I don’t know of anything in bridge that will negate high-card strength faster than wild distribution hands. Hands containing 20+ HCP have a difficult time taking more than one trick, if at all. Consider the following three hands.

At Wally Klugiewicz’s New Port Richey emporium, in second seat, I hold: S-AKxxx, H-void, D-void, C-AQJxxxxx. RHO opens 1 Heart and I bid 2 Hearts (spades and a minor). LHO bids 4 Hearts and my partner (John Bush) bids 4NT (name your minor). RHO passes and I bid 5 Clubs (a gross underbid). LHO doubles and it rolls back to me. I figure I’m in an unbeatable contract so I pass. That’s the problem; I take 12 tricks. I have just been victimized by a coup called the Striped-Tailed Ape - that’s when you double the opponents at the game level to stop them for bidding a cold slam.

The grand-daddy of wiId swings has to be the following. I am playing with that erudite Englishman Tony Cruden and in first seat I hold: S-AKxxx, H-void, D-x, C-AQJ10xxxx. There’s not going to be a repeat of the Striped-Tailed Ape, I open 2 Clubs, LHO doubles(!), Tony bids 2 Spades, RHO bids 4 Hearts, and I opt for 6 Spades. After LHO passes, Tony looks for the nearest exit, but the play is relatively easy. Ruff the opening heart lead, pull trumps, and lead a club towards dummy. The stiff king pops up on his left and Tony takes 13 tricks.

We pass the boards, and with a sitout, I sit behind the North player who has my hand. Things change dramatically after North opens 1 Club. LHO (Wally Klugiewicz) doubles and South bids 1 Spade. Linda Jackson (RHO) jumps to 4 Hearts and North bids 4NT, intended as Blackwood for spades, but it is passed out. Wally leads a heart and Linda rattles off six tricks. A diamond shift and Wally takes five more tricks. On the 12th card of the deal, Wally leads another diamond and North has to decide which black ace to keep. She pitches the Club Ace and Linda’s stiff king takes the last trick. E-W take all 13 tricks, down 10 for +500.

I am sipping a cup of coffee as a spectator at one of Wally’s Thursday games. Wally has 13 HCP and a six-card diamond suit headed by the AQ. Wally opens 1 Diamond and his LHO holds the following barn-burner: S-AKxx, H-AQxx, D-KJx, C-Ax. I almost spill my coffee when she doubles. What does she expect her poor partner to hold. Wally’s partner passes and a very weak 1 Heart bid is heard from the doubler’s partner. Wally rebids his diamonds and LHO jumps to 3 Hearts, which becomes the final contract. One of the rules of bridge is that only the person who wins a trick may lead the next card. Declarer never led because she had no points and never won a trick in her hand - OUCH!
 

Sincerely, Jim Somma {easycomments}