Blum on Bridge Tips on Card Play
	Let's explore a few short rules and tips regarding play of the cards. Alfred Sheinwold, in his award-winning "5 Weeks to Winning Bridge," states that a finesse is a tool and you do not use a tool without rhyme or reason just because it happens to be lying about. So after he teaches how to finesse he devotes "Day 21" to when not to finesse. In short, experts use the finesse as a last resort after safer options have been explored. Remember, with no information a finesse is only 50/50. Try to establish long suits before taking a finesse in a short suit. Should there be a choice between two suits, take the finesse in the longer suit. Also if there is a choice, finesse against the danger opponent hand, that is the hand likely holding the setting tricks. Another excellent rule to remember is that if you cannot afford to lose a trick and that if you have a choice of two suits to finesse with a queen missing in both suits, play the AK in the longer suit before finessing against the queen in the shorter suit. The queen may drop and taking the shorter suit finesse may become unnecessary. The odds are 3-1 that with two touching honors one will be on side. Holding AJ10 opposite dummy's 875, finesse twice. When the first finesse loses to the king or queen, it would seem the odds would be 50/50 for the other honor to be on side. Take my word for it that the odds are almost 2-1. This premise is based upon the principle of "Restricted Choice," derived using various combinations too lengthy to discuss here. Other combinations from Bill Root's "How To Play a Bridge Hand" are K109 opposite 432 and AK1098 opposite 6532. With the latter cash the ace and assume the queen or jack falls off side. Restricted choice tells you to finesse against the other honor as the odds are roughly 2-1 it will be on side. The late Ron Anderson, on the subject of counting, draws inferences from the auction. A passed hand cannot have 13 hcps. If, in the play it shows up with 11 hcps, it cannot have a missing queen. If a responder passes partner's opening one bid he cannot have 6 hcps. Therefore, should he show a king during play he couldn't have a second king. An opening bidder has a minimum of 11 hcps. If you have discovered the location of all the high cards except for an ace and a queen, and you have located 8 hcps in the opening bidder's hand, then he must have the ace. He may have both the ace and the queen, but he must have the ace. An inference from Kantar's "Take Your Tricks" is at a suit contract. If as declarer you are missing an ace in the led suit, assume RHO has the ace and play accordingly. Also if the opponents DO NOT lead a suit missing both the ace and king, assume they are either split or that RHO holds them both. An inference that is most unusual but holds true is that if a short suit is led, assume trumps will split evenly. Players with four trump seldom lead short suits. On opening lead when your longest suit has four cards, leading fourth best should not be taken literally. It is dangerous to lead from a four-card suit with only one honor such as Q732. From 9843 lead the nine. From 9742 lead the 7. The 9 could be valuable; also you are telling partner you hold no honors in that suit. I would hope the tips from the experts in these past two weeks become as fused in your mind as the tip my Fishburne Military School English professor told our class over 50 years ago. He stated: "Never use a preposition to end a sentence with!" And I haven't, no matter where I'm at...