October_Column

    In a brief column such as this, it is impossible to give a particular topic in Spades a sufficient discussion. I only pick the parts of that aspect of the game that I feel are most important, or one that I have had a particular problem with lately. In August we covered mindset and overall strategy, and in September we briefly covered bidding, for those of you who wish to review those. Since I am trying to move through the game in somewhat of an order, this month we will talk about leading. I will try to mix in a little about how to communicate with your pard when you either choose not to take a trick, or cannot take a trick.

     There are many different situations where a proper lead can communicate more than most players do. Sometimes you can tell your pard more than �this is my strong suit� or �this is my weak suit�. In some instances, it is possible to tell your pard specifically how many cards of that suit are in your hand. You can also tell your pard what suit to lead, and what suit not to lead.

     This communication all stems from the total bid compared to your teams bid. The first determination is whether or not you are trying to set or bag. For review, the unwritten standard is that you set on a 12 bid or higher. You try to bag the opponents with a 10 bid or lower. This of course is based on the average game scenario, but there may be situations where you want the opps to have the 1 bag with a 12 bid, and you may go for the set with a 10 bid. But, it is important that you assure yourself by either making your bid, or holding cards that will ensure your bid, before you get too involved in bagging the opps.

     The question is always what to do with an 11 bid. I�m not going to tell you what you   and your pard should do. I will tell you that if you are going to get 2 bags anyway, the third is well worth the set. I always try for set until I see it can�t be done, or my pard tells me (with cards) that I shouldn�t expect help from them and I can�t do it myself. I can tell by watching my pard�s sluff cards. If may pard is sluffing low to high, I can safely assume they are going for set. If it is high to low, I have to think more.

     Once this is determined, the cards can talk like two sisters that haven�t seen each other in 2 years. This is where experience comes in, and where having a regular pard is invaluable.

     Lets move forward under the assumption that there is a 12 bid and we are going to try to take every trick we can. One of the biggest confusions is what to lead if you have the King of a suit, but not the Ace. I can�t tell you how many times I�ve seen the King wasted in this situation. This is one of the easiest tricks to make, assuming the opps both have 2 cards in that suit. If the Ace is played before you, it�s an easy play. But, if you have the lead and you want to win the King, what do you do?

     The answer is simple, unless you have the Queen too, DON�T LEAD THAT SUIT. Geeeez. I can�t tell you how many times I�ve seen someone lead a spot card of the suit they held the King in and watch helplessly as the opps take the first trick with the Queen. Then, they add insult to injury by leading the Ace on the very next trick (show some sympathy, at least wait a round or two). Of course, by the time you get the lead and try your King, it gets trumped. You may still get your bid, but so much for setting the opps. However, in this situation, if your pard leads a spot and the right opp ducks, you must play the King.

     The next one is the A,Q holding. If played correctly, and with a little luck, this can yield 2 tricks a high percentage of the time, as long as you don�t have more than 4 of that suit. The same scenario applies here� DON�T LEAD FROM THIS SUIT.

     If your intent is to take 2 tricks with this holding, then the more cards that are on the table when you play, the better your chances. Obviously, you would prefer your west opponent to lead in this instance. If not, and if the King has been played, then take it, if it has not been you must chance winning with the Queen. Depending on how many cards of this suit you have, you may end up losing the Queen and the Ace. So, this is a risky move. If you take this trick with the Queen under these conditions, you stand a good chance of knowing exactly who has the King. I�ve seen good teams, with favorable distribution, yield three tricks with this holding.

     To summarize what might be a good strategy to save Kings is that you don�t lead from a suit where you hold a King. That is why it is always a good strategy to watch what your pard leads and lead the same suit back. He or she may be avoiding the other suits for a reason. Normally, your pard should lead their shortest suit, unless he or she wants to take an Ace right away. I always look for the first lead that is not an Ace or King, and assume that is my pards shortest suit, and that is the suit they want me to lead in return.

     I addressed the Kings for 2 reasons. First is that the Aces are no brainers. Second is that it is not a good practice to bid a Queen anyway, unless it is the Queen of Spades and there is proper cover. The play of the Kings is where most hands are won or lost. I only addressed 2 scenarios that involve Kings with the �set them� strategy. One was when the King is the high card, and the other is when you have the Ace and Queen, and are looking for the King.

     I didn�t address what to do with Kings when the bid is 10 or less because the answer is obvious. If it is required to make your bid, then attempt to win with it. If you can make your bid with aces, then sluff your Kings.

     I am lucky in 2 ways. First I have a very good regular pard, who is also very good at spades. See, it�s more important to me to have fun and enjoy the game. I see people on the Zone who don�t even have fun when they win. I have fun when I lose, but more fun when I win. The second reason I am lucky is I have found 3 very good people to play with when my regular pard is not there, or is playing with someone else. These people are also very good spades players. I learn from them every game.

     I started playing spades when I was 10, or sooner. I haven�t always been involved with it on a regular basis. But, when I was 20 I got involved in playing Bridge. Learning a game like that only helped my spades play. I knew quite a bit about spades when I first started playing on the Zone, about a year ago now. But, some of the things I talk about on this web site I have learned by playing with these 4 people.

     I want to tell these individuals how much I appreciate them and enjoy playing with them. Thank you very much, my favorite pards, for making my time on �The Zone� more enjoyable. My reg pard knows who she is, and is a fellow _USA. But, for the other 3, I�ll only say that 1 is a Wolf, 1 is a Book and HSC, and the other is a Tiger. Now you know who you are.