Eight Cards

Here are some old hands.

Eight card suits are becoming something of a fascination for me. Theoretically, they don’t come up very often at all. In practice, I seem to see them on a regular basis. I’m coming to the conclusion that you have to bid them at at least the four level.

The other week, I saw two eight-carders on consecutive hands. The first was held by the defence as I became declarer.

N-S game, dlr S (hands rotated)

             ♠ 8 7
             ♥ J 8 x x
             ♦ K x x
             ♣ A Q J 9
♠ K J 10 x x x x x        ♠ A Q x
♥ Q            [ ]        ♥ 10 6
♦ x x                     ♦ J x x x
♣ x x        ♠ -          ♣ K x x x
             ♥ A K 9 x x x
             ♦ A Q 10 x
             ♣ 10 x x

1♥   3♠   4♥   4♠
5♥   5♠   Pass Pass
6♥   All pass

Making the cold slam was worth a lot of matchpoints. Most tables played in some number of spades, and a few played in 5♥. Only one other pair was allowed to play in 6♥. West’s bid of 3♠ just didn’t raise a big enough barrier. If he bids 4♠, it is harder for N-S to judge to bid 6♥ and easier for N-S to bid 6♠ if they do. Note that West knew he had failed to describe his hand, hence the bid of 5♠.

This result irritated E-W, who were thus primed for the next hand.

Game all, dlr W (hands rotated)

             ♠ J 9 x x
             ♥ x x x x
             ♦ Q 10 x
             ♣ 9 6
♠ x x x                   ♠ A K Q 10 x x
♥ 10 x x       [ ]        ♥ A K x
♦ A K J x x x             ♦ x x
♣ A          ♠ -          ♣ 7 5
             ♥ Q J 9
             ♦ 9 7
             ♣ K Q J 10 8 4 3 2

1♦  Pass  1♠   4♣
4♦  Pass  4NT  Pass
5♦  Pass  5NT  Pass
6♦  Pass  7NT  All pass

Vulnerable and with both opponents already bidding, I chickened out of the 5♣ overcall and only bid 4♣. This was enough to put a burr under East’s saddle, however, and he drove them all the way to 7NT. After the K♣ lead to the A♣, and a spade to the A♠, East could have crossed to the A♦ and run the spades with a finesse. That would have put me to a lot of discards, and he would probably have finished only two or three down. Instead he decided on death or glory, and took the diamond finesse at trick three. Down a lot.

As he said, if the finesse were right, they would have had a top. Better luck next time.