Score N/S: 52 E/W: 61 Dlr: South Q63 96 A102 KQJ43 K6 Q1043 K4 A9762 J108 AKJ875 Q97 10 A9742 2 J8653 85 West North East South 3      3       2     3

Exhibit #13a. Technique The Play: 1. West leads A. 3, 10, 5. West wins. 2. West leads 6. J, 8, 8. East wins. 3. East leads K. 2, 10, 6. East wins. 4. East leads A. 2, 3, 9. South wins. 5. South leads 4. 6, Q, 10. North wins. 6. North leads 6. J, A, K. South wins. 7. South leads 3. K, A, 7. North wins. 8. North leads 10. Q, 5, 4. East wins. 9. East leads 9. J, 7, 2. South wins. 10-13. South wins the last four with two spades and two diamonds. Despite their favorable start, East/West went set. East finds fault with her partner's bidding, play, and physiognomy. West defends himself with “You ignorant slut!” You are asked to evaluate East/West's bidding and play. Only that. Nothing more. Submit your e-mail comments to: You Be the Judge

Our first case finds West under severe criticism from his partner. Is this verbal attack justified? Our first panelist agrees:

RSK712: West bid too aggressively. His two kings had no support and his spades (only two) should also have been a signal to be conservative. His lead of the ace of clubs didn't help either. Better lead was low heart. In general poorly bid and played.

And no doubt West is ugly, too. Next we hear from Brandon, who shows a bit more sympathy toward West. This case might merely be a matter of bad luck.

Brandon: West made a shaky bid in the #1 spot, and luck worked against him, losing both kings. Sometimes you can get away with this, sometimes not. His partner bid well and luck could have saved them, if the heart distribution was such that South had another heart. Getting set 1 in 4 times because you pushed your bid is a very poor idea.

Purple Cow: West's bid was a bit too strong. It is not the unsupported Kings themselves that are the problem, but rather the spade shortness. Any hand with short spades calls for conservative bidding. If West held a 3rd spade in lieu of a club or heart, I'd approve of this 3-bid. With the spade doubleton, it's simply too much.

Clearly the panel is not enamored with West's bid. Still, we are not fully convinced. Any fool can avoid ever being set just by bidding conservatively. We will not change our own wicked ways. So what went wrong? Could it be the problem in this case lies in the play of the hand? Did West butcher his chances during the play? Brandon thinks West missed a normal, routine chance at his bid. We step into his commentary at the start of Trick 5, with South on lead.

Brandon: Spades must be pulled. In general, with a 5-5 you want spades pulled, but you want to retain control. Playing the low spade, rather than the A followed by another makes sense. West ducks and gets burned, but I think it was correct to duck, as North bid 3 and hasn't won a trick or showed much except maybe a club.

Round 7: Time to get the diamonds going as all E/W spades are gone. West plays the K and loses it, should have ducked, 2nd hand low. He's lost two kings and it's over.

Purple Cow: Yes, I can find some fault in West's play. The spade play was a sheer guess. There are simply not enough clues at this point in time to place the A. The diamond play however, West had some information.

South likely does not have a club, else he would have led it (N/S are marked for club control at this point). This also implies diamond length, and everything so far seems to agree with this. So is he underleading the A? Doesn't matter. The lost spade trick must come back in diamonds to save the bid. Therefore it is proper to play diamonds for two tricks. What is the best play?

Well, East will need to show up with the diamond Queen, that much is given. If West plays the K immediately, East will need to show up with QJx to save the bid.

If West ducks and South was underleading the Ace, again East must show up with QJx. However, if you duck and North holds the ace (and plays it instead of inserting the 10), now East need only show up with Qxx.

The odds favor ducking the first diamond lead.

Odds, schmodds! What's really going on here is the brutal psychological warfare between West and South. West has already been burned by South's crafty A underlead and, at Trick 7, has to wonder, "Is he doing it to me again?"

West has run into a buzzsaw. North and South are no ordinary Spades players. As evidenced by their play at Tricks 5 and 6, they truly know how to handle their cards. Fortunately for the rest of us, we will meet very few opponents who play this well.

