.A key ingredient to any Count and Plan is managing entries. It was interesting to watch my Boot Campers struggle with this one. A tiny hint for you: Nine sure tricks are better than ten illusionary ones.

Remember - you are not playing match-point pairs! So no overtricks - by request.

North has a remarkable hand, one that you won't see too often. He opens with a non-descript 1♣ although some might try a gambling 3NT.

In South we have a decision to make. Should we bypass the Diamonds, or should we bid our four-card suits up-the-line? Many players prefer to respond 1♠. However, it is usually better to make the cheapest response when given a choice so 1♦ is a superior reply. 

North comes back with a rousing 3♣, begging us to bid 3NT if we have anything resembling stoppers in the unbid suits. We do, so we do.

And now the fun begins. The opening lead of the ♥J shows the top of a run and represents no danger to us. (A Spade lead, by contrast, might have seen the defence taking the first five tricks). We count our off-the-top winners and see three Hearts and seven Clubs. (Yes, we might get a 4-0 club split, but it is so rare that we just can't worry about it today.) It looks like we have ten winners.

But it's all smoke and mirrors. If we take the first trick with the ♥K, we won't get back to the other Heart winner we badly need to make our contract. As happens so often, we need to visualize the timing of the hand.

We must have two winners outside our Clubs, and they have to come from the Hearts. In our blind greed for an overtrick, we don't plan far enough ahead.

We need to overtake the ♥K with the ♥A, then at trick 2, play the ♥Q. We simply have no other sure way to our hand to get the Heart tricks we must have. At trick 3, we play a Club up to our harvest.

Now, here's something I want you to think about: If the ♥K were the ♥2, you wouldn't have a problem in the world knowing how to play the hand, would you?

So, shape up, or it will be Boot Camp push-ups for you!

 

How to Play:

There is a Chinese saying:
'An image is worth 1000 words!'

You may want to take the
Online Player Guided Tour

1 - Bidding: Click the 'Play' button in the middle of the page to display the bidding box.

When you are ready, click the 'Start Bidding' button.

When a bid is alerted, it is shown on a yellow background. You can then click that bid to display the related alert.

When there is a comment or a question about your own bid, you can read it on the bidding box comments pane, and then, click the 'Ok' button to continue bidding.

Click 'Close Bidding Box' to proceed to playing the hand.

2 - Playing: The lead is automatic if you are declarer, otherwise you'll see the 'It's your lead' warning in the center pane.

You will play your cards and dummy's as if you were at a live table.

2.1 -Touching cards are considered equivalent! e.g. if you have 876 and you play the 7 while Vu-Bridge expects you to play the 6, then the 7 will blink and the 6 will be played.

2.2 -Sometimes there will be a comment or question during the play.
You should read it and click the 'Click to continue' button at the top of the comment text.

If its a question, there will be a 'Show Answer' button to click at the bottom of the comment panel.

2.3 - When a comment bears a 'Finish flag' button, you can click it to reveal hidden hands and continue playing. We use this to explain technical coups like end-plays, squeezes etc.

2.4 - You can review the last trick by clicking on the last won or lost trick (back of card) at the bottom of the screen. The last trick will show during 3 seconds and then play will continue.

2.5 - You can click the 'Undo last trick' button at the left of the screen in order to redo one or several tricks and review the attached comments.
You can review the auction by clicking the 'Auction' tab in the same area.
3 - Moving the comment panel:

When the mouse hovers the dark green background of the bidding box or the comment panel, you'll see a crosshair cursor and you can drag and move it around the page.

The left and right arrows on the top left corner of the comment panel allows you to increase or reduce the width for better readability.

4 - When a hand is finished, you can click the 'Board List' at the top of the comment panel, and play other hands From the same Series.

To play other Series, visit the Vu-Bridge's home page and click the 'Bridge Hands' button.