Finessing to Reduce Losers

This is one of a series of Declarer Play articles. These articles build upon each other, so I recommend that you study them in order.

On the two previous pages, we saw how to reduce losers by trumping them in the dummy or discarding them on extra winners in dummy.

Now we're going to turn our attention to reducing losers by finessing. (If you would like to review the basic mechanics of finesses, please see these Bridge Bear articles: finesses and squishing finesses.)

Review of Taking Inventory

example 1

Dummy ♠ 8 4 2  You ♠ A Q 5

Of course we cannot make a plan to reduce our losers until after we have identified the losers. So we begin by taking inventory.

For each suit, we take inventory based on the number of cards in declarer's hand. Declarer has three spades, so we inventory three rounds of spades.

We inventory three rounds by using the three highest cards from the two hands combined. Then we evaluate as if each of them were led one after the other.

The ♠A wins, the ♠Q loses to their ♠K, and the ♠8 loses to any higher card. So the inventory for this suit is 1 winner and 2 losers.

example 1, repeated

Dummy ♠ 8 4 2  You ♠ A Q 5

When actually playing the cards, we don't usually lead our cards from the highest down to the lowest as we imagine doing when taking inventory, because that gives the opponents an opportunity to win the most tricks.

Instead, you can try to reduce your 2 spade losers to 1 loser, by leading from the dummy toward the "losing honor" (♠Q) and finessing. If the ♠K is hiding on your right, it will never be able to squish your ♠Q.

Little Bear asks a question, "I see that losing a finesse can be bad, so does that mean I should avoid finesses?"

Me: Not necessarily. We'll talk about when to try finesses, and when to try something else. Remember, your goal as declarer is to reduce losers.

So first we need to see when winning a finesse would reduce losers, and when it wouldn't.

When do Finesses Reduce Losers?

Winning the following finesse does not reduce losers.

example 2, repeated

Dummy ♠ J 4 2  You ♠ A Q 5

I've added the ♠J to the dummy.

The inventory is now 2 winners and 1 loser. The ♠A wins, the ♠Q loses to their ♠K, and (with their king played) your ♠J becomes a promoted winner.

Now let's see what happens to our one spade loser if we lead toward your ♠Q and finesse...

If the finesse loses, their ♠K squishes our ♠Q, which promotes the ♠J in the dummy. We'll win tricks with our ♠A and ♠J, but lose the trick when we finesse with our ♠Q. So losing the finesse does not eliminate our one spade loser. No surprise. We didn't expect losing the finesse to be helpful.

Now let's see what happens if we "win" the finesse. The ♠Q wins, and of course the ♠A will be a second winner. But what about Dummy's ♠J? It'll play on the same trick as your ♠5, and lose to their as yet unplayed ♠K.

That's just what we started with – 2 winners and 1 loser.

So winning the finesse did NOT eliminate our spade loser. It just changed which of our lesser honors loses a trick.

Why didn't winning the finesse reduce losers?

example 2

Dummy ♠ J 4 2  You ♠ A Q 5

Look again at our starting position. Our ♠Q and ♠J are in opposite hands. Their ♠K cannot be on-sides for both of them. So the ♠K will always be able to cover one of our lesser honors, preventing the covered honor from winning a trick.

When the finesse wins, their ♠K is not played, so Dummy's ♠J is not promoted.

It might seem odd, but you have 2 winners and 1 loser no matter what happens with the finesse.

Winning the following finesse does reduce losers.

example 3

Dummy ♦ Q 4 2  You ♦ A 8 5

The inventory is 1 winner and 2 losers.

The two spot cards in your hand will be played on the tricks we counted as losers.

Now a winning finesse reduces your two losers to only one loser. When you lead the first spot card loser toward the dummy's ♦Q, the on-sides ♦K will play on your left. You will lose the trick, so your first spot card remains a loser.

However, you still have a second loser to match up with your now-promoted ♦Q, turning the second losing spot card into a winner.

Another "winning" finesse that does not reduce losers.

example 4

Dummy ♦ Q 4 2  You ♦ A 8

I've removed one of your spot cards

You have only 2 diamonds, so you inventory two rounds of the suit. The ♦A wins, and the ♦Q loses to their ♦K.

1 winner and 1 loser.

Now let's focus on the two cards in your hand. It's obvious which one is the winner and which is the loser.

