Both sides made their bids, the bag going to North-South. At this point a kibitzer says to one of the players: "You missed a set. After winning the...," but he is immediately muted and bounced from the room. The four players pause to study the cards and conclude there was never a chance for a set by either side.

Who was the kibitzer talking to? Was he right, or did he miss something? Submit your e-mail comments to: You Be the Judge

North's nil is sunk. Was it due to bad bidding or play, a bad guess, or was it just bad luck? Who made the worst bid/play? Submit your e-mail comments to:
You Be the Judge

The Public Responds:

This next case is far more interesting, chiefly because our panelists do not agree. These situations provide us with the most fun. Let us hear from our first panelist, who places most of the blame on South's play, but also takes a light swipe at North's biddding.

Brandon: This is a risky nil I think. There is a decent chance (roughly 4/9) the cover (South) won't have the K or A. The saving grace is South’s long spade suit. Its imperative to break spades quickly so they can be led and give North a chance to discard dangerous cards. Chances are North can decide what's most dangerous to him better than South can. Giving North 1 or 2 discards will ensure most nils. Therefore, instead of discarding the 2, cut with the 3, then lead spades: Ace, King, 10, 8.

Next we hear from someone who lays the entire blame at North's feet.

Ruffkid: Bad club play [by North at] Trick 2...... Granted [South's] throwing the 2 cost the nil, but can you blame that pitch after his pard's J play at Trick 2? Terrible play with a club suit that long. Play the intermediate club and help your pard!

Who would believe that a nil bidder can be accused of a misplay with a perfectly normal throw?! Still, Ruffkid's comments makes sense. This is getting good. Let's keep going. Now let us hear from our next panelist, who puts an entirely different spin on these recent events.

Purple Cow: I'm going to call this a unlucky guess. But there's a lot going on here.

North completed a nil echo on tricks 1 and 3, assuring his partner of complete safety in hearts. The 4 lead at Trick 4, and South knows partner has both the 3 and the 2 left (or he wouldn't have given the nil echo signal). So does he pitch his club, or trump and start spades?

Clearly the winning play here was to start spades. Partner will get a diamond discard on the 2nd spade lead, and the nil walks home. South's 2 is never a factor. North's clubs are solid as they come, but South has no way to know this.

But, it's easy to construct a deal where the opposite is true. Simply switch the 3 & 4 in the N/W hands, and now trumping leaves the nil vulnerable in clubs.

Good point. Ruffkid, if North's clubs were J108754, would you still prefer North throw an intermediate club at Trick 2, suggesting club safety?

Purple Cow: I don't have any mathematical proof to back this up, but I think trumping and getting the spade suit rolling is the better play more often than not. With no clue for guidance as to where the nil's soft spot is, it usually works best to give him a few discards if possible. After all, the cover hand may not know where the nil is weak, but the niller certainly does! Let him decide. If the 2 sets you later, so be it. At least the opponents will have to work to find it.

In this deal, not trumping gave the defenders a roadmap to the set. The pitch of the 2 was undoubtedly what inspired West to try a diamond from A84, hoping to catch a high doubleton in the nil hand. Worked like a charm.

My verdict: Unfortunate guess.

We now hear from our final panelist, who seems to be straddling the fence between "poor South" and "bad South."

Dustin: This hand bothers me because Trick 4 seems to be a pure guess for South. Were there any clues on this hand that partner had trouble in diamonds? The clues are very subtle and I am inclined to simply say this hand was bad luck. But there were some very vague signals.

1. Partner showed a safe heart suit by playing the 5 under the the Queen and the 7 under the eight. This signal must indicate that partner has a minimum of four hearts.

2. Partner likely has a long club suit. Why? Well, first South is holding only two clubs -- a likely sign that partner is long. Second, North played the Jack under the Ace -- another hint that he has a long club suit. This fact isn't a definite one, but rather based on probability.

Thus, if partner has a trouble suit, it is most likely the diamond suit. Additionally, since partner has shown long hearts and clubs, his spade suit is likely short.

These are some very vague signals to guide South. So, we can't be too harsh on him. Only an expert could have made the above deductions.

But don't all Spaders consider themselves experts? Never mind -- we're not going there today.

So there you have it, folks. Among our distinguished panelists there is disagreement, disorder, disarray. And even though we asked for the worst bid or play, no one so much as glanced at our prime candidate for worst play, East's third round of hearts at Trick 4.

So is South guilty? The court is undecided, uncertain, deadlocked. We need more time to consider our verdict in this particularly thorny matter. South's case is put On Hold for one week. South is hereby released on his own recognizance. The court issues South the following instructions for the duration of his probation:

When covering partner's nil bids while holding strong spades, South must always break spades early and run the spades to give a few discards. We'll take up this case again next week. For now, everyone may take the weekend off.