I mentioned that either partner may declare captaincy at any time. All it takes to do so is a clear signal that the game is afoot. Two such signals appeared in Part 1 of this series, and now we present some others.

The Bag/Set Signal

You are dealt this hand when the table total is 11 tricks:

K972 65 A652 986

You have bid 3. Your LHO cashes the AK and leads a third heart. Your partner plays the jack and your RHO contributes the Q. On this trick the recommended play is the 9. Not only do you win your first of three tricks, you establish your captaincy and send Pard a bag signal. You are reasonably assured of making two more tricks but you have trumped with a count card and you see no chance of winning anything beyond your three bid tricks.

J72 65 AK52 AQ8

Again you have bid 3 on this 11-trick total bid. LHO cashes the AK and continues hearts to Pard's jack and RHO's queen. This time you trump with the 2, sending an unmistakable set signal. You have won an unexpected trick and you have the possiblility of others, either in the club suit or in spades. Take hold of the captaincy and let your partner know the team strategy for this hand.

When using the bag/set signal you can often declare captaincy as early as Trick 1. Suppose the table total is 11 tricks and you hold this hand:

92   A952   A632   J94

You have bid 2. On the opening lead of the K from your right, throw the J. This is the bag signal. You are taking charge of the play from the start, informing your partner you have no interest in trying to set the hand. After all, you have weak spades and no secondary honors. Now consider the following hand. Again, the total is 11 tricks.

Q10   AJ1052   A2   Q762

You might well have bid 3 on these cards. You like the hand's texture. But with a comfortable lead you settle for another 2-bid. The opening lead is the same as before, the K. This time, however, you throw a small club. You are sending your partner a clear set signal, suggesting the two of you play aggressively.

Captaincy for All?

Some folks are simply not fit to lead. We have all known spaders who treat all 11-bids as bagging situations. They will not change. They will be bagging from the get-go and will pay no attention to your carding. Opposite such a player, forget about captaincy. Ignore their plays; they are meaningless anyway. Now that I have inserted a disclaimer, let us return to real Spades.

Delayed Captaincy

In all of the above cases a decision could be made early. More often the players must wait for developments. Will a finesse win or lose? Have your intermediate cards been promoted to boss rank? The declaration of captaincy might not take place until the final stages of play. Here is a deal where the captaincy appears late in play. It also illustrates some of the hazards of the captaincy responsibility.

Score N/S: 205 E/W: 163 Dlr: North AKJ10 J1083 743 63 Q754 AKQ9 J82 97 863 74 AK65 J1082 92 652 Q109 AKQ54 East South West North 2      2       4     3

East cashed his AK and led a third round to put South in the lead. South also took his high cards, winning the AK. He continued with the Q, which was trumped by West with the 4 and overtrumped by North's J. North cashed one high spade before exiting with the J. West won the K and cashed the A.

So far East/West have won four tricks toward making their 6-bid. Let's have a look at all of the cards.

West leads N/S need 0 E/W need 2 A10 83 -- -- Q7 Q9 -- -- 86 -- 5 J 9 2 -- 54

West won the next trick with the Q. The lead of the 9 was trumped by East with the 8 and South allowed this trick to hold. North made only the A at the finish, so both sides took one bag apiece.

We can see how easy it is for North/South to set their opponents. South overtrumps East's 8 with the 9, and leads a spade so his partner can take the marked (from the bidding) finesse against West's queen. East/West lose the last three tricks and go set. Why, we ask, couldn't South find the right plays?

The problem lay in North's carding. His early overruff with the J appeared as a bag signal. The 10 would be slightly less ambiguous. Similarly, his heart plays of the J followed by the 10, 8, and 3 confirmed his desire to bag, not set. South should not be blamed. It was North who misjudged the play, and South merely followed the instructions of his captain.

Defending Nil Bids

Advanced Strategies

It goes without saying (almost) that to use an advanced strategy, both partners must be up to it. The captain announces the strategy by the play of a single card. Pard must know that particular strategy and get his cue from that one, solitary play. The following deal illustrates this point.

North A65 97 AJ972 1098 West QJ1098 J10 -- AKQJ42 East 42 AKQ6 86543 73 South K73 85432 KQ10 65 The bidding: South West North East 2 6 2 2 South led the K

West believed he was looking at a 9-trick hand, perhaps even 10 if partner showed up with a spade honor. Nevertheless he bid a crafty 6, hoping to lull the opponents. South made his normal opening lead, the K. West ruffed (North signaling with the 7) and immediately started the spades, South's king winning the trick. West's plan was clear; he was going to extract trumps. South had to take charge at once. He guessed to counter with the Forcing Strategy. He started by leading the queen of diamonds.

Again West ruffed and continued spades. North was in with the A, leaving West, North, and South with one spade apiece. Now it was all up to North. Also familar with the Forcing Strategy, he followed instructions by playing a third round of diamonds, leading the A. This was the killer; West did the best he could by discarding a heart, hoping for a switch, but North simply continued with the 9. West ruffed with his last spade but his side could do no better than take two hearts and two clubs. Together with his three spade tricks, that was not enough.

Post Mortem

West could not believe he went set on the hand. Give full credit to North and South for pushing diamonds; a switch at any time allows East-West to take 11 tricks, a four-trick difference.

Mutiny

Must the "1st mate" always follow the captain's orders? We'll take that issue up in the final article of this series, Part 3.

Regards,
Popsicle