Declarer Play
Winning Extra Tricks: The Finess
- A finesse is primarily the attempt to promote a lower-ranking
card by taking advantage of the favorable position of higher-ranking
cards held by the opposition.
- A finesse is also useful to:
- to keep a particular opponent off lead; and
- to gain one or more entries.
- Classic Finess Technique
- A finess is done by leading a low card toward the
other partner hand which contains a higher-ranking card and
a lower-ranking card.
- Typically, there is one (or two) missing cards between one of
the -ranking card and the higher-ranking card.
- The hope is that the missing card is in the 1st (or target)
opponent's hand to play.
- After the target opponent plays, the decision to play
a lower-ranking or higher-ranking card can be made depending
on which card the target opponent plays. Whatever, the
target opponent plays, a card is played that is higher.
- If the target opponent has the missing card, the finess will
be sucessful and declarer will win an extra trick. Otherwise
the finess will loose and no extra trick is won.
- Extended Finess Techniques
- Several other finessing situations are possible. All situations
involve taking advantage of the case where an opponent has to
play a card before one of your partnership's hand what has
a lower-ranking card which can be promoted to become a winner.
- Examples:
Technique 2 and 3 look similar. However since West will cover
either the Q or the J with the K, North/South can only win 2
tricks.
Technique 1 and 4 look similar also. However since West will cover
either the Q with the K, North/South can only win 1
tricks.
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