Suppose you lead your ♦8 toward Dummy's losing honor (♦Q), and the ♦K is played on your left.

We call this "winning" the finesse because the ♦Q is promoted when the ♦K plays without squishing the queen. You win the finesse, but you do not win the trick. Their on-sides ♦K wins the trick.

So your original loser (♦8) remains a loser, losing to the ♦K.

example 5

Dummy ♣ J 2 You ♣ A K 8 4

Practice

What is the inventory? show answer

Where is the finesse? show answer

You must finesse on the first round of clubs while Dummy still has two cards. If you make the mistake of cashing a club master before finessing, Dummy's ♣2 would be played. Then if you lead toward the ♣J, Dummy would have no spot card to play when the ♣Q appears on your left. With no spot card, your ♣J would fall under the ♣Q and be wasted.

This is a general truth about all finesses. You must have two options (two cards in the hand you are leading toward)... one card to play if their critical honor appears in the second seat, and the other card to play if their critical honor does not appear.

If the finesse on the first round "wins," will it reduce your losers? show answer

Is there an alternate way to reduce your losers? show answer

example 6

Dummy ♣ A K 8 4  You ♣ J 2

Practice

This is not the same as example 5... here I've switched your hand with Dummy's.

What is the inventory? show answer

Could you reduce your club losers by trumping? show answer

Is there a finesse you could take? show answer

Little Bear is puzzled, "Why would a Bear want to take that finesse? Isn't increasing losers bad declarer play?"

Me: Ah... good questions, my friend. This hand is similar to example 4, where creating an extra winner in the dummy enabled us to discard a loser in another suit. (Go back and reread example 4 if you need to.)

example 6, repeated

Dummy ♣ A K 8 4  You ♣ J 2

Only this time we're going to lose an unnecessary trick in clubs in exchange for TWO extra winners in Dummy. Then we'll be able to discard TWO losers from other suits.

Here's how winning the finesse creates TWO extra winners:

• lead a low club from Dummy toward the ♣J.
• if the finesse wins, the ♣Q plays on your right, promoting your ♣J.
• the second round of clubs will be won by your ♣J, with Dummy playing the ♣8.
• the third and fourth rounds of clubs will be won by Dummy's two extra winners (♣AK), while you discard two losers.

Let's see how it works in a full hand:

example 6 as full hand

Dummy ♠ A K 7 3 ♥ 7 5 3 ♦ K 4 2 ♣ A K 8 4 You ♠ Q J T 6 2  ♥ A K 2 ♦ A 7 6 ♣ J 2

Little Bear says, "I see those clubs!"

Your contract is 6♠. You need to win 12 tricks.

The opening lead is ♥Q, which you will win (after completing your inventory and making a plan).

The inventory is 11 winners and 2 losers (a heart loser and a diamond loser). Oh-oh. Too many losers...

Can you trump either of your losers? show answer

Can you finesse in either hearts or diamonds in hopes of reducing losers? show answer

Does Dummy have any extra winners you can use to discard a loser? show answer

How can you use your clubs to create extra winners in the dummy? show answer

One last question... What must you do before you can follow this plan? Little Bear is quick to answer, "I have to pull trump first so my other winners don't get trumped."

Summary:
Winning the club finesse increases your club losers by one, but eliminates two other losers. That's a good result, provided the finesse actually wins.

example 7

Dummy ♥ 4 3 2 You ♥ A Q J T

Practice

3 winners and 1 loser.

The inventory says... the ♥A wins; the ♥Q loses to the ♥K; and with the ♥K gone, the ♥J and ♥T are promoted into winners. Notice that your lesser honors are only promoted after they've played their king.

Would leading from Dummy and losing the finesse reduce your losers? show answer

Would winning the finesse on the first round reduce your losers? show answer

After winning the finesse when you lead low to the ♥T, you would still have ♥AQJ in your hand. Suppose you were to cross the lead to the dummy and repeat the finesse a second time, leading low to your ♥J. If the first finesse won, we assume this one will win as well. Then would your heart loser be eliminated? show answer

example 7, repeated

Dummy ♥ 4 3 2 You ♥ A Q J T

Having won the finesse twice, you would have ♥AQ left in your hand. If you repeat the finesse a third time, would you eliminate your loser? show answer

With this holding, how many Dummy entries do you need for a winning finesse to eliminate your loser? show answer

Finessing, Discarding, or Trumping?

