Attitude or Count?

[yunling]

Suppose opponent bid 1NT-3NT. You led a small card in your long suit. Dummy played Q from Qx which held the trick. Would the card followed by your partner show attitude or count?

What about Qxx, QTx etc.?

[perko90]

Agreements can vary by partnership, but I think the most common is that if dummy plays the Q or higher, 3rd hand gives attitude (if they can't beat it). And if it's a J or lower, 3rd hand gives count.

[silvr bull]

I like Foster Echo against notrump. When 3rd hand cannot play higher than the card from dummy. he plays his 2nd highest card. That begins to unblock if necessary, and it gives quick information to the opening leader. As one example, if your attitude or count agreement tells you to play the 2 from JT2 after dummy plays the Q from Qx, then you have blocked opening leader's 6 card suit if declarer started with Kx. Foster Echo would play the ten under the Q, and immediately tell the opening leader that 3rd hand also has the J. Another example is when 3rd hand has x2 and dummy plays a higher card. Playing the 2 would immediately tell the opening leader that 3rd hand started with a doubleton, or a stiff 2. There is a little more about Foster Echo in the link below.

 

http://www.acblunit390.org/Simon/foster.htm

[Stephen Tu]

Agreements can vary by partnership, but I think the most common is that if dummy plays the Q or higher, 3rd hand gives attitude (if they can't beat it). And if it's a J or lower, 3rd hand gives count.

 

I think it's fairly universal for count for J or lower, attitude for K or higher.

 

The partnership agreement comes when the Q wins. My sources indicate that either way is playable, but probably count is more common. Count, caters to partner being able to leading the ace when dummy won from Qx and dropping declarer's declarer's K, or leading low from some Kxxxx holding to knock out declarer's Ax safely. Attitude caters to showing the J so partner can safely lead away from KTxx when it's possible declarer started with AJx.

I think when the Q from 3 in dummy wins you surely want to play count, from 2 in dummy it's less clear.

 

Foster Echo, though, is always derided in all my defense books as a useless signal that you want your opponents to play. That's because the identity of the second highest card in partner's hand is rather useless semi-random information, compared to either "do you have a high honor" or "how many do you have". The JT2 example in silvr bull's doesn't really show anything, std you play the J implying either T or doubleton unblocking or stiff, and partner has to work out to drop the K if gets in first and that's the defense's best chance. Playing necessary cards for unblocking or trick taking always takes precedence over an accurate signal. Now take a more common holding than JTx when partner leads low, say dummy wins K and fourth hand has 86x or 86xx or 96xx or T6x or T6xxx or Q6x, and is playing 6 from all holdings for Foster Echo, how useful is that really?

[nige1]

When dummy wins the first trick, If defenders have agreed Smith Peters, then count seems more effective than attitude,

[johnu]

I like Foster Echo against notrump. When 3rd hand cannot play higher than the card from dummy. he plays his 2nd highest card.

 

Years ago, I had teammates who played Foster Echo. I used to think it was a worthless carding method. I now recognize that it is better than random carding. B-)

 

So you lead a suit and dummy wins ace in dummy from Ax(x)

 

Partner plays the 3 from

 

432

832

etc.

 

or

 

K32

 

Clearly playing the 3 is usually better than random carding since playing the king will cost a trick.