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Ross Driedger

Visualization in Bridge

This is a continuatiion of the Memory page.

Visualization

Visualization is the skill of being able to hold the details of a bridge hand in your mind and to manipulate that hand without actually seeing it. It comes with practice, memory and some experience playing. Like everything else in this course, it can be approached by using easier steps.

Beginning to Visualize

Let's consider Level 3 or "The Exercise", where we remember the specific distributions and high card counts of all four hands around the table. We are not seeing any specific cards at this point. All we know are the distributions and the general strengths. Can we apply visualization with this little information?

Let's suppose that we are working at Level 3 and we have this deal:

Applying the techniques we practiced in the exercise, we know that the East hand is:

East: Specific Distribution: 2=4=5=2, HCP 6

On a table diagram, this deal looks like this:

North
SD: 3=3=3=4
HCP: 10
West
SD: 4=3=1=5
HCP: 7		 East
SD: 2=4=5=2
HCP: 6
South
SD: 4=3=4=2
HCP: 17

We cannot play this hand, but we know how the auction will go and what the final contract will be:

South West North East
1NT Pass 3NT Pass
Pass Pass

While we don't know if the contract will be successful, we do know that this will be a very common auction.

Here is another example:

We figure out that the East is holding:

East: Specific Distribution: 4=4=4=1, HCP 18

The table diagram:

North
SD: 3=2=4=4
HCP: 4
West
SD: 5=2=1=5
HCP: 15		 East
SD: 4=4=4=1
HCP: 18
South
SD: 1=5=4=3
HCP: 3

We cannot be certain about the future of this hand, but it is clear that East/West has the majority of the points and a good fit in ♠s. They have the values that will put them in a slam or even a grand slam contract.

Sometimes the contract will not be so clear.

We figure out that the East is holding:

East: Specific Distribution: 2=3=3=5, HCP 10

The deal looks like this:

North
SD: 5=1=6=1
HCP: 13
West
SD: 0=4=2=7
HCP: 9		 East
SD: 2=3=3=5
HCP: 10
South
SD: 6=5=2=0
HCP: 8

In this case, we don't know what will happen, except that North/South will be active in the ♠ suit and East/West in ♣s.

Inferences from the Auction on Defense

You will find, over the passage of time, that you will end up defending a bridge hand about twice as much as you are declarer. The area in which most developing players could improve their bridge game it is on defense. While the declarer can see all of the assets, much of what a defender has to do depends on inferences drawn from the auction and early play of the hand.

Inferences from the Auction
Limited Bids

The most illuminating auction is when an opponent opens the bidding, rebids or responds some number of NT, that show a bid that is limited in range and distribution. If declarere is the opponent that made this bid, then as a defender, you can quickly and accurately estimate the strength of your partner. Some examples:

South West North East
1NT Pass 3NT Pass
Pass Pass

North's hand has 15 to 17 HCP and likely has a general distribution of 4-4-3-2, 4-3-3-3, or 5-3-3-2. Recent changes in ACBL the rules regarding NT openings have relaxed this somewhat, but many players are quite disciplined about these openings. Occasionally a player might have a general distribution of 5-4-2-2, 6-3-2-2 and even 7-2-2-2, but unless there are some special cirumstances about the hand, these will usually be opened with 1 of a suit.

South West North East
1♦ Pass 2NT Pass
3NT Pass Pass Pass

South is holding 11 to 12 HCP. The sshape will likely be balanced, but now there is the added information that that hand does not have a four card (or longer) major suit. Given such a suit, South would have likely bid it at the 1 level, rather than responsding with 2NT.

South West North East
2♣ Pass 2♦ Pass
2NT Pass 3♣ Pass
3♠ Pass 3NT Pass
Pass Pass

Here, South has a balanced hand worth 22 to 24 HCP. North looked for a 4 card major, South indicated that the hand held 4 ♠s, and denied 4 ♥s (generally, bidders with ♥s and ♠s will bid the ♥s first).

In all these hands, once dummy is put on the table, there is much we can tell about partner's hand. By applying the skills we developed in the "13s" and "40s" exercises.

South West North East
1♣ Pass 1♥ Pass
1NT Pass Pass Pass

Here, South has a balanced minimum hand, not strong enough to open 1NT. There is another inference available, depending on the style of bidding that North/South are using: Does South's 1NT bid over 1♥ deny 4 ♠ cards? Beginners are generally taught to bid ♠s in this context, but some partnerships will temporarily skip over that suit if the hand is balanced. A reasonable suggestion is to assume that South would have bid ♠s with 4 cards. If you are playing against an experienced partnership, you can ask North (at your turn to bid!) what their agreements are.

