Play of the Hand
Safe transportation
This is a rare deal from Bridge Master, a free, interactive declarer-play program on Bridge Base Online, with two acceptable lines of play.
North (Dummy)
♠ 4 3 2
♥ A 4
♦ 8 7 6 5 4 3
♣ 3 2
South (You)
♠ A K Q 8 7 6
♥ 3 2
♦ A 2
♣ A K Q
After South opens a strong 2♣ and rebids 2♠, North’s raises to 3♠. South next shows a control in clubs (4♣ = the ♣A) and North shows a heart control (4♥ = the ♥A, but it denies a diamond control because they skipped over that suit). South bids slam and receives the lead of the ♦J, East playing the queen.
As South, you have an inevitable diamond loser; therefore, you must ruff your heart loser in dummy. You can do this after discarding a small heart on the ♣Q.
After winning the ♦A, you can cash three rounds of clubs, pitching a heart, then cross to the ♥A, cross in trumps to your hand, ruff a heart, then draw trump and lose a diamond.
You can also win the ♦A, draw one round of trump, then play a heart to the ace, three rounds of clubs, discarding a heart, and then ruff a heart. You still have a trump left in dummy to get to your hand to draw the rest of the trump.
The full deal:
Best Bidding
Texas Transfers
After Stayman, the next most common convention might be the Jacoby transfer. What’s a Texas transfer?
The treatments are similar, but there are some important differences.
After a 1NT opening by partner, the Texas transfer may be used to describe a hand with a six-card or longer major suit with appropriate values. When playing a suit contract, it’s desirable for the partnership to have a trump fit of at least eight cards. When partner opens 1NT, they promise at least two cards in each suit, so when you have six cards in a major suit, you usually know right away which suit you want to be the trump suit.
Playing Texas transfers, responder jumps to 4♦ or 4♥ asking opener to bid the next higher suit (4♥ or 4♠, respectively). This allows the stronger hand to become declarer. For example:
| Opener | Responder |
| 1NT | 4♦(1) |
| 4♥(2) |
(2) OK
or
| Opener | Responder |
| 1NT | 4♥(1) |
| 4♠(2) |
(2) I’ll be declarer.
What kinds of hands are appropriate for the use of the Texas transfer? Some examples:
♠A 7 ♥K Q 10 9 5 4 ♦9 8 4 2 ♣6
Bid 4♦, a Texas transfer to 4♥, after partner opens 1NT (strong, 15 to 17 HCP). (Note that opener must Announce “hearts” to the opponents when responder employs this method.)
♠A Q 10 7 6 5 ♥8 ♦K 9 3 ♣J 5 2
Bid 4♥, a transfer to 4♠, after partner’s 1NT opening. (Opener Announces “spades.”)
♠A K J 5 4 3 2 ♥A 7 ♦K Q 2 ♣9
Bid 4♥, a transfer to 4♠, after partner’s 1NT opening. This hand is so strong that you will continue toward slam after partner accepts the transfer.
Be careful not to use the Texas transfer on a hand that is too weak. For example, you hold:
♠J 10 9 6 5 3 ♥Q 6 5 ♦7 4 ♣10 5.
Using the Texas transfer after partner’s 1NT opening would be far too aggressive. This hand doesn’t have enough strength to force the partnership to game. It would be better to simply use the Jacoby transfer (2♥), asking partner to bid 2♠, which you will pass.
