It not infrequently happens on the initial opening of a hand that
you have the option of winning the trick either in your own hand or
in dummy; if you find that your cards of the suit led are all of
equal value it is essential that you consider the advisability of
overtaking a trick that you have already won.
With no re-entry in a hand, overtaking is often the only means of
making a suit.
K♠ J♠
x-------x
| Y |
| A B |
| Z |
x-------x
A♠ Q♠ 8♠ 6♠ 4♠
K♠ Q♠
x-------x
| Y |
| A B |
| Z |
x-------x
A♠ J♠ 8♠ 7♠ 4♠
In the above examples, if the dealer holds no re-entry card, he must
overtake one of dummy’s high cards in order to make the suit.
The adversary will often attempt to block the dealer’s lead by
holding up the winning card until one of the dealer’s hands is
exhausted in the suit. Whenever this is the apparent object of
the adversary, you can still continue and establish your suit by
overtaking the last card from the shorter hand.
Q♠ J♠
x-------x
| Y |
| A B |
| Z |
x-------x
K♠ 10♠ 9♠ 7♠ 4♠ 3♠
K♠ J♠
x-------x
| Y |
| A B |
| Z |
x-------x
Q♠ 10♠ 9♠ 7♠ 3♠
In the above examples, if the dealer holds but one re-entry card he
must overtake the second lead. Otherwise, if the adversary holds up
the ace, the dealer must use his re-entry card to establish the suit,
which he can then never make.
Overtaking is not confined to the dealer’s play, and it is much more
difficult for the adversaries to determine when to resort to this
strategy. As a rule, when the dealer is apparently holding up the
winning card, and when the cards of your suit are of equal value,
it is safer to overtake your partner’s card than to risk his being
unable to continue the lead.
“DUCKING”
When a hand contains no re-entry card, the successful play of the
long suit may depend on a refusal to win the first trick; at times
both the first and second tricks in the suit must be passed.
When you wish to make a long suit in a hand containing no re-entry
card, do not play the commanding card of the suit until you are
reasonably sure that the remainder of the cards will fall. Use care
not to exhaust the shorter of the two hands before the suit is
established.
The situation is more clearly shown by the following examples:
A♠ K♠ 7♠ 6♠ 5♠ 3♠
x-------x
| Y |
| A B |
| Z |
x-------x
8♠ 4♠
The dealer should refuse to win the first round of the suit. With no
card of re-entry, should he lead the ace and king, the command would
be left with the adversaries and the suit would not be made.
A♠ 9♠ 7♠ 5♠ 2♠
x-------x
| Y |
| A B |
| Z |
x-------x
8♠ 4♠ 3♠
The dealer must allow the adversaries to win the first and second
tricks; otherwise the suit cannot be made.
A♠ 8♠ 6♠ 4♠ 2♠
x-------x
| Y |
| A B |
| Z |
x-------x
Q♠ J♠ 3♠
The dealer should lead the queen toward the ace, but should the
second in hand adversary cover with the king the dealer must pass the
trick; otherwise the third round will be blocked by the nine or ten.
A♠ Q♠ 6♠ 5♠ 4♠
x-------x
| Y |
| A B |
| Z |
x-------x
3♠ 2♠
The dealer should pass the first trick and not attempt the queen
finesse until the second round. One trick, it is true, may be lost,
but the play may win four tricks.
One or two leads of a suit may show a distribution of the cards which
must give the adversary one trick. When this is the case, be careful
to lose that trick while you have still another card of the suit to
lead to the opposite hand.
A♠ K♠ Q♠ 7♠ 5♠ 3♠ 2♠
x-------x
| Y |
NONE | A B | J♠ 10♠ 6♠ 4♠
| Z |
x-------x
9♠ 8♠
The dealer finds at the first lead that the second in hand adversary
has no card of the suit. The jack is, therefore, three times
protected in the opposite hand and the dealer should pass the first
trick.
With nine cards of a suit in the combined hands headed by ace and
king, all the remaining cards will probably fall on two leads, but
when the suit is divided, six and three, with no card of re-entry in
the long hand, it is safer to make sure of five tricks by passing the
first round.
A♠ K♠ 9♠ 8♠ 6♠ 4♠
x-------x
| Y |
| A B |
| Z |
x-------x
7♠ 3♠ 2♠
Even when there is a re-entry card in the hand containing the long
suit, if the adversaries must make a trick in the suit it is better
play to lose the first trick. The re-entry may be an important card
to retain.
When you hold a guarded honour in the suit led originally, or with a
once-guarded king in an unopened suit, place the lead so that these
honours will be lead up to. This can often be done by “ducking” or
passing a trick.
“OVERTAKING AND UNBLOCKING”
The double necessity arises only on rare occasions. When the dummy
contains no re-entry and the adversary opens a suit in which dummy
has length, arrange the play of your own cards so as not to block the
dummy’s suit.
A♠ 9♠ 6♠ 4♠ 2♠
x-------x
| Y |
K♠ J♠ 7♠ [5♠] | A B | 3♠
| Z |
x-------x
Q♠ 10♠ 8♠
Should the first trick be won with the eight, the dealer cannot
overtake the ten without loss. The ten should, therefore, be played
and the lead continued with the queen. If the adversary covers, the
trick must be passed. The eight should then be led through the jack.
“OVERTAKING AND DUCKING”
Occasionally the initial opening will prove to be
the dummy’s long suit. To make this suit without a
card of re-entry in dummy it may be necessary for
the dealer not only to overtake dummy’s trick in
order to lead the suit through the original leader’s
hand, but also to allow the adversary to win the
second trick, if an attempt is made to force dummy’s
high card.
A♠ 10♠ 9♠ 8♠ 7♠
x-------x
| Y |
[5♠] | A B | 4♠
| Z |
x-------x
K♠ 3♠ 2♠
A♠ 10♠ 9♠ 8♠ 7♠
x-------x
| Y |
[4♠] | A B | 3♠
| Z |
x-------x
Q♠ 5♠ 2♠
The dealer should in both cases overtake dummy’s trick in order to
continue the lead from the weaker hand. The original leader will
probably attempt, by playing a high card, to force the ace; in which
case the dealer must pass the second trick. The dummy will then hold
a tenace over the remaining honour, and the dealer can make four
tricks in the suit.