Unlimited Bids

Most auctions will not be as precise as with a limited bid. The content of an opening bid in Standard American or 2/1 Game Force will range from a distributional hand with 10 HCP, to 20 or more. Given a series of three bids by declarer, though, you can usually infer that the range is one of three categories:

Remember that these are just guidelines, as distribution will often make up for a deficiency of high cards. For example, here is a 10 point hand that will play much stronger, provided there is a fit in ♥s or ♣s:

♠: 5 ♥ :AJT963 ♦: 4 ♣: KQ965

Simply counting HCP, will put this as a minimum opening, but provided partner has some ♣s or span style="color:red">♥s, the playing potential of this hand increases tremendously.

The advantage to suit auctions is that you can quickly develop a picture of declarer's hand from the sequence of bids.

Here are some auctions, and some of the inferences we can draw from them:

South West North East
1♥ Pass 1NT Pass
2♥ Pass Pass Pass

North's sequence shows a minimum hand, and almost certainly 6 cards in ♥s. There are hands where North has only 5, but they are unlikely. Further, North does not have 4 ♦ or 4 ♣, otherwise the rebid would have been 2 of that suit. South has less than 10 HCP, less than 3 ♥s (other wise, the bid would have been a raise), and less than 4 ♠s.


South West North East
1♠ Pass 2♥ Pass
2NT Pass 3NT Pass

We can infer quite a bit of information from this auction. First, South has 5 cards in ♠s and a balanced hand. The hand is minimum or just barely medium in strength. It might depend on whether North/South will open 1NT with a 5 card major suit. The hand will be 12 to a bad 18 count. South has only 2 ♥s. North's bid of 2♥ shows at least 6 cards, so if South had 3 cards in that suit, the rebid would be 3♥, not 2NT. Further, we know that South almost certainly does not have a 4 card minor suit. That means that the shape of the hand is 5=2=3=3. Since you can see both dummy and your hand, and you know the shape of declarer, you can build partner's distribution.


South West North East
1♥ Pass 1NT Pass
2♦ Pass 2♥ Pass
3♥ Pass Pass Pass

South's first two bids could well describe a minimum hand, as North takes a 'false preference' into ♥s. North will usually have two card support so when South raises to three, that is showing a medium hand (with a minimum, South would just pass), 6 cards in ♥s and at least 4 in ♦s.


South West North East
1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass
2♣ Pass 2♦1 Pass
2♠ Pass 3♣ Pass
3♥2 Pass 3♠2 Pass
4♦2 Pass 4♥2 Pass
6♣ Pass Pass Pass

1: 4th Suit Forcing to Game.

2: Cue bids.

There is a lot to unpack in this auction. After the 1♥ opening, the hand has at least 5 cards in ♥s and opening points. It could be any range in terms of strength. The second bid (2♣) shows at least 4 cards in that suit and restricts the hand from being a strong opening bid. After North bids 2♦ (forcing to game), South's 2♠ show some support for North' first suit; usually 3 card support.

At this point, South has shown at least 3 ♠s, 5 ♥s, 4 ♣s, so at most 1 ♦ card. South's next two bids (3♥, 4♦) are cue bids, showing first or second round control of that suit. Since we know that South has 'patterned out', showing at most 1 card in ♦, then the holding in that suit is either the singleton Ace or a void; South also has the Ace or King of ♥s.

In order to justify this agressive bidding, South cannot have a minimum hand, so it is likely to be something like a 16 to 18 HCP hand, 3=5=1=4.


South West North East
1♦ Pass 1♥ Pass
2♠ Pass 3NT Pass
4♠ Pass 5♦ Pass
Pass Pass

The jump shift of 2♠ indicates that South has a strong hand. North has a minimum hand as responder and bid game immediately, and because ♠s were not raised immdiately, the implication is that North does not have 4 cards in that suit. When South rebids ♠s, it indicates 5 or more cards.

Because of the pattern of suits, south is showing more ♦s than ♠s. If the suits are of equal length, South would have started with the higher ranking suit, so it is likely that South is holding 6 or more ♦ cards.

Passed Hands
Inferences from the Play

The Next Step

Once you reach Level 6 of "The Exercise", you are starting to visualize the whole deal instead of just pieces of information. How a suit is distributed around the table, will determine how many tricks both side can win. The key to visualization lies in a number of steps

Memory

Practicing to Level 5 will develop the skill of placing HCP, distributions and honour cards around the table. If you have been working diligently on these levels, then this should happen automatically – or at least with less effort. Remember that developing this memory is key to improving your bridge. Even if you are doing well at these levels, more work can only improve your game.

