At this point, Jenny must decide whether to play the queen, the percentage play, or play low, which works if East holds the king doubleton.
By MATTHEW GRANOVETTERPoker cards and chips(photo credit: HISTORY CHANNEL/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
One of my favorite fictional characters in bridge literature is Jenny Mae, the bridge pro. She is the typical bridge teacher, whose profession is to partner her students at the local bridge club, with the daily stress of trying to bring the client into the “money” — although in truth there is no money for winning at the bridge club, except for the occasional check handed under the table by the client to the pro (while no one is looking). In this story, Jenny is partnered by Agnes, one of her regular customers.Opening lead: Queen of HeartsIn general, it’s better for the pro to declare the hand, so Jenny jumps to six clubs over Agnes’s three notrump. When West leads the queen of hearts, Jenny counts 11 tricks (two spades, two hearts, one diamond and six clubs) and needs one more, which may come from the diamond suit.She cashes the heart ace-king, discarding a diamond, then leads a trump to her hand. Before drawing trump, a pro sees that the club ace may be needed as an entry. So she postpones trump and instead leads the ace of diamonds and her remaining diamond toward dummy. West follows with the 2, then 9, smoothly, without a flinch.At this point, Jenny must decide whether to play the queen, the percentage play, or play low, which works if East holds the king doubleton. Bridge is not poker but a good pro often tries to size up her opponent. Would West play the 9 if he held the king? On this occasion, West is a veteran player, capable of playing the 9 from K-J-9 without hesitation. So Jenny goes with the odds and calls for the queen, losing to the king.East returns a trump, but there’s still a chance. Jenny wins in dummy with the well-preserved ace and trumps a diamond in her hand. When the king falls, the diamond 8 is her 12th trick!The writer is a world champion and the author of more than 20 books on the game. He can be reached at Bridgetoday.com.
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