| I. Beginner's Korner: Part Three of a Continuing Series
This series is geared toward the novice Spades player, especially one who has played for a short time and is anticipating a move to the competitive / rated rooms. Last month, we explored the bidding phase of the game. Now, we dive into the #1 pet peeve of most Spaders -- trumping (by partner) in second seat! There are occasions when this is the best choice of action; most of the time, however, it is simply bad technique. We will start by examining the impulse to prematurely trump (ahead of partner). This is especially irritating when one or more of these four conditions are present: (a) There is a low (8, 9, or 10) combined bid on the table; (b) The early ruff weakens a trump suit that had its own natural trick; (c) partner fails to observe the cards that were played on the first trick, and (d) a Nil bidder in third seat is allowed to get rid of a dangerous high card in the suit that is trumped. Let us observe a few hands here:
Partner holds:
 Q J 10,  7,  8 7 6 2,  8 K 7 5 3
You Hold:
 8 5,  K Q 10 9 8,  K 4 3,  Q 4 2
There is a 12 bid on the table, no Nil bid by the opponents, and your right-hand opponent leads the Jack of Hearts. This is the first hand of a game. You cover with the Queen, and your left-hand opponent wins the Ace. He now continues with his partner's led suit, a low Heart, and your pal across the table trumps in with the 10 of Spades. Partner then takes his Ace - King of Clubs, and tries a third round, hoping for a Club ruff by you. Instead, your right-hand opponent trumps low, as your Queen drops. The Ace and King of Spades are then cashed by this wolf on your right, who is licking his chops! Your partner's Queen and Jack are blown away. And the Queen of Diamonds is played, as you desperately cover, and lose your King. (If you had ducked, the finesse would have been repeated.) You take no tricks, and your partner utters "Did you consider Nil?" Furthermore, your side is set, as your partner had bid 3, and you had bid 1.
Post mortem: When I have a partner who does this sort of thing, I remember the old Bridge adage: "Not all butchers are in the meat-cutting business"! The obvious error is the failure to read the cards. The first Heart lead was the Jack. When the Jack was covered with your Queen, the next player won the Ace and continued with a low Heart. Surely, if he held the Heart King, that would have been next play. Instead, he played a low Heart. Thus, it was obvious that you held the King. Finally, trumping with a natural trump trick was dreadful. This fatally weakened partner's Spade suit, and allowed the opps to clean up the trumps with dispatch.
Now we will examine this specimen:
Partner holds:
 A 10 8 5,  4 3,  Q 9 6 4 2,  A 2
You hold:
 K 4 2,  Q J 10,  A 8 7,  Q 7 4 3
This time, we have a 13 bid on the table, no Nils, and a tie score of 355 each. Your side has a combined bid of 5. Your left-hand opponent leads the King of Hearts. Partner plays the 3 (neither side is not using "high-low" count signals). The next player also plays low, and you play your tenspot. The Ace of Hearts is continued, drawing two more spot cards in Hearts, prior to your turn. Now you try to be forceful and you drop the Queen. You are trying to paint the picture that you will be trumping any third-round Heart lead. Your left-hand opponent decides to persist in Hearts, as he is reluctant to underlead his minor (Club and Diamond) suit high cards. Sure enough, your faithful partner trumps, as the next player follows with his last Heart. And your Jack falls. And your eyes roll to the back of your head. Luckily, both sides still make their bids, and the opponents are happy as they march into the mid 400s with a 30-point lead. Maybe you should be grateful you scored 50 points. Who cares about setting the opponents anyway? LOL
Post mortem: When I encounter partners of this variety, I try to be patient and understanding. Silence is golden. Perhaps a chat after the game might help. It is not useful to scream and yell; nor is it a good idea to berate a partner. Despite your efforts to discourage a second-seat ruff by partner, it still happened. In this case, partner should have dropped the Deuce of Clubs, instead of reaching for a Spade. This would have allowed the possibility of a Club ruff on the second round of that suit. Furthermore, his Spade length is preserved. Your play of the Queen of Hearts was a clear signal that you did not want partner to cut the next lead in Hearts. If the right-hand opponent was short in Hearts, that would be fine, too. You would lose your Jack; however, he would burn a trump. And he might be inclined to ruff high, as he would suspect that you are overruffing. Final comment: If you and your partner are cultivating a friendship, the worst thing that you can do is to second-guess the play from the other side of the table!