Placing Cards

Until Level 6, The Exercise has only been concerned with abstractions of each hand: HCP, distributions and honour cards. Level 6 starts to place the honour cards in each hand in the combinations in which they appear. Once we can place specific cards round the table, we can start to visualize the actions that each player will take in an auction.

If you play in a high level pairs event, you will come across experienced players who might say something like: "You can make 3♥ on that deal, so our contract of 3♠, down 1 for -100 should score well for us." How does a player learn to do this? Level 6 starts to allow you to 'play' a hand of bridge in your mind -- and to play a number of different contracts with the same cards. Once you can start reconstructing hands, you can visualize auctions, determine likely contracts, find likely opening leads, examine each suit for winners and losers, counting those winners and losers, and determining the result – all without the benefit of a second look.

The only obstacle to being able to do this is practice. Working consistently on Levels 1 to 6 will give you the ability to analyze hands as you remember them.

Level 6 makes the assumption that all cards below the 10 are insignificant to the deal. Of course this is not true, as very often the spot cards play an important part in a hand of bridge. Levels 7 to 9 incorporate the spot cards into the visualization process. Frankly, these Levels are difficult and sometimes do not play into the result of a hand. If you master The Exercise to Level 6, your game will have improved much from the days where Level 2 was a challenge. Progress from Level 2 to Level 6 (and beyond) is a matter of consistent practice.

Remembering the Played Cards

As you become more fluent in remembering and visualizing, the next step is to keep track of the cards as they are played so you can go back to reconstruct the original holdings later in the hand. Sometimes the question is: "Does my opponent's plays make sense based on the auction?"

Example Hand 1

Some problems at the bridge table are a lot less difficult with the application of a little counting. Let’s say you pick up this hand:

♠: 7 ♥: Q6 ♦: T9642 ♣: AT732

East South West North
2NT1 Pass 3♥2 Pass
3♠ Pass 6♦ Pass
6♠ Pass Pass Pass

1: 20 - 21

2: Transfer to ♠s.

Click on South's hand banner to hide the other hands, and click on Next to follow the play.


You decide to lead the ♣A to get a look at dummy.

You started with 6 HCP, dummy has 12 and declarer has shown 20 to 21; this leaves partner with 1 or 2. It doesn’t look like partner can get a trick from high cards. What is going on?

A big clue to this hand is what declarer played to the first trick. Why was the ♣Q played? If declarer held something like ♣: KQ5, wouldn’t the play of the 5 be the natural play? It looks like declarer started with ♣: KQ and had to play the Q. Since he started with only two ♣s, it is likely that it is the only doubleton. If that is the case, then declarer has three ♦s. If only three, then partner is void in that suit (5 – 5 – 0 – 3).

Lead a small ♦ for partner to ruff – down 1.

Example Hand 2

Very often, you can place cards based on the inferences on the play of an opponent.

An example; in fourth seat you pick up:

♠: QT53 ♥: KT2 ♦: 632 ♣: A2

Click on South's hand banner to hide the other hands, and click on Next to follow the play.


Dealer opens 1NT (15 to 17), LHO invites with 2NT and dealer accepts by bidding 3NT, all pass. You decide to lead the ♠3. Why is the ♠ lead preferable to ♥s? The reason is that if partner shows up with the A, K or J of ♠s, the lead will be of immediate benefit. In ♥s, this will be best is partner holds the A or the Q. ♠s requires one of three cards and ♥s requires one of two. Chances are better that partner will show up with one of three, rather than one of two.

The play to trick 1 goes: 4 from dummy, 9 from partner and J from declarer (you are thinking: “That didn’t work out very well!”).

Let’s take a moment to use some of the visualization skills we’ve acquired:

Declarer now leads a small ♦ to dummy’s J, partner playing the 8, then leads the ♥Q, partner playing the 6 and declarer the 5, leaving you to take the K or to duck this trick.

What do you do and, more importantly, why?

We can gather some clues from the way declarer has played this hand so far:

Add this information to what we know of the ♠ suit, and we can visualize declarer’s hand:

♠: AKJ8(x) ♥: Axx(x) ♦: Axx(x) ♣: x(x)

This hand is a 1NT opening, that would accept an invitation to 3NT. If declarer held the ♣K or Q, this hand would be too strong to open 1NT. Where are those cards? Clearly with partner!