Suppose you have ♦AKJ, facing only small cards in the dummy. It seems to be a finessing position where you lead toward the ♦J and hope the ♦Q is on sides. However, finessing is not always the best choice.

Let's look at three examples where you hold ♦AKJ...

example 8 (first example of ♦AKJ)

Dummy ♠ A K 7 3 ♥ Q J 4 ♦ 5 4 2 ♣ J 8 3 You ♠ Q J T 6 2  ♥ K 8 2 ♦ A K J ♣ 9 5

Your contract is 4 spades. You need to win 10 tricks and can only afford to lose 3.

The opening lead is a small club.

Take inventory:

Use declarer's hand (your hand) as the master hand and count winners and losers for each suit...

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

The total is 9 winners and 4 losers. If that's the final outcome of the deal, your 4 spade contract will fail.

My wife says that "fail" is too negative a word, and down one seems close enough to be considered "good." :)

But let's assume you would prefer to make your contract, and check the three main ways to reduce losers.

1. Can you trump any of your losers in the dummy? show answer
   No. Dummy must follow suit to all 4 of your losers – the first round of hearts when you will lose to the ♥A, the third round of diamonds when your ♦J can lose to their ♦Q, and both of your clubs. No trumping in dummy this hand.
2. Does dummy have any extra winners for you to discard any of your four losers? show answer
   No. Dummy will have 1 or 2 heart winners, but they are not "extra" winners because you must follow suit to all of dummy's hearts. Dummy does have one more club than you do, but it's not a winner.
3. Can you turn any of your losers into winners by finessing? show answer
   Maybe. You could lead from dummy toward your ♦AKJ, planning to play the ♦J. This will win the trick if the ♦Q is on your right, turning your third-round diamond loser into a winner.

Make a plan:

The diamond finesse is our only option for reducing losers. So our plan is:

1. Capture the lead when you can. (They can cash ♥A, ♣AK first if they want...)
2. Pull trump (Even though "reducing losers" is our focus, we must remember to pull trump before cashing our winners so the defense cannot trump any of them.)
3. Take the diamond finesse.

If the finesse wins, you make your contract.

example 9 (second example of ♦AKJ)

Dummy ♠ A K 7 3 ♥ Q J T 3 ♦ 5 4 2 ♣ J 8 You ♠ Q J T 6 2  ♥ K 8 2 ♦ A K J ♣ 9 5

Your contract is 4 spades. You need to win 10 tricks and can only afford to lose 3.

The opening lead is a small club.

Take inventory:

Little Bear says, "Let's see... This hand is almost the same as the last one. I have the same 9 winners and the same 4 losers. I don't need to trump anything in Dummy. And I still have lots of high trumps, so I can still pull trump and take the diamond finesse. Why did you repeat this problem?"

Me: It's not a repeat, my furry friend. I changed one card. Dummy now has the ♥3 instead of the ♣3.

Little Bear laughs, "Just one spot card? We still have the same ♦AKJ finesse. So I can still reduce losers by taking the diamond finesse."

Me: You can only reduce losers if the finesse wins.

Little Bear, if you take the finesse and it loses, you can't go back in time and trump it in Dummy, or discard it on an extra winner in Dummy. Time travel is not permitted, so...

You should have checked to see if the one spot card I changed made trumping or discarding possible. Those options don't have the 50-50 risk of losing the trick the way finessing the ♦J does.

Little Bear looks at the full hand diagram, "Oh, now I see what I should do instead of taking the finesse."

What did Little Bear notice? show answer

example 9, repeated

Dummy ♠ A K 7 3 ♥ Q J T 3 ♦ 5 4 2 ♣ J 8 You ♠ Q J T 6 2  ♥ K 8 2 ♦ A K J ♣ 9 5

Make a plan:

1. The play starts just like the previous hand. Capture the lead when you can. (They can cash ♥A, ♣AK first if they want...)
2. Pull trump.
3. Drive out their ♥A, assuming they haven't already cashed it.
4. Recapture the lead in whatever suit they lead. You will have the master cards in hearts and diamonds, and you can trump the 3rd round of clubs. If East leads a diamond, do not take the finesse.
5. Cash your hearts, discarding your losing ♦J on Dummy's extra heart winner.

