Defensive signals for switches

[gwnn]

Do you have any cool agreements on how to switch (edit: which spot card to switch to once you know the suit you want, assuming there is no card you have to play perforce) during defence? I know some people just use 4th or 1/3/5 as when you make your opening lead. I recently read in The Rodwell Files about '2nd from a suit not headed by A/K' - that is the kind of a cool agreement I'm thinking of. This has not been discussed before even though it can be quite a nice thing to know. I usually just do attitude on switching but I always felt like it's not really specific enough.

[PrecisionL]

Do you have any cool agreements on how to switch during defence? I know some people just use 4th or 1/3/5 as when you make your opening lead. I recently read in The Rodwell Files about '2nd from a suit not headed by A/K' - that is the kind of a cool agreement I'm thinking of. This has not been discussed before even though it can be quite a nice thing to know. I usually just do attitude on switching but I always felt like it's not really specific enough.

 

Obvious Shift is the book you may want to read by the Granovetters @ www.bridgetoday.com

 

Discouraging at trick one shows value in the obvious shift suit (complicated rules!).

I play 2nd and 4th leads at NT contracts, 2nd denies Q or better.

[gwnn]

Sorry, probably not clear - I was talking specifically about which card you return once you decide to switch to a specific suit. I don't like Obvious Switch very much.

[inquiry]

Here are of couple of signals I use

 

The popular trump suit preference signal with spot cards... low high - for lower suit, high low for lower suit

From known six card or longer suit, high spot card ask switch to higher suit, low spot card switch to lower suit, middle spot card encourage continue

Instead of smith echo or foster echo, at notrump, first spot card on suit played by declarer (if not urgently needed for count) is S/P based on size.

Playing honors from sequences in unusual ways also useful for suit preference.

When declarer shows out so count is known, obviously spot cards no longer needed for count, so suit preference

 

Some people play Ace from AK or King from AK as S/P implications as well

 

Be sure to mark you convention card appropriately (where is says Special carding, please ask -- check that box), and in a team match, discuss these carding before the match begins with you opponents.

[Finch]

Shall I try answering the original question?

 

There are four distinct situations I can think of off-hand against suit contracts (always subject to whatever overriding considerations might exist):

 

1. Switching to a suit speculatively - here we play attitude, because we think it's most important for partner to know whether he can continue the suit if he wins the trick. Exactly what holding suggests a 'low' card rather than a 'high' card depends on the auction, the dummy, and how many tricks we need.

 

2. A cash out situation. Here the honour position is assumed to be 'known' i.e. placed by assumption that we can beat the contract. Now we play count. So from, for example, K742 we would switch to the 7 or the King; from K7542 we switch to the 2.

 

3. The switcher is know to have no high cards. Now we play count.

 

3. Is similar to 2. We had one recently where the auction was 3S P 4S. I led a singleton heart and dummy had AKQxxx in hearts and the ace of diamonds. Declarer won, partner giving suit preference for clubs. Declarer played a trump, and partner won and played a heart which I ruffed. Declarer and partner are now both out of hearts, so we need to cash our side suit winners before playing another heart for a trump promotion. With only low clubs, I switched to a count club so partner with AK knows whether to play 1 or 2. With the K of clubs, I would have had to decide if declarer had 2 or more clubs. If so (or if we need it to be so to beat the contract), I would switch to the King then give current count of the next round. If not, I would pretend I had only low clubs.

[Finch]

Here are of couple of signals I use

 

The popular trump suit preference signal with spot cards... low high - for lower suit, high low for lower suit

From known six card or longer suit, high spot card ask switch to higher suit, low spot card switch to lower suit, middle spot card encourage continue

Instead of smith echo or foster echo, at notrump, first spot card on suit played by declarer (if not urgently needed for count) is S/P based on size.

Playing honors from sequences in unusual ways also useful for suit preference.

When declarer shows out so count is known, obviously spot cards no longer needed for count, so suit preference

 

Some people play Ace from AK or King from AK as S/P implications as well

 

Be sure to mark you convention card appropriately (where is says Special carding, please ask -- check that box), and in a team match, discuss these carding before the match begins with you opponents.

 

I would consider all of the things you have put here as standard (unless you play smith instead) and certainly wouldn't put them on my card as 'special carding' or consider it worth special discussion with my opponents before the start of a match. Our card (not the ACBL card) just says 'frequent suit preference' under 'other'.

[gwnn]

Thanks a lot for that Frances, I kind of figured there is no one-size-fits-all solution! What about notrumps?