Win the ♥K, cash the ♣A and lead the ♣2 to partner’s running ♣s.

Your side takes one ♥ and six ♣ tricks for down 3 and an excellent score. Note that if you make the mistake of not taking the ♥K or not switching to the ♣s after winning, declarer will make the contract. But all the information was there for you to see, by counting and visualizing based on the cards that you see and making inferences from the way declarer played the hand.

Example Hand 3

An example; in fourth seat you pick up:

♠: QJT63 ♥: AQ9 ♦: 97 ♣: AQJ

Starting on the left, there are three passes to you. What you open this hand will depend on your style. In years past, players would not open this hand 1NT because of the 5 card major suit, but it is becoming more common to do so. If this is not your style, please be patient as we look at the auction (click on the banner of South's hand to hide the other hands):

West North East South
Pass Pass Pass 1NT
Pass 2♣ Pass 3♠
Pass 4♠ Pass Pass
Pass

If you prefer not to open the hand 1NT, you might see an auction like this:

West North East South
Pass Pass Pass 1♠
Pass 2♠ Pass 3♥1
Pass 4♠ Pass Pass
Pass

1: Help Suit Game Try.

Regardless of the auction, you end up in the same contract.

West cashed the ♦K and the ♦A, then leads a small ♦ to East's Q, which you ruff.

You enter dummy with a ♥ to the K, then lead a small ♣ from dummy and finesse the ♣J. It loses to West's K. West exits with a ♥ to your Q. How do you play the trump suit?

Click on South's hand banner to hide the other hands, and click on Next to follow the play.


So far, West has shown up with:

♠: ? ♥: xx? ♦: AKx? ♣: K?

10 HCP so far.

If you reconstruct West’s hand from the cards that have been played, you have seen 10 HCP. Recall that West passed originally. If West held the ♠K, he would have opened the bidding. West cannot possibly have this card; it has to be with East, so the only way you can make the contract is if the K is singleton. You go up with the ♠A, dropping the K and make your game.

Click on South's hand banner to show all the hands.

Example Hand 4

There comes a time in the play of a hand that we reach a stage called 'Open Cards'. That is when you have rebuilt the entire deal in your own mind, and you can play the rest of the hand as if you were seeing all four hands. Let’s say you pick up this:

♠: KQT965 ♥: T76 ♦: T74 ♣: T

North EastSouth West
Pass 1♣ 1♠ 3NT1
Pass Pass Pass

1: 13 to 15 HCP with a ♠ stopper (if not more)

Your partner leads the choose to lead the ♥3.

Click on South's hand banner to hide the other hands, and click on Next to follow the play.


Applying the "40s" exercise, we know that partner has 6 to 8 HCP. Since West didn't make a negative double, we know that partner has a 4 or a 5 card ♥ holding. The lead of the 3 tells us that declarer has only 2 cards higher than that 3. Partner likely has 1 ♠ at most. If he had more, he would probably have led your suit.

Declarer leads a small ♣ from dummy to your T, his J and partner's A. This locates 4 of his 6 to 8 HCP. Partner continues with the ♥2, which means that his original lead was from 5 cards. Not unexpectedly, declarer wins this trick with the A in hand. Next comes a small ♣ to dummy's K. Since you are not looking to set up your ♠ suit, you pitch a small one.

A small ♦ is led from dummy to declarer's K and partner's A. All of partner's high cards have been accounted for, and he leads another small ♥ to dummy's K, your last (the 7) and a small ♦ from declarer's hand.

Next comes a small ♠, you insert your Q and declarer wins the A, with partner playing the 4. At this point, we can pretty much place every card in the deal. Declarer started with:

♠: AJxx ♥: Ax ♦: Kxx ♣: J8xx

This hand is totally consistent with the bidding and play to this point. This means that partner's hand is:

♠: x ♥: 98xxx ♦: ATx ♣: Axxx

Partner's ♥s are set up but all his high cards are played. This is partner's hand with 6 tricks to play. Declarer has won 5 tricks and has 2 ♣ tricks and 1 with the ♦ with the Q:

♠: -- ♥: 98 ♦: Tx ♣: xx

While we have given up on the ♠: suit: it would be a mistake to pitch that suit on the 2 top ♣s that you know will be played next.

♠: KT96 ♥: -- ♦: J7 ♣: --

You must throw that ♦J either on one of the 2 ♣ tricks, or under the ♦ Q! This will make partner's ♦T an entry so he can cash the good ♥s. If you don't, you will win a trick with the ♦J and the ♠K, but then you will have to give declarer his 9th trick with the ♠J.

