Messy hands are the hardest - with Curt Soloff

Bridge lessons & videos with Curt Soloff: learnbridgeonl...
Why is it that once we start playing random hands on our own, everything feels more complicated than how it seemed in the bridge lessons? Real-life hands just feel messier! Join us as we play two random hands from a BBO weekly challenge. Curt helps us apply the thinking we've been practicing in our lessons to two messy hands that each present an interesting and murky conundrum. Can we find clarity?
In the first board, we have a horrible lack of a fit between declarer and dummy's hands. Missing six trumps in 2♥, can we figure out where the heart queen is? And how the heck can we get back to Dummy to try to get a few more winners to make our contract?
In the second board, we have have to make a difficult choice: should we just grab our sure winners early and go down 1 to avoid going down worse, or should we risk it to make our contract even though if they attack our weak suit, we'll be toast. What would you do?
Board #1:
www.bridgebase...|curtsolo,~~M4191cfh,~~M4233836,~~M4406xl2|st||md|3SK76543HAKT53DQCA,SQJ8HJ98DJ852CK98,S9H62DK9743CQJ652,SAT2HQ74DAT6CT743|sv|o|rh||ah|Board%201|mb|P|mb|P|mb|1S|an|Major%20suit%20opening%20--%205+%20!S;%2011-21%20HCP;%2012-22%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|1N|an|2-%20!S;%206-11%20HCP;%2012-%20total%20points%20|mb|P|mb|2H|an|New%20suit%20--%204+%20!H;%205+%20!S;%2011+%20HCP;%2012-18%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|P|mb|P|pc|H8|pc|H2|pc|HQ|pc|HA|pc|CA|pc|C8|pc|C2|pc|C7|pc|DQ|pc|D5|pc|D3|pc|DA|pc|H7|pc|HK|pc|H9|pc|H6|pc|H3|pc|HJ|pc|D4|pc|H4|pc|D8|pc|DK|pc|D6|pc|S3|pc|CQ|pc|C3|pc|S4|pc|CK|pc|D2|pc|D7|pc|DT|pc|H5|pc|S5|pc|SJ|pc|S9|pc|S2|pc|DJ|pc|D9|pc|ST|pc|HT|pc|S6|pc|SQ|pc|C5|pc|SA|pc|C4|pc|S7|pc|C9|pc|CJ|pc|C6|pc|CT|pc|SK|pc|S8|
Board #2:
www.bridgebase...|curtsolo,~~M4191cfh,~~M4233836,~~M4406xl2|st||md|4SAKT4HAKQ3DA6C653,S862HJT84DTCAJ872,SQ9H965DK98542CQT,SJ753H72DQJ73CK94|sv|n|rh||ah|Board%202|mb|P|mb|2N|an|Two%20NT%20opener.%20Could%20have%205M.%20--%202-5%20!C;%202-5%20!D;%202-5%20!H;%202-5%20!S;%2020-2|mb|P|mb|3N|an|2-5%20!C;%202-5%20!D;%202-4%20!H;%202-4%20!S;%205-10%20HCP%20|mb|P|mb|P|mb|P|pc|H4|pc|H9|pc|H7|pc|H3|pc|H5|pc|H2|pc|HA|pc|HJ|pc|HK|pc|HT|pc|H6|pc|S7|pc|HQ|pc|H8|pc|D2|pc|C4|pc|DA|pc|DT|pc|D4|pc|D7|pc|D6|pc|C2|pc|DK|pc|D3|pc|SQ|pc|S3|pc|S4|pc|S2|pc|S9|pc|S5|pc|SA|pc|S8|pc|SK|pc|S6|pc|D5|pc|SJ|pc|ST|pc|C7|pc|D8|pc|DQ|pc|C3|pc|C8|pc|CT|pc|CK|pc|DJ|pc|C5|pc|CJ|pc|D9|pc|C9|pc|C6|pc|CA|pc|CQ|
♠♥♦♣♠♥♦♣♠♥♦♣
#bridge #contractbridge #learnbridgeonline
Learn how to play bridge online at learnbridgeonl...

[@mandycreed1190]

Thanks Bajir & Curt - this was really interesting and I would definitely like to see more of these videos showing hands being played by the experts

[@TheSuzberry]

The play on this hand was LUCKY! Very, very lucky.

[@BrianOxleyTexan]

One makes luck when in bad spots, and