How to Play a Hand of Spades

Video Transcript

Finessing. Finesse is a term that has a delicate aspect about it. When you do something with finesse, but the term finesse is a bridge term, and it's also a card term. Basically it describes the attempt of taking; you are attempting to take a higher card with a lower ranking card. That's the idea. You're hoping for favorable position. Let's look at this hand down here okay? The key card that's missing is the king of diamonds, okay. If we look at this layout right here. We need two tricks, there's no question about it, we need two tricks in this suit. I think I'll bid; we're in a sticky bid here. Maybe one of our side suit winners got trumped, so we're in this end game type position where we just are a trick short. Okay, my partners on the lead and he leads the four of diamonds. Okay, we don't know where this king is. We probably expect that it's in the opponent?s hands, because my partner would have never given the choice of letting off suit. So the question is, where is his nibs, where is his royal majesty? Well we know darn well that if I play the four of diamonds and the opponent here follows with the six of diamonds. Let's just look at the cards played. And I go up with the ace, unless the king is singleton, it doesn't drop. Let's just say that another diamond comes down, some innocent looking diamond at that. It's basically true that I have conceded the king no matter where it is. I've just basically told the opponents, whoever has it you're going to get it. So I'm going to lose two more tricks, or I can approach another line of play. I can say, okay when this six is played I'm going to play the queen. Well, now we have a fifty fifty probability. If the king is over here and he doesn't play it for me. Which it makes it much easier because, then I have the ace, queen. Then my queen scores basically on presentive if you will, to use a chess term. But, now I cash my ace and I've made my two tricks. So what have I done? I have manufactured a trick from a queen. If the king was over here then there's nothing I could have done about it but it's better to have fifty percent than zero percent, so I'm attempting to manufacture a trick. Finesses come in all sizes and shapes. Let's take a look at this example.

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