Example Hand 5

Sometimes it is possible to figure out likely distributions during the auction. As dealer, you pick up:

♠: – ♥: KJ987 ♦: Q42 ♣: AK864

You have enough for an opening bid, so you start with 1♥. By the time you have to make another call, you have gathered more than a little information:

South West North East
1♥ 2♦ 2♥ 3♦
???

Before we can decide what to bid, we need to think the hand out a little bit. The first thing to notice is that you have a ♥ fit and that the opponents have one in ♦s. The HCP seem to be somewhat evenly spread between the two sides.

If something feels weird about this hand, you would be correct: where are the ♠s? This is a very good question ask, especially in those competitive deals. Here you have none and, it seems, so does no one else. Players go out of their way to introduce the highest suit into an auction if they have a middling holding, but here, there has been nothing. What’s going on?

It is highly likely that both opponents hold 4 cards each in that suit, which would leave partner with 5. Why, then, would partner not bid them? The auction is competitive and partner decided to support your suit instead of showing his. After all, he is not worried if the opponents start bidding them, so in effect, ♥s have become the highest ranked suit in this deal.

What’s going on in ♦s? They have a fit and you hold 3 them. Partner is looking at 2 if their holding is 8 cards and 1 if the opposition have 9. You might be able to arrange a ruff or two of ♦s in dummy.

Partner is showing 3 or 4 ♥s, which leaves room for about 3 or 4 ♣s. Suppose partner’s hand is this:

♠: xxxxx ♥: ATxx ♦: x ♣: Qxx

Your side has 19 of 40 HCP, yet you have good chances of making 12 tricks!. Sometimes hands like this are called an "El Perfecto" because the two hands fit together so well

It is not always good tactics to rely on perfect holdings, unless you can determine it through bidding tools. Bidding 6♥ on this hand would be foolish because so many things would have to be right in order for that contract to make. Nonetheless, the hand is worth bidding a pushy game, even though you have only 13 HCP.


We have to lose 1 ♥, 1 ♦, and 1 ♣ as the cards lie. The second ♦ can be ruffed in dummy and the ♠A provides a parking place for the third. Games like this are bid regularly in intermediate to advanced level games. The play requires careful handling to make. Bidding only 3♥ might be a more common experience in games for developing players and it would probably score reasonably well in a field at that level. Passing 3♦, however, would be a mistake.

Example Hand 6

You are playing in a matchpoint event where every overtrick counts. Partner deals and passes. You hold:

♠: Q53 ♥: AQJ96 ♦: 53 ♣: K75

Your RHO opens the bidding:

North East South West
Pass 1♦ 1♥ 1NT
2♥ Pass Pass Pass

You opponent leads the ♦T against your 2♥ contract.

Click on South's hand banner to hide the other hands, and click on Next to follow the play.


Let’s do what we always do before playing to the first trick: gather as much information as we can, while counting our winners.

The defense plays 3 rounds of ♦s, you ruff the 3rd.

It looks like East started with the ♦: AKQJ for 10 HCP. It is likely that the ♠A is with West. In order to force a mistake, you lead a small ♠ right away, hoping West takes the A.

Your ploy worked and now it looks like clear sailing to 8 tricks (if ♥s behave). West leads the ♣T which you win with the K in your hand.

Now is time to pull trumps, so you play the ♥A, and the Q, which West wins with the K:

West leads the ♣9, which you win in dummy, then You lead dummy’s last trump to the J, pulling the last opponent’s trump card. Now you lead the ♠5, West playing the 6.

Do you play the K (playing West for the J) or the T (playing East for that card)?

Recall the auction: after East opened the bidding with 1 ♦ and you overcalled 1♥, West bid 1NT. So far we have pieced together the following hands for East:

♠: (J)98 ♥: 75 ♦: AKQJ(x) ♣: QJ(8)6

…and West:

♠: A(J)64 ♥: KT2 ♦: T87 ♣: T9(8)2

Counting out the hand, the ♠J could be in the East or West hand, so it is a guess – or is it?

What did West do after your overcall? If this was the hand:

♠: AJ64 ♥: KT2 ♦: T87 ♣: T92

…what would the bid have been?

This is a clear negative double, but West decided to bid 1NT instead, denying a 4 card ♠ suit. The J has to be with West! Play the K, dropping the J for +140 and an excellent result.

West's hand has to be:

♠: A64 ♥: KT2 ♦: T87 ♣: T982