Elementary holdups at NT Larry Hammick larry@hammick.com 2000.04.12 Contents ;Introduction ;Conceding unavoidable losers in developing a suit ;Insurance plays with regard to entries ;Basic holdups against enemy length ;Bath coup ;Forcing opponents to release the lower of two stoppers ;Persuading declarer not to hold up ;Introduction A player is said to "duck" or to "hold up" when he concedes a trick that he could have won, and waits to win a later trick. Ducking is one of the commonest manoeuvres in play and defence, made in many settings for many reasons. This article goes over only those simple cases which are concerned with long-card tricks, and the conservation (or destruction) of entries to them _in the same suit_. Other articles at www.hammick.com address the other functions of holdups, having to do with trump control, squeeze endings, averting a ruff or overruff, and others. In general, we use the term "holdup" when the aim is to strain the opponents' entries, and "duck" when one tries to conserve one's own entries. ;Conceding unavoidable losers in developing a suit As a rule, if the opponents have a stopper which they cannot hold up, then your side should duck, compelling them to take their stopper right away. To do otherwise is wasteful of entries within the suit. AKxxx xxx Needing four tricks in this suit, declarer will normally duck the first round; this costs nothing, since the defence has at least one stopper. If three tricks might be enough and he can spare an entry to dummy, he may cash a winner and duck the second round, to discover whether the suit is breaking. Axxxx xxx If he needs three tricks, declarer may as well duck the first two rounds. He must do so if dummy has no entry except the ace of this suit. AQxxx xxx Opponents have at least one trick, even if the K is under the AQ. Declarer may therefore duck the first round and finesse next, or finesse and then duck. AQxxx xx If four tricks are needed declarer must place West with Kxx, and will normally duck the first round. To play the ace and then lead to the Q, or to finesse on the first round, would consume an entry to dummy. KQxxx xx If three tricks are needed and dummy has only one side entry, declarer will need a 3-3 break. Then the opponents have two stoppers, and declarer must duck the first round. If he plays to the Q the defence will hold up the ace and will still have two stoppers. If entries are plentiful declarer may lead twice toward dummy's honours, making three tricks if West has the doubleton ace, as well as if the suit is 3-3. When the defence tries to set up a suit, the defender with the length often has to concede an early round. xx ATxxx Kxx QJx West leads low to the K, and East returns his higher remaining card, on which the J or Q appears. West will duck unless, perhaps, he has a sure entry elsewhere. xxx xx AKTxx QJx West leads this suit, which his partner has bid. East may play an encouraging card, but should not win the first round. The long defender might also duck because he cannot continue the suit from his side: KQT xx AJ9xx xxx West leads and the Q comes up. East may win and try to find West's entry, or he may duck and wait for West to get in as declarer develops his tricks. ;Insurance plays with regard to entries If entries to the long cards are few, but more than enough long cards may be available, declarer may do some extra ducking, expending a possible overtrick to get insurance against a hostile break. KQJxx xx Dummy has one side entry. Four tricks are there if the suit is 3-3, but if he needs only three tricks, declarer ducks the first round. AQxxx Kxx If four tricks are enough, dummy with no side entry, declarer must duck the first round, or take the K and duck the second round. A trap variation: AJxxx Kxx Needing four, dummy with no entry, declarer cashes the K, both following. When he leads the second round from hand declarer must play low from dummy, even if West plays the Q. AKQxxx xx Needing five, dummy with no entry, declarer ducks the first round. But, again, a stronger holding might lead declarer into temptation: AKQTxx xx Declarer leads a low one off the table and, thanks to the ten, he is safe against all five cards with West. But if declarer starts the suit from hand, he must not finesse the T nor cover if West produces the J. Another deceptive one: AQxxx Jxx Three tricks are enough and dummy has no side entry. Declarer should duck the first round and concede the J to the K next, or concede the J and duck next. He succeeds unless the suit is 5-0 or East has Kxxx. ;Basic holdups against enemy length xx QJTxx Kxx Axx The defence attacks in this suit. If declarer holds up his ace twice, West's long cards can score only if he has (and expends) an entry in some other suit. x x ATxxx Qxx ATxxx Jxx KJxx KQxx West leads low to the Q or J respectively. If West is apt to have the length and East will be getting in, declarer ducks _twice_. He cannot afford to split on the second round. xxx xxx KJx KQx Again West leads low to the Q or J. If West will be getting in, but not East, declarer must win the first round, so that he will have a second (positional) stopper. If declarer will need to lose the lead twice before he can cash out, he is apt to duck with two stoppers. xx xx AQx AKx On a low lead to the K or Q respectively, declarer may duck. A QJxx A low lead knocks out the ace and East later leads through the QJ. If West is apt to have KTxxx, declarer may duck; it is not enough to split if East might get in again. A variation: A QTxx On the second round East leads the J. Declarer should not unthinkingly cover, for this position is effectively the same as the previous. It can be good play to hold up even a triple stopper if you expect to lose the lead three times, as for example if you will need to develop a jack-high suit. ;Bath coup The Bath coup is a distinctive ducking play in which declarer leaves leaves himself with a major tenace, forcing the defender to shift or to concede a trick by continuing. 