The Losing Trick Count - A Book of Bridge Technique

THE LOSING TRICK COUNT

THE

LOSING TRICK COUNT

As used by the leading Contract Bridge

Tournament Players, with examples of

Expert Bidding and Expert Play

by

F. DUDLEY COURTENAY

(PRESIDENT OF BRIDGE HEADQUARTERS,

NEW YORK)

and

G. G. J. WALSHE

NINTH EDITION

First Published In Great Britain

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR

INTRODUCTION BY COL. G. G. J. WALSHE

PART I.—EXPERT BIDDING

I. WHAT EVERY EXPERT KNOWS

II. VALUING THE HAND

The Courtenay Losing Trick Count, with Examples. A Biddable and a Rebiddable Suit.

III. THE OPENING BID OF ONE

At a Suit Declaration: The Choice of Suits: Principle of Anticipation: The Maximum Number of Losers: Opening Bid of One No Trump: Positional Bidding: Examples

IV. RESPONSES TO OPENING BIDS OF ONE

In a Suit: In No Trump: The Rule of 18: The Thirteenth Trick: One over One and Suit over Suit Responses: Examples: Game forcing Responses: Slam-inviting Responses: Examples of Jump Take-outs: Responses to Bids of one No Trump: Responses to the Two Clubs bid.

V. REBIDDING

‘Sign-off’ Rebids: Neutral Rebids: The Progressive Rebid: Rule of Deducting the Loser for the 13th Trick: General Rule for Rebidding: Note on Suit Control and Trump Control

VI. SPECIALIZED OPENING BIDS AND RESPONSES

Bids of More than One: The Forcing Bid of Two and Responses: What is Assumed Trump Control in Your Own Hand?: What is Suit Control?: Responses to Forcing Two Bids: Examples: The Bids of Two and Three No Trump: The Opening Bid of 2 No Trump and Responses: The Opening Bid of 3 No Trump and Responses: Pre-emptive Bids of Three, Four, and Five: Responses

VII. DEFENSIVE BIDDING

Procedure after Opponents have Opened the Bidding: Overcalls: Defensive (Minimum and Pre-emptive): Responses: Attacking Overcalls: The Take-out (Informative) Double: Responses: The No Trump Overcall: The Jump Overcall: The Overcall in Opponent’s Suit: Responses: The Forcing Pass

VIII. PENALTY DOUBLES AND SACRIFICE BIDS

Penalty Doubles: The Losing Trick Doubling Rule of 12: Sacrifice Bidding

IX. SLAM BIDDING

The Four-Five No Trump Convention: Choosing between Suit and No Trump Slams: Examples of Slam Bidding: Cue Bids

X. PSYCHIC BIDDING

XI. EXAMPLES AND DRILLS

PART II—EXPERT PLAY

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Hand Tempo: Creating Winners by Suit Development, by Finesses, by Ruffing: Entry Cards: Stoppers: Unblocking: The Hold Up: Counting and Reconstruction of Closed Hands: Law of the Remainders

II. DECLARER’S PLAY

Planning the Play at a No Trump Contract: Planning the Play at a Suit Contract

III. DEFENSIVE PLAY

Opening Leads: Responses to Opening Leads: Opening Leader’s Subsequent Play: Partner’s Subsequent Play: Anticipating and Circumventing Declarer’s Plan—Destroying a Cross Ruff: Killing Dummy’s Ruffing Power: Eliminating Entry Cards: Lead Through Strength and to Weakness: Cover an Honour with an Honour

IV. ADVANCED PLAY

Safety Plays; Elimination Plays: Strip Plays: Squeeze Plays: Coups—Bath, Deschapelles Vienna, Grand

V. A SERIES OF FINE HANDS

Eighteen Examples of Hands—Involving Various Types of Play on Offence and Defence

it was tested in tournament play over a long period of time. I make the statement, however, that to-day if Ely Culbertson, George Reith, P. Hal Sims and David Burnstine (to name the exponents of four systems) were to sit down to a Bridge game, every single bid and every single response each one made, eases of personal judgment excepted, would be precisely the same.

To check the implication of this statement I sent out 200 detailed questionnaires to the ranking players of the world. Over 80 per cent indicated that their bidding methods were identical.

In a dispassionate and non-partisan review, therefore, I have endeavoured to set down in logical sequence the conventions, bids, and responses which the experts of to-day are using.

The method of hand valuation and hand identification known as the Losing Trick Count is offered to the British Bridge-playing public for the first time. It approximates to the mental processes of expert players codified in such a way as to make it the simplest method yet devised. It gives an entirely new conception of accurate hand appraisal, and has been instrumental in improving the bidding of many players who are thoroughly conversant with all other methods of valuation.

Many players have written asking this question: ‘What system shall we announce if we are using the valuations and tactics of The Losing Trick Count, particularly when playing in tournaments?’

In response to these requests, the author wishes to clarify this point.

By the use of the Courtenay Losing Trick Count, seeming differences in various systems are mostly eliminated. Therefore it is entirely proper to announce that you are playing the same system you have always played, with perhaps the supplementary statement that you are using the Losing Trick Count as a basis for hand appraisal.