What ten tricks will you win? show answer

example 10 (third example of ♦AKJ)

Dummy ♠ A K 7 3 ♥ Q J T ♦ 5 4 ♣ J 8 3 2 You ♠ Q J T 6 2  ♥ K 8 2 ♦ A K J ♣ 9 5

Your contract is 4 spades. You need to win 10 tricks and can only afford to lose 3.

The opening lead is a small club.

Take inventory:

Little Bear is quick to notice the similarities to the previous two hands. He says, "The inventory is the same, only you've taken away my extra heart winner. So I guess we're back to taking the diamond finesse."

One of the more experienced Bridge Bears is shaking his head as he offers his advice, "Little Bear, you shouldn't be so quick to take a finesse, because it might lose. You've overlooked one of the other ways to reduce losers."

Which of the three ways to reduce losers did Little Bear overlook this time? show answer

Make a plan:

How should this hand be played? show answer

Review... What should be done with the losing ♦J in a spade contract?

ex 8: finesse it

Dummy ♠ A K 7 3 ♥ Q J 4 ♦ 5 4 2 ♣ J 8 3 You ♠ Q J T 6 2  ♥ K 8 2 ♦ A K J ♣ 9 5

ex 9: discard it

Dummy ♠ A K 7 3 ♥ Q J T 3 ♦ 5 4 2 ♣ J 8 You ♠ Q J T 6 2  ♥ K 8 2 ♦ A K J ♣ 9 5

example 11

Dummy ♠ K J 8 3 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ T 4 2 ♣ K 8 3 You ♠ A Q 6 ♥ 9 2 ♦ A 8 ♣ A Q J 7 6 4

Your contract is 6 clubs. You need to win 12 tricks and can only afford to lose 1.

The opening lead is ♦7.

Take inventory:

Count winners and losers:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Your inventory is 11 winners and 2 losers. To make your 6 club contract, you must get rid of one of your losers. If you can get rid of both of them, you'll make an overtrick.

Assess and plan:

Let's check the 3 possible ways to reduce losers.

1. Can you trump any of your losers in the dummy? show answer
   No. Dummy is not short in either hearts or diamonds, the suits where you have losers.
2. Does Dummy have any extra winners? show answer
   Yes, Dummy can win a fourth round of spades, which you can use for a discard.
3. Can you reduce losers by finessing? show answer
   You can try. You could finesse the ♥Q, hoping the ♥K is on sides. If the finesse wins, you will eliminate your heart loser.

What loser could you discard on Dummy's extra spade winner? show answer

The two possible discards are not equally good. Discarding one of them preserves the possibility of making an overtrick without risking the contract. Discarding the other loser makes the contract but gives up on the overtrick.

Which is the better discard? show answer

example 11, repeated

Dummy ♠ K J 8 3 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ T 4 2 ♣ K 8 3 You ♠ A Q 6 ♥ 9 2 ♦ A 8 ♣ A Q J 7 6 4

Make a plan:

1. Win the opening lead with your ♦A.
2. Pull trump. (trumps split 3-1 this time)
3. Play four rounds of spades, discarding the ♦8 on the fourth round.

We interrupt our plan for a quick challenge question, "What cards are left?" show answer

Our complete plan is:

example 11, repeated

Dummy ♠ K J 8 3 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ T 4 2 ♣ K 8 3 You ♠ A Q 6 ♥ 9 2 ♦ A 8 ♣ A Q J 7 6 4

1. Win the opening lead with your ♦A.
2. Pull trump (trumps split 3-1 this time)
3. Play four rounds of spades, discarding the losing ♦8 on the fourth round
4. Trump a diamond to get the lead back to your hand.
5. Finesse the ♥Q, hoping the ♥K is on sides.
6. Claim the rest of the tricks. You have only trumps and the ♥A left. If the finesse loses, and they lead a spade or a diamond, trump it to reclaim the lead. And if they lead a heart, you still have the ♥A.

If the opening lead were different – the ♥7 instead of the ♦7 – could you still finesse ♥Q on the first trick without endangering your contract? show answer

example 12

Dummy ♠ K J 8 3 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ T 4 2 ♣ K 8 3 You ♠ Q T 6 ♥ 9 2 ♦ A 8 ♣ A Q J 7 6 4

Practice

Your contract is 5 clubs. You need to win 11 tricks and can only afford to lose 2.

