Vubridge Expert Kit
Lesson #17 - Discovery Play

Editorial by Paul Bowyer

Welcome to the seventeenth edition of VuBridge Expert Kit. In this edition we take a look at the topic of discovery plays. This topic links in closely with the concept of counting the hand – it’s just that you have to go digging around to obtain vital information. Some of these deals are straightforward and some of them… are not. Be prepared to put on your thinking caps, especially in the second series of six deals. Some of these hands revolve around the old chestnut of Find the Lady and some are about resolving a King-Jack guess. How you turn 50-50 guesses into something much more in your favor is the crux of the matter.

The third series, as ever, contains eight further deals on the subject of counting. These hands have a separate theme to them, though, that of making second degree assumptions. You aren’t sure what that means? Well, play out these hands and you will gain a valuable insight into the game. These deals are not that easy, but why should you want to start the new year with a set of trivial deals? These are meaty affairs and you want to get your teeth into them. As usual, these deals are constructed and written by British expert Ben Norton, whose thorough analyses provide invaluable instruction as well as entertainment.

This editorial has been written in January 2021, so I wish a Happy New Year to you all!

Discovery Play - Part I

This series of six deals is all about whether to win early tricks or whether to duck them.

Much depends on how the play is going to proceed, on your all-important Count and Plan.

Series #5938 - When to Duck, When to Win - Part I

Discovery Play - Part II:

This series of six deals is all about deductions in the bidding to locate missing cards.

Some of these deductions are fairly elementary, some are more subtle. Are you Sherlock Holmes or Dr Watson?

Series #5942 - Discovery Play - Part II:

Series #5916 - Counting the Hands:

Here, you have eight assorted deals to play, with a theme of Counting the Hand.