Don’t discard your present system—supplement it!

Part II, on the play of the cards, has been written with the idea of giving the reader the real kernel of successful play without requiring him to wade through a lot of detail which, while interesting, is not necessarily essential.

There are many complete and admirable texts on Play which discuss every feature of this vast subject, and I do not pretend to present a complete thesis on the play of the hand. I merely emphasize the salient points which are second nature to expert players.

The secret of successful play involves not only the careful observance of well-defined rules which, based on the law of probability, have proved successful for many years, but also involves the training of the mind to reason along certain lines before a card is played. It is this reasoning power which makes a master-player infinitely superior to the average player in the play of the cards.

I believe that no book in the world can teach a player to reason. It can only furnish guide-posts to make the path easier to follow. Mental laziness is the real cause of poor play. Books can teach sound fundamental rules. The intelligent application of these rules is solely in the hands of the individual.

Learn the fundamentals, but success will be achieved solely by your ability to think a few steps ahead of the actual card played.

F. DUDLEY COURTENAY

AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION

THIS manual debunks the question of bridge systems and gives the information every good player is seeking—the system and tactics which the majority of ranking tournament players really use.

This is made possible only by the introduction of a revolutionary method of hand valuation—valuing hands as experts have always valued them—by counting the losing tricks. Infinitely more simple and more accurate, this count should banish former valuation methods which are tedious, complicated, inflexible, and, for Contract Bridge, unsound, because such valuations do not identify the bids which experts really make with various types of hands.

It is safe to assume that every one who plays Contract Bridge to-day is acquainted to some extent with one or more bidding systems. Many fail to realize, however, that all nationally recognized systems—Culbertson, One Over One (Reith and Sims), and the Official System, are individual expositions of the Approach-Forcing System which was developed by a group of experts in 1928.

During the past six years individual considerations have caused many experts to introduce variations of the original theme, which had to be spectacular enough to justify the name of a specific system. In other words, it was a fight for individual supremacy.

The only justifiable excuse for these various interpretations is that they have resulted in gradual improvement of the original system as

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

EVERY good player has always counted the losers (or the winners—much the same thing) in his hand before making a bid, while the more moderate players have since the introduction of Contract been lured by some writers into counting high-card values only and basing their bids on these. Now that the fallacy of basing bids on high-card values only has been realized, experts are modifying their systems of valuation more and more, so as to count actual tricks and not merely high-card tricks (Quick Tricks or Honour Tricks). Counting high-card values is sufficiently accurate with an even distribution (4—3—3—3), but is more and more inaccurate as the distribution gets more and more uneven. Mr. Courtenay has solved the problem of inventing a system (his Losing Trick Count) which applies with remarkable accuracy to all distributions. It is virtually the method which experts have used all along, but no one has heretofore been able to condense it into a complete, simple, and precise system. I have for years past advocated in the Sunday Times the bidding principles adopted by Mr. Courtenay in this book. These principles have been developed and brought into line with the latest ideas on sound bidding. In particular I would draw attention to the discussion on ‘anticipation’ or ‘preparedness’, the present requirements for the opening bid of One No Trump, the forcing character of Suit over Suit bids as well as One over One bids, the game-forcing character of the double raise in a suit and of the jump response of Two No Trumps over the partner’s bid of One in a suit.

The Chapter on Rebidding is also most instructive. The moderate player who adopts the Losing Trick Count will find that he is no longer afraid of playing with the experts. The system is of such outstanding accuracy that it enormously increases the chances of winning. The expert, whether he chooses to adopt the Losing Trick Count or not, will find in this book a most valuable and up-to-date discussion of all the bids used by the world’s greatest players.

G. G. J. WALSHE

LONDON

September 1935

EDITOR’S NOTE ON THE PRESENT EDITION

THIS edition includes alterations to the 4/5 No Trump Convention. An example in Cue Bidding has been added (p. 87), and the attention of the reader is invited to the fact that Cue Bids can be used either singly or combined with the 4/5 No Trump Convention and that Cue Bidding should begin with the lowest Ace or Void.

G. G. J. W.

PART I

EXPERT BIDDING

CHAPTER I

WHAT EVERY BRIDGE EXPERT KNOWS AND WHAT ALL BRIDGE PLAYERS SHOULD KNOW

AN expert Bridge player is not necessarily an expert Bridge analyst. In some cases an unbalanced mentality superimposed on a misspent life will make an expert Bridge player.

The difference in playing ability between experts is negligible. The difference between an expert and an average player is wide, but the gap is narrowing every year. The ability to win major tournaments to-day depends largely upon how much time you wish to devote to the business.

The tournament hound who thinks the world is waiting with bated breath on the news of his tournament victories is not an asset to the game.

The differences in Bridge systems as played by experts to-day are figments of the imagination. When you hear of a new system offered by any ranking champion, smile, because it’s just another book being born.

A Bridge system is a foundation upon which to build with judgment and card sense. A wooden system player is never a winning player, but a player without a system is assisted solely by an exaggerated ego.

The expert uses simple and natural inferential bidding, plus the judicious use of psychic bidding to harass the opponents. Artificial opening bids, hidebound slam conventions, et al, are crutches