Few plays in Spades are as satisfying as the squeeze. An opponent squirms as though he is caught in the coils of a boa constrictor, but there is naught to be done. Any play he makes surrenders a trick.

Most squeezes in Spades are inadvertent. They are not planned; they just happen.

North 7 Q 5 -- -- West Q 8 J -- East -- 10 9 -- J South A 7 -- 6 South leads the A

In the above deal the total is 12 tricks, each team needing just one more. South decides to cash the A right away. The next two players follow suit, but East is in trouble. If he throws the J, South's 6 is high. And if he plays a heart, North takes the last two tricks with hearts for the set.

A squeeze can unexpectedly shred a sure thing into confetti. East and West need one more trick from the following cards, and how can that not get one? Even though North and South hold the top two spades, East and West hold the boss cards in the three side suits, and East even holds a trump. But watch some hocus-pocus.

North Q 8 7 -- West -- -- 6 5 Q East J J J -- South K -- -- J 9 South leads the J

When South leads his J, trumped by North, East is squeezed in three suits, all of them also jacks. If he throws either the heart or diamond, North leads his newly-created winner in the same suit. And if he undertrumps with the J, South's hand is high.

Most squeeze positons require threats in both partners' hands. On rare occasions, one hand alone may be enough to do the damage. Below, South is covering his partner's nil, which looks pretty solid. South needs 3 of the last 5 tricks to make his own bid. He holds 3 of the top 4 spades and the bosses in two other suits. How can he miss?

North - nil 4 3 2 -- -- 4 2 West Q 7 -- -- 8 5 East 8 6 -- -- J 9 3 South A K J J J -- East leads the J

South has to learn the hard way. When East leads the J, South is squeezed in three suits, again all jacks. (What's with these jacks, anyway?) If he trumps with the J, North will win the last trick with the 2. South must pitch one of his red-suit jacks but still looks like the favorite. Now another club from East puts unbearable pressure on South. Again, he must part with his second side-suit jack. Finally, the third club from East promotes a trump trick for West. South could make only his AK, and is left shaking his head, "Wha' happen?"

It is not really necessary for Spades players to understand the mechanics of a squeeze. Even when conditions are right, it is very difficult even for experts to coordinate their plays to bring it off. Just play Spades. If a squeeze develops on its own, just sit back and watch the fun.

The next hand was played by four players who knew nothing about squeezes. In fact, they could barely count to 13; but that was all that was necessary.

Trick 1. West led the 5, covered by the K, and East ungraciously trumped. Trick 2. East cashed the A. Trick 3. East played the 9. South went up with the King, and the trick was trumped by West. Trick 4. West led the 6, North played low, and East trumped. Trick 5. East led the 8. West trumped, but North overtrumped with the Q. Trick 6. North led the 2, taken by South.

North Q 2 A K 7 3 2 Q 2 A 9 5 4 West 10 9 7 Q 10 8 6 5 6 Q 10 7 6 East J 6 5 4 -- A J 9 8 7 6 J 8 2 South A K 8 2 J 9 4 K 10 4 3 K 3 The bidding: West North East South 1 4 2 5 West led the 5

Let's look at the remaining cards:

North -- A 7 3 -- A 9 5 4 West -- Q 10 8 -- Q 10 7 6 East J -- J 7 5 J 8 2 South A 8 3 J 10 K 3

Trick 7. Needing the rest of the tricks, South played the A, drawing the last spade. Trick 8. South played the J. This play wins on the spot if North's hearts were originally headed by AK10. Not this time; West covered with the Q and North took the A. Trick 9. North led a low heart. From his point of view, South could have started with J1094. Not. South had to trump the heart lead, but North now knew West had the last heart, and he suspected it was higher than his 7. Trick 10. South placed the A with partner for his 4-bid, and hoped he had the Q with it. Therefore he played the K to clear the way.

Trick 11. South played his last spade. West, who knew about North's heart, had to throw a club. North decided his heart was worthless, so he pitched it. Now East felt the pinch. East had a count on diamonds and knew he had to save the jack. Away went a club. Trick 12. South now played the 3, confident his partner would take the last two tricks with the AQ. North at least had the A. Trick 13. North played the 9 and was shocked when no one else could produce a club. North and South had pulled off a classic Double Squeeze.

North -- 7 -- A 9 West -- Q Q 10 East -- -- J J 8 South 8 -- 10 3

"You two didn't do a good job of discarding," sympathized North. "Don't worry, it happens to me all of the time, too."

It may be a long time before you ever run a legitimate squeeze play, but when you do, ain't it grand!

Regards,
Popsicle