On South's low-diamond lead West is faced with a cruel guess, as South sits there looking oh, so angelic. "I'll be damned before I let him snooker me twice on the same hand," thinks West. Our feelings exactly! Getting caught a second time by the same swindle would be more than flesh could bear. West deserves not our scorn but our pity.

It is time to reach a verdict. The panel is clearly out for West's blood. We will not overrule a unanimous decision, but what penalty can we assess against a chap who has already been overmatched by his opponents, drawn and quartered by his partner, and reamed out by the panel? "West, we find you guilty. Hold out your wrist."

Exhibit #13b. Strategy The Play: 1. East leads J. 4, 5, 2. East wins. 2. East leads 10. A, 6, 3. South wins. 3. South leads A. 8, K, 5. West wins. 4. West leads J. 5, Q, K. South wins. 5. South leads A. 9, 3, 2. South wins. 6. South leads 7. 10, J, Q. East wins. 7. East leads K. 2, 6, 4. East wins. 8. East leads 6. 3, 8, 5. East wins. 9-10 East wins the K and Q. 11-13. North wins two hearts and the A. North/South made only 6 winners and were set. Was this result due to faulty strategy, bad luck, or simply an unfortunate guess? Submit your e-mail comments to: You Be the Judge

Score N/S: 204 E/W: 236 Dlr: North J543 KQJ109 A5 32 1098 -- J10986 98765 KQ62 8765 Q KQJ10 A7 A432 K7432 A4 East South West North 4      4       1     3

The second case is even more fun than the first one. Our three panelists reach three separate conclusions. The first judge states the set was the result of bad bidding, the second the result of bad luck, and the third panelist insists it was bad play. Let me grab some coffee and let the panelists take charge.

RSK712: South overbid. His holding of two spades should have sent up a flag to be cautious. And where did his partner see 3? Poorly bid and played by N/S.

Brandon: South's bid: There is a risk his K will be trumped or fall to the Ace. He's short in spades but may be able to trump the third round of clubs, and he has the A so he can control the suit and switch.

This is an unusual hand in that there is a void suit, a singleton, and four doubletons. That means luck may be important here.

CRUCIAL PLAY - Round 4. North must play the A and lead spades so as to cut down on West's ruffing of hearts. He knows South and East have some spade strength as well, so lead spades through East. Don't lead spades from South through North into East.

In addition, a Round 1 play of the A followed by the 4 may have worked much better for N/S if East continued a 3rd round of clubs. South could have cut.

I think the unusual distribution in this hand was a big contributor to the set, so I acquit N/S.

Purple Cow: The result is due to faulty strategy on North's part. At Trick 3, West trumps the A, North correctly signals the K (promising the QJ and possibly others). At trick 5, South correctly judges the situation, and makes the proper lead of the A followed by a low spade to cut down on West's ruffing power and ensure North's heart winners.

Trick 6 is the key to the hand. North must duck this trick, executing a play known as the obligatory finesse. Even more incriminating is the fact that North had every clue possible to find the right play. Remember the Count Card Principle?

West bid 1 and has shown a cut value. South bid 4, and has shown the A, A, K, and A. From North's point of view, all the missing count cards are in the East hand, including all the outstanding spades. When North plays to Trick 6, he "knows" East still holds the KQ6. So the Jack will fail miserably as it did in the hand shown. The obligatory finesse succeeds, and leaves E/W with no winning play.

If East takes the 10 with his Q, North's Jack is promoted directly.

If East allows the 10 to hold, West has a choice of a club or a diamond to lead. On a club lead, North gains the extra trick by ruffing the club, and cashing three hearts for the bid. On a diamond lead, North's Ace gets trumped away, but this promotes a spade by length for North, and he still gets his three hearts.

This was 100% poor strategy on North's part.

Thank you, Purple Cow. You have restored my faith. Of our three distinct answers -- bad bidding, bad luck, bad play -- we believe the third answer trumps the other two. We unofficially rule North is a knucklehead. But having stumped two judges, who could see all 52 cards, North is hereby officially allowed to walk. Use the revolving door, please.