Bridge Out of the loop

“Ever had an

out-of-body experience?” Unlucky Louie asked me in the club lounge.

“I took a shower yesterday and had an out-of-body-wash experience,” Cy the Cynic offered.

“I’ve had out-of-money experiences,” Ed remarked.

As today’s declarer, Louie had an out-of-his-mind issue. He took the king of clubs, drew trumps, cashed the ace of clubs and ruffed his low club. He took three high diamonds, pitching two hearts, and ruffed dummy’s last diamond.

At Trick Nine, Louie led a heart. West showed out, and Louie glumly conceded down one. Was he unlucky, or did he have an outof-mind experience?

THIRD CLUB

East discarded on the third club lead, so West had six clubs plus two trumps. And when Louie led the fourth diamond from dummy, East discarded again. So East’s pattern had been 2-6-3-2.

The heart position was unguessable, but Louie could succeed by discarding a third heart on the fourth diamond instead of ruffing. West would win and would have to concede a ruff-sluff.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: ♠ AQ J 3 2 ♥ 10 9 7 5 ♦

4 ♣ A K 8. You open one spade, your partner responds two diamonds, you bid two hearts and he rebids three diamonds. What do you say?

ANSWER: In “Standard” methods, partner shows long diamonds but minimum values for a twolevel response. (Even in a system where a two-level response is game-forcing, many pairs treat this sequence as not forcing.) Pass. You might make 3NT, but the odds would be against you. South dealer

N-S vulnerable