
partner leads the King , you are forced to play count
in a suit
contract. The lead of an Ace demands attitude but on the second lead of the suit you can show suit
preference. Tom G had a
hand recently ♠Jx ♥Jxx ♦AKJxx ♣xxx
, the auction went 1♥-P-2♥-P 4♥ , Tom was on lead . He led the diamond Ace as
count was not that important to him , the board was ♠A9xx ♥xxx ♦xx ♣ Q10xx . My hand was ♠xxxx ♥x ♦9842 ♣AKxx , I played the 9 saying I did not like
diamonds. Tom played the diamond King , I played the
deuce and declarer the queen. If
declarer is not false carding , Tom knows I have a
choice of 3 diamond cards I can play on the second diamond. I chose the diamond
deuce which can be interpreted as a suit
preference. If I did not want a suit preference ,
I would play the diamond 8 discouraging followed by diamond 9. The highest
negative card you can have should mean the next
card is suit preference partner so watch closely. Tom switches to a
club and I cash the two clubs. Declarer had KQ10
of spades so the club goes away if we do not cash out immediately.
Say I
had bid 3♦ pre-emptive in this auction showing 4 diamonds. This
is a “known count” situation . In known count situations , My partners & I revert to the “Gartaganis” style suit preference. A middle card says I do
not have a suit preference. A high card is suit preference as is a low card. Since we switch hit with our AK leads , we can apply this system also .
Smith Echos have changed the way we
would otherwise signal in NT contracts.
Most leads now other than the Ace or King will get count. You show attitude later when
declarer leads their suit. The “obvious shift principle” has changed the way we
show attitude . We
take switches into consideration when showing attitude. This was probably
invented by a disgruntled pro whose client kept giving tricks away by shifting.
He encouraged in the original suit to prevent his client partner from doing
damage. This thinking has merit even playing with an expert partner.