Misplay Your Bridge Hands - Book Review 

By Jared Johnson  ScoreCard Editor 

North/South vulnerable 

East dealer 

       North 

    Í AK965 
    Ì A7 
    Ë 7 
    Ê A7543 

West                East 
Í J10743        Í - - - 
Ì J85             Ì Q432 
Ë 104        Ë KJ96532 
Ê KJ2        Ê106 

      South 
    Í Q82 
    Ì K1096 
    Ë AQ8 
    ÊQ98 

Want to learn how to better misplay your hands at bridge? Read this book. Well, there’s a bit more to it than that. 

One of the all-time classic bridge books is Play These Hands with Me by British expert Terence Reese. In a twist on that title, another British player Mark Horton has written Misplay These Hands with Me (Master Point Press, Toronto). 

Written in the first person, Horton takes hands that presumably he himself as well as other experts have actually played, or rather misplayed at the table. 

Then there is the post-mortem, providing the explanation of where declarer went wrong or at least where he could have improved his chances. 

Sometimes the light comes on much later, even years later. The author reports misplaying the diagramed hand, which features the rare intra finesse. 

After a 3Ë preempt by East, an aggressive auction propels you to 6NT as South (better than 6Í since the preempt foretells possible bad breaks). 

Of course, you can’t see all four hands. The author won the opening diamond lead and played the ÍQ, getting the bad news but thanks to dummy’s nine, you have four spade tricks. You also have two diamonds and two hearts and thus need clubs to behave. When in dummy, you lead a club to the queen, hoping East has the king, but alas, West produces that card, and you are down only one instead of a bunch when you lose the third round of clubs to West. 

Too bad. 

It was only years later the author realized his error after reading another expert’s article on the hand. After the preempt, West is favored to hold the ÊK, so you hope East simply holds 10-x or J-x. You play for the rare intra finesse. You lead a club to your nine and West wins the jack. 

You win the return and lead the ÊQ, winning dummy’s ace if West covers, and letting it ride if he doesn’t, either way smothering East’s 10 for four club tricks and your contract.