Next, we will examine a clear-cut example of when it is proper to refrain from trumping in second seat.
Partner holds:
 A 3 2,  K Q 5 2,  5,  Q J 6 4 3
You hold:
 Q 10 4,  A 6 3,  K 8 4 2,  8 7 2
It is the seventh hand of the game. Your side is ahead with a score of 384 - 348. In this "bagging scenario," partner, with first call, bids 2. Your right-hand opponent bids 3, and you settle for a bid of 2. The last bid is 3 -- a total of 10 tricks declared. The opening lead (from your right -- this is a "live" event), is the 3 of Diamonds. You duck with the Deuce, and up pops the Ace on your left, as partner plays his lone 5. Now the 6 of Diamonds is tabled. What is the proper play?
The answer is . . . DISCARD A HIGH CLUB! This is the prime example of when not to trump in second seat. We have a bagging situation here. If play proceeds normally, and distribution is reasonably normal, partner should make his two tricks, and you will gather two or three tricks (depending how the Hearts break, and/or your need to win a Diamond). The opponents will snag two bags, and your side will be in good shape for the endgame.
Finally, we examine the evidence for this hand:
Partner holds:
 K Q J 9 8,  A K Q 10 2,  J 5,  7
You hold:
 10 6 4,  9 7 6 3,  K Q 8,  10 3 2
It is the first hand of a new game.
Your right-hand opponent bids 2, and you cough up a bid of 1. (Those darn Diamonds!) The left-hand opponent bids 2, and partner swoops in with a call of 7! The Classic "5 - 5" powerhouse has been described in the published Spades Books, various forums, and in previous columns. Partner's hand should produce nine tricks; however, there is no need to push the total to 13 tricks at the beginning of a game! The Queen of Clubs is led, as you play low. The next player overtakes with the Ace, as partner dumps his lone spot card. Now comes the King of Clubs. Should partner ruff in second seat?
Answer: YES! The "5 - 5" hand dictates this course of action. This is the upper limit of the "5 - 5" shape. Partner trumps the second lift in Clubs, and immediately goes after the Ace of Spades. If you have it, the hand rolls in quite easily. In this case, the opponents have the big trump. If they shift to a red suit, all is well. (A Club is futile.) You will win a Diamond and continue Spades for partner -- or he will play a Heart and flush out the Spades himself. Unless someone has the guarded Jack of Hearts, or the trumps break very badly, your side will lose only one Club, one Diamond, and the Spade Ace. The result is a set of the opponents, and fat 90 points for your side.
Another exception to the rule of not trumping in second seat occurs when there is a bid of 11 or more and the second card led (by the opps) in partner's short suit is a winner (for example, the King of the same suit led -- after the Ace is taken). In this instance, partner must consider the score, the bags, or the possibility of a set. If he holds two or three worthless trump, the "cut" would be automatic, barring a "bagging" situation. Most players have a tendency to try for sets on 11 bids.
Summary of Second-Seat Ruffing Scenarios:
Trust your partner when you can. Consider the score and bag count for each side.
Carefully observe the cards that were played on the previous trick. If your side is utilizing count signals such as the "high-low" to show a Doubleton, you will have an advantage. When holding a natural trump combination, don't weaken your hand by carelessly trumping. Instead, try to shorten another suit, or discard a loser.
If you hold a powerful "5 - 5" shape (five good trump and a reasonably decent side suit), ruff early, and bleed out the trump. Go for the set on any 12 bid, and consider doing the same for an 11 bid, if you have the right combination of cards. Develop a solid rapport with the same partner, and your results will improve. . . .
For those interested in highly competitive Spades, go check out the "Expert Spades Forum." It is moderated by Jay Tomlinson, who has great credentials, and a fine knowledge of the game.
Take care, everyone -- see you in April!
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