The opening lead is ♦7.

Little Bear is quick to notice, "This hand is almost the same. You've taken away my ♠A, and made the contract 5♣ instead of 6♣."

Me: Yes, those are the only changes.

Take inventory:

Count winners and losers:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Three losers is too many.

It's usually the case that Declarer must reduce losers for a good result. This hand is no exception.

Let's see if you can stay a step ahead of Little Bear.

example 12, repeated

Dummy ♠ K J 8 3 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ T 4 2 ♣ K 8 3 You ♠ Q T 6 ♥ 9 2 ♦ A 8 ♣ A Q J 7 6 4

Can you trump any of your losers in Dummy? show answer

Can you discard any of your losers on extra winners in Dummy? show answer

Can you finesse anything to reduce losers? show answer

What loser(s) might you be able to discard on Dummy's extra spade winner? show answer

The opening lead is a diamond. You will win the first trick with your ♦A. Why will it be impossible to later discard your low diamond loser on Dummy's extra spade winner? show answer

Make a plan:

1. Win the opening lead with your ♦A.
2. Pull trump.
3. Drive out the ♠A, establishing an extra winner in the dummy.
4. They can cash a diamond trick, to which you must follow suit with your ♦8, your last diamond. Then you can win whatever they lead next, because... you have the master cards in hearts and spades, and if they lead a third round of diamonds you can trump it.

   Be careful... if West leads a heart, DO NOT take the heart finesse. Play the ♥A.The heart finesse might lose, which would set your contract. Instead, grab the lead so you can discard your heart loser, rather than risking the finesse.

5. Cash the rest of Dummy's spades, discarding your heart loser on the fourth spade.

example 13

Dummy ♠ K J 2 ♥ K 4 3 ♦ K Q J 7 ♣ A Q 4 You ♠ A Q T 9 8  ♥ A 9 6 ♦ T 9 3 ♣ 6 4

Practice

Your contract is 6 spades. You need to win 12 tricks and can only afford to lose 1.

The opening lead is ♥T.

Take inventory:

Count winners and losers for each suit.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

The total is 10 winners and 3 losers. We need to get rid of 2 of the losers.

1. Can you trump any of your losers in the dummy? show answer
   No. Dummy must follow suit to all 3 of your losers.
2. Does dummy have any extra winners to use for discarding losers? show answer
   Not yet. But Dummy has a nice four-card diamond suit. After you drive out the ♦A, Dummy will have an extra winner. You cannot cash the extra winner until after you pull trump, or else the devious defenders might trump Dummy's extra "winner."
3. Can you turn any of your losers into winners by finessing? show answer
   Maybe. You could lead from your hand toward Dummy's ♣AQ, planning to play the ♣Q. This will win the trick if the ♣K is on your left, turning your club loser into a winner.

Little Bear says, "Too many choices. I'm confused. Can you give me a hint?"

example 13, repeated

Dummy ♠ K J 2 ♥ K 4 3 ♦ K Q J 7 ♣ A Q 4 You ♠ A Q T 9 8  ♥ A 9 6 ♦ T 9 3 ♣ 6 4

Make a plan:

OK. Here's your hint: one of the choices always works and would allow you to reduce your losers from 3 to 2. Which one is that? show answer

What must you do before you can develop Dummy's diamond suit? show answer

Which of your original losers will you discard on Dummy's extra winner? show answer

Now that we've figured out what to do, let's put the pieces of our plan in sequence.

Making this 6♠ slam contract requires luck. The ♣K must be on sides.

1. Win the opening heart lead.
2. Pull trump.
3. Drive out the ♦A to establish an extra winner in Dummy.
4. If either opponent returns a diamond or a heart, win the trick. And if they return a club, your play depends on who led the club. If East leads a club, it eliminates your club loser when your ♣AQ play last. If West returns a club, you will have to take the club finesse right now.
5. Play all your diamond winners, discarding your losing heart on the last one.
6. Take the club finesse. To make this contract, this finesse must win.

Little Bear says, "I'm going to need to review this hand a few times. It has a lot of parts to figuring out the plan."

Good idea, my furry friend.

This is the last article in the Declarer Play folder. If you haven't already read the previous articles in this folder, I recommend doing so now. Otherwise you might enjoy Bidding or Defense or How To Win Tricks.

Or see all articles in the Declarer Play series.  +