Chapter 16
Life is Pleasing When You Start
Squeezing
© 2004 - Marty Bergen
Page 171
Life is Pleasing When You Start
Squeezing
Not For Experts
Only
"A well-played
bridge hand has as much power to thrill and to satisfy as a
Beethoven symphony."
Hugh
Kelsey, prolific Scottish bridge writer
For many players,
the most fascinating and exciting of the so-called advanced
plays is the squeeze. I’ll never forget one of my favorite
memories as a teacher. It occurred many years ago when my phone
rang around 12:30 a.m. To my great surprise, it was one of my
students.
"I hope I’m not
waking you, Marty, but I just had to call," she said.
"No problem, Kitty.
Are you okay?" I replied.
"Oh yes, I’m
wonderful," she said. "I was playing bridge this evening, and I
just executed my first squeeze. I haven’t been so excited since
the birth of my first child!"
Unfortunately, the
topic of squeezes has acquired an unwarranted mystique and is
regarded as being too difficult for the average player. There
are some very complex squeezes, including ones in which both
defenders are squeezed, but the truth is that
the basic squeeze can be
executed by anyone.
The best way to approach this topic is with questions and
answers. Here we go:
© 2004 - Marty Bergen
Page 172
Life is Pleasing When You Start
Squeezing
1. When should a
squeeze be attempted?
When there is no
other way to get rid of a loser. The outlook is bleak, so you
have nothing to lose by attempting a squeeze.
Opportunities for
squeezes occur quite often. Suit contracts and notrump are both
fair game. You should try for a squeeze whether the hoped-for
extra trick fulfills the contract or produces an overtrick.
2. What do you need
to do?
Take all
your winners in the irrelevant suits, and hope. That’s basically
it!
3. How do you
distinguish between the relevant suit and the irrelevant one(s)?
The irrelevant
suits are those in which declarer has no chance of creating an
extra winner. One example is a suit where the enemy has become
void, such as trumps. Another example is a suit such as A2
opposite dummy’s K3. If either of you held a third card, such as
A2 opposite K43, it
would become a relevant suit.
If neither opponent kept three (or more) cards in that suit, you
would be able to win a third trick.
The extra card is
called a threat card (or menace) because its very existence
threatens the opposition. One opponent must keep three cards in
that suit to prevent your third card from becoming a winner.
© 2004 - Marty Bergen
Page 173
Life is Pleasing When You Start
Squeezing
4. What else must
declarer do?
A. Keep the lines
of communication open between his hand and the dummy. It does
not help you if an opponent’s discard establishes a winner
that you can’t get to.
B. Keep an eye on
the opponents’ discards. Fortunately, on most basic squeezes,
you only need to keep track of what is being discarded in the
relevant suit(s).
5. What are you
hoping for?
If one (or both)
defenders threw away the wrong cards, it would not bother you at
all. Discarding is often difficult, tedious, and annoying. The
more discards you squeeze out of your opponents, the greater the
chance for a mistake. If you make the hand because of a
discarding error, it is referred to as a pseudo-squeeze.
However, you don’t
need to depend on an enemy error to gain a trick when you
attempt a squeeze. When you cash your last winner in the
irrelevant suit(s), you are hoping that one opponent has two
suits to guard. He will then be forced to discard a winner from
one of the relevant suits. These are legitimate squeezes
and can operate even against perfect defense.
© 2004 - Marty Bergen
Page 174
Life is Pleasing When You Start
Squeezing
6. How often do
squeezes occur?
More often than you
think. I can’t tell you how many times I have been aware of an
upcoming squeeze while watching as dummy – if only declarer
would cash his last winner.
In addition, the
potential for a pseudo-squeeze occurs on every deal. You should
not get into the habit of saying: "I’ll give you a trick."
Instead, play out the hand and give your opponents a chance to
make the wrong discard.
It is even possible
for the defending side to execute a squeeze on declarer or
dummy. There are also occasions when one defender squeezes his
partner. By the way, squeezing your partner is definitely
frowned upon – at least at the bridge table.
7. What else
should you know in order to execute a squeeze?
Squeezes function
most efficiently when declarer has already lost all of
the losers he can afford to lose. So, in order to set up a
squeeze, on some hands, declarer should make sure to "lose his
losers early." When you’re discussing squeezes, this technique
is referred to as
rectifying the count.
© 2004 - Marty Bergen
Page 175
Life is Pleasing When You Start
Squeezing
8. Last but not
least.
Remember:
-
Deciding what to
discard is not easy. Get into the habit of making the enemy
sweat.
-
Bridge is not
like pinochle; you don’t receive a bonus for winning the last
trick. Therefore, instead of holding onto a winner – cash it.
-
Never give up.
Even if you have a sure loser, give yourself a chance to avoid
it.
Are you ready to
start squeezing?
Great! We invite you
to read all of Marty's excellent book!
Here's how to order Declarer Play the Bergen Way
© 2004 - Marty Bergen
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