Before You Play from Dummy, Make a Plan

Dummy comes down.

You have a quick look.

There seems to be a finesse available, so you call for a small card.

Three tricks later, you discover that the finesse was the least important thing about the hand.

This is one of the easiest habits to improve in bridge: do not play from dummy until you have made a plan.

In a suit contract, start by counting your losers. In no-trumps, start by counting your winners.

Suppose you are in 4♠ and dummy appears with:

♠ KJ84
♥ 76
♦ A83
♣ QJ94

opposite:

♠ AQ1073
♥ A52
♦ K64
♣ 72

You have plenty of trump tricks, two diamond winners and the ♥A.

The obvious danger is clubs. You may lose two clubs and perhaps two hearts.

Before touching a card, ask:

Where are my losers, and can I do anything about them?

Perhaps a club can eventually be discarded on a diamond. Perhaps you need to draw trumps immediately. Perhaps you need to establish a side suit before the opponents can attack yours.

That question is much more useful than immediately wondering whether to finesse.

At no-trumps, reverse the process.

Count certain tricks first.

If you have seven immediate tricks in 3NT, you only need two more. That tells you which suit needs to be developed and may tell you whether you can afford to lose the lead.

Planning does not mean working out all thirteen tricks.

It means identifying the problem before you start solving it.

A useful routine is:

Contract. Opening lead. Winners or losers. Where will the extra tricks come from? What could go wrong?

It takes perhaps ten seconds.

Those ten seconds are often the most valuable part of the hand.

Bridge Coach takeaway

When dummy appears, resist the urge to play immediately.

Count first. Plan second. Play third.

The cards will still be there when you have finished thinking.