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Useless bidding

When you consult the scores table for various contracts, you can see that there is no difference between several of them:

a.	below game, i.e. for part game (so-called because they don't give a game score): bidding and making 3 scores exactly the same (90) as bidding 1 and making two extra or 2 and making one extra;
b.	game contracts: in No-Trumps bidding and making 5 NT is the same score as 3 NT with two extra tricks. It's the same for games in major suits where there is no advantage in bidding 5 or 5 because that's the same score as four with one extra trick.

The conclusion of all that is that there is no value in Bridge in bidding overlarge contracts if they score no higher: when you know that there are not enough points for game you should stay at the one level and try to make as many tricks as possible. It is the same thing for game: if the combined points do not allow you to envisage a slam, you bid game at the lowest possible level. In Bridge as in life you should only take risks if there are advantages: it is much better to bid 3 NT and make one extra because you will have played to be sure of getting the contract than to bid 4 NT and fail because you will have made a game plan which has too many risks in it.

The repeated finesse

Suppose that in a suit there are the following cards:

6 4 3 2

A Q J 5

and that for the purposes of the contract you must win four tricks in this suit …

How do you do it? Well done for deducing that it is essential to attempt the Kin finesse and to hope that it is on the right.. So you go into dummy and lead the 2 and lay the Jack from hand which … wins the trick. That's very good but it's not finished yet; you have drawn two of the opponents' cards so they've got three left. Since there is the possibility that the opponent on the right has the King with one other card, you must certainly not play the Ace ut get back into dummy in another suit to repeat the finesse which is certain to succeed because you know where the King is.

We have said twice that you "go into dummy": you can only do that in other suits where dummy has master cards. This means that in making your game plan you have to foresee going twice into dummy and not to waste the high cards which allow this to happen.