1) xx AJx West leads the K, presumably from KQT fourth or longer. Declarer will usually duck (the Bath coup). 2) Tx AJx A spot card is led and East puts up the Q or K. Declarer will usually win the first round, since he has a double stopper only by doing so. But in the context of a whole hand, neither this nor the Bath coup should be automatic. In (1), the defence may have a more dangerous suit to which to shift. Even if declarer is uncertain on that point, he may win the first round if he can expect to develop enough tricks without letting East in. In (2), winning the first round may backfire if West has five and East has two entries: East, on winning his first trick, can continue this suit and West can duck. By ducking the first round, declarer sacrifices a high-card trick to (hypothetically) destroy two long- card tricks in the West hand. This gambit is might be advisible when, for example, East has opened the bidding in some other suit, declarer is in 3NT, and West leads this suit instead of his partner's: East will have the entries and West the length. A sort of second-level Bath coup: xx AKTx West leads the Q. If he doesn't fear a shift (e.g. if the contract is cold), declarer will duck. Some pairs have carding conventions designed to avert the Bath coup. They lead the Q from KQT9 or the J from QJ98, conventionally telling partner to drop J or T respectively, if he has that card. The Bath coup is named for the resort town on the Avon where it was discovered in Whist days. (And the town, if you are wondering, is named for a solar-powered steam contraption left behind by the Romans.) ;Forcing opponents to release the lower of two stoppers We saw this one earlier: KQJxx xx ATxx xx If dummy has only one entry and three tricks are enough, declarer ducks the first round. The principle is that the opponents can duck their high stopper but usually not there low one (Txx in this case). The same applies to the defenders when declarer has two stoppers to be driven out. xxx xx KQTxx AJx East has bid this suit and West leads it. If East plays the Q declarer will duck and East will need two side entries. But if East plays the T or an encouraging card, the suit will cash if East has only one entry and West gets in first. Declarer's A and J are both stoppers but -- as is usually the case -- declarer can hold up the ace but not the minor honour. Another illustration: 8 6x AQJ7xx KT9x West leads the six. East plays low and declarer has to part with a stopper. KT8x Q9 You need two tricks here and dummy has one entry. Again you must knock out the lower stopper first, by running the 9 or leading to the 9. If it holds, opponents must take the Q next round, and the K will be good for a second trick. If the 9 loses to the J, you later overtake the Q with the K, to be sure of driving out the ace. This case is a little different from the previous, in that declarer is not concerned with long cards; he may abandon the suit after taking two tricks. Such cases can be important at suit contracts as well as NT. ;Persuading declarer not to hold up A semi-deceptive "finesse against partner" may spur declarer to release a stopper earlier than he otherwise would. xx Jxxxx AQx Kxx West leads low against NT. If East plays the ace, declarer can take the K on the third round. But if East plays the Q, declarer will probably take the K at once for fear that West has AJxxx or AJxxxx. xx Qxxxx AJx Kxx Now it is a little tougher for East to play the J, for it gives away a trick if South turns up with Qxx instead of Kxx. But the J is still apt to be the right move, especially if East has stoppers in the other suits. There is also a chance that declarer will duck with KQx and West will turn up with a side entry instead of an honour in this suit. Ax Txxxx KJx Qxx If West leads this suit against NT and dummy follows low, East may put in the J. If declarer can read the position he might hold up, since East will normally return the K, and if he returns a small one the suit will be blocked. Such manoeuvres, like most in the game, should not be habitual. Beware of the finesse against partner when you can see three cards in dummy: xxx xxx Jxxx AQx Jxxxx AQx Kxx Kx At left there are only three tricks to be had. If West is longer, as at right, declarer cannot hold up the K anyway, so you may as well show partner the A and then the Q. The finesse against partner has a weaker variety which, unlike the usual ones, should generally fail: x A9xxx KJx QT8x West leads low, and suppose East wins and returns the J. Declarer will usually realize that if he ducks, West will need a side entry. But suppose East plays the J on the first round. Declarers have a habit of winning when they have a tenace fourth in hand, and tend to mistakenly grab the Q here.