User:P64/Bridge/Suits

Suit combinations

(work in progress)
One reference work is nearly ubiquitous in English and its approach is standard. "Suit Combinations" by Eric Crowhurst constitutes one-thirteenth of the first edition American Official Encyclopedia of Bridge and one-seventeenth of the fourth edition with little change.

It is common to assume that

sufficient entries to both hands are available, and that multi-suit cardplay techniques, for example elimination, throw-in and squeeze play, are not used.

Suit combinations occur frequently as part of the problem of how to play a given bridge hand. (In a sense, every deal presents declarer with four of them!) Therefore players at all levels have some knowledge of how to play suit combinations, which varies from bridge maxims ("Eight ever, nine never"), to the rule of restricted choice, to detailed knowledge of bridge probabilities, to game-theoretical equilibrium of random  falsecards.

Catalog. In 1964, "Suit Combinations" by Eric Crowhurst covered 656 numbered and classified suit combinations in 52 pages, almost one-twelfth of the first edition Official Encyclopedia of Bridge. Suit combinations vary in complexity, but a well-defined "solution" to each is available. This may be referred to as the "correct" play of the suit (Crowhurst?). or the "optimum" play, where the word "optimum" is used in a game-theoretical sense, and denotes the play that guards against any possible line of defense, including those that might arise from defenders knowing declarer's cards.

more
{{Br
 * 1) 203 is a good one for several purposes
 * {{Hearts}}QJ9x
 * {{Hearts}}Axxx

Truscott, Alan. "Bridge: The Subtleties of Simple Suit Combinations". NYT 19821205 http://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/05/arts/bridge-the-subleties-of-simple-suit-combinations.html (maybe incomplete in free web archive)

{{blockquote|text=When the Official Encyclopedia of Bridge was planned two decades ago, the editors asked Eric Crowhurst of England to prepare a classified list of suit combinations with full analysis. The result was a tour de force, covering 656 situations. The labor involved was formidable, but even so there are a few omissions and a few arguable points.}}

Truscott, Alan. "Bridge; Study of Suit Combinations Is Still Making Discoveries". NYT 19861002 http://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/02/nyregion/bridge-study-of-suit-combinations-is-still-making-discoveries.html (see Proquest.com archive for hands and auction)

Truscott, Alan. "A Smooth Defensive Move Helped This Slam Succeed". NYT 20020117 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/17/arts/bridge-a-smooth-defensive-move-helped-this-slam-succeed.html?pagewanted=1 (see Proquest.com archive for hands and auction)

declared 1969 by Jean-Marc Roudinesco {{blockquote|text=Roudinesco was the world authority on suit combinations. His masterwork, The Dictionary of Suit Combinations, published in 1995, gave detailed analyses of every significant possibility, with percentage calculations that took into account the information available about lengths in other suits.}}

Truscott, Alan. "Bridge; What do experts worry about at trick one? The location of the club four, that's what." NYT 19960622 http://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/22/arts/bridge-033049.html?pagewanted=1 (see Proquest.com archive for hands and auction)

{{blockquote|text=The worrier was Jean-Marc Roudinesco of France, whose recent 478-page "Dictionary of Suit Combinations" is an essential reference for serious players. It not only gives detailed analysis of 2,000 combinations, but also general guidelines. It can be obtained from The Bridge World, 39 West 94th Street, New York, N.Y., 10025 for $45.95.}}