DJNeill Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Hi all,I have a friend who is learning bridge at a late age, and practices a lot with the robots, which is good. The problem is they have some difficulty playing a particular kind of suit - a very common situation. Kxx xx With a King in one hand, and nothing in the other hand, they have a tendency to want to play the King first. This loses to the Ace (offside/onside) and they get no tricks from the suit. Similarly QTx xx They will play from the honor towards the weak holding, and lose any chance of a trick. I suggested they play "low to high" or "weak to strong". But it is not helping. Has anyone ever advised others on this problem, and what did you do to help? Thanks,Dan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwnn Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Third hand high. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
han Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 English becomes very hard with them hiding their gender. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y66 Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Chapter 1. The Power of Honors and Chapter 2. The Positional Value of Honors in Watson's The Play of the Hand may help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S2000magic Posted January 1, 2012 Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 Lead a high card only when you would be happy to have an opponent cover it with a higher card. If you wouldn't be happy, lead toward the high card. In the first example, you won't be happy to have the king covered by the ace, so don't lead the king; lead toward the king. In the second example, you won't be happy to have the queen covered by the ace or the king, or the ten covered by the jack, so don't lead the queen or the ten; lead toward the queen-ten. It's all about your friend's happiness. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyears Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Some people (like my dad) always prefer practicing all the time to reading a book. Did your friend ever read any fundamental bridge tutorial carefully? If not, please try to persuade him/her to do so. If yes, but he/she still made this kind of mistakes, just leave it, and let he/she be happy! :rolleyes: Hi all,I have a friend who is learning bridge at a late age, and practices a lot with the robots, which is good. The problem is they have some difficulty playing a particular kind of suit - a very common situation. Kxx xx With a King in one hand, and nothing in the other hand, they have a tendency to want to play the King first. This loses to the Ace (offside/onside) and they get no tricks from the suit. Similarly QTx xx They will play from the honor towards the weak holding, and lose any chance of a trick. I suggested they play "low to high" or "weak to strong". But it is not helping. Has anyone ever advised others on this problem, and what did you do to help? Thanks,Dan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Teach - lead toward high cards first. An extension of '3rd hand high'. Only later do they learn the importance of 'breaking' the rule when they have certain intermediate cards or when they want to stay in the same hand to repeat a finesse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelandakh Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 A very long time ago I remember reading a B/I book whose emphasis was on becoming "luckier" at bridge. The first chapter started with the concept of a basic finesse and showing how if you led up to the AQ you might be lucky (50%) or unlucky (50%) whereas if you led away from it you were (almost) always unlucky. It then extended this concept to other holdings such as Kx before reaching the conclusion that leading towards your high cards was generally the way to increase your "luck". Perhaps this way of visualising things would appeal to your friend better than starting with the rules themselves. I think it is quite a good method for beginners because it gets them used to thinking of possible layouts early which (hopefully) will stay with them even after these basic positions are second nature. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJNeill Posted January 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 Hi all,Thanks for the good suggestions. I found another one after brainstorming: a bowling alley. You bowl the ball (little card) towards the pins (honors). Later,Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masse24 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 Hi all,Thanks for the good suggestions. I found another one after brainstorming: a bowling alley. You bowl the ball (little card) towards the pins (honors). Later,Dan Dan,Isn't there a ball return that sends the ball (little card) back the other way, away from the pins (honors)? :blink: Just kidding!Actually I have someone in mind and think I will use your analogy. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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