Chapter 7
Life in
Notrump
© 2004 - Marty Bergen
Page 75
Life in Notrump
The Rule of 11
When you think that
your opponent has led 4th-best, you should subtract the value of
the card led from 11. The difference represents the number of
higher cards in the other 3 hands (excluding the opening
leader).
Do not lose sleep
trying to figure out why this works; just accept it. The
following points are also worth knowing about the Rule of 11:
-
It does not apply
when an honor is led.
-
Contrary to
popular opinion, the Rule of 11 does apply in suit
contracts, as long as the opening lead is fourth-best. The
opening lead in a suit contract will often be made from a
short suit, so declarer must proceed with caution.
-
The Rule of 11
"works" on any 4th-best lead, but high spot cards yield a lot
more specifics about declarer’s RHO’s cards than lower cards.
-
The Rule of 11
applies on any 4th-best lead, not just the opening lead.
The Rule of 11
doesn’t help the opening leader, but the information is crucial
to his partner. Declarer can also benefit from the clues
supplied by the Rule of 11. If he is alert, sometimes he can
have the last laugh.
You’re now ready to
apply your Rule of 11 skills.
© 2004 - Marty Bergen
Page 76
Life in Notrump
A Good
Time to Say No to Second-Hand Low
After a non-honor
opening lead is made in a notrump contract, declarer’s first
thought should be to apply the Rule of 11. This will occur more
often in notrump, where short-suit leads are virtually
non-existent.
The following deal
illustrates how declarer can use the Rule of 11 to make his life
easy. After the
 6
is led, what card would you play from dummy at the first trick?
West North East
South
--
-- --
1NT
Pass
3NT All Pass
© 2004 - Marty Bergen
Page 77
Life in Notrump
Did you figure out
that East has no club higher than the six? 11 - 6 = 5. Declarer
and dummy account for five clubs greater than the six; thus,
East cannot possibly beat dummy’s
7.
You must win the
first trick with the
7,
and save your honors for later. Then it’s easy to enter the
South hand in hearts and finesse clubs. Eventually you will win
four club tricks, regardless of when West plays his king. Along
with two spades and three hearts, you will have four club tricks
and your contract is in the bag.
If you carelessly
played the
3
from dummy at the first trick, you’d have to waste an honor from
your hand to win the trick. The club position would be:
© 2004- Marty Bergen
Chapter 8 :Entry
Problems in Notrump ........................... 83
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