Communication Problems. General tips
Ever found you are in the wrong hand, and can't get to your lovely winners in the other hand ? You need to recognise, preserve and create entries.
The basic principles in No Trumps
- Count your certain winners, and how many extra tricks you need
- Identify where extra tricks are going to come from
- In the suit concerned, think about the possible split
- Plan the entries
- Preserve or create them (Ducking, Unblocking, Creating, Overtaking, Jettisoning)
If you must have a mnemonic to remind you, you could try "WESE".
DUC OJ
Ducking
- Lead low to low when you have a long suit that might split 4-2, to drain their cards and beat their last winner from the long hand
Unblocking
- Identify the number of entries needed to get into dummy to play winners, and (early on) sacrifice high card in the other hand
Creating (or saving)
- Promote a small card in dummy to become a winner, and thus an entry
Overtaking
- Identify the number of entries needed for a finesse to work, and (early on) sacrifice high card in the other hand
Jettisoning
- Discard an irrelevant winner, e.g. to create a void and allow you to discard losers
The basic principles in Suits
Same as above, but count your losers instead of your winners, and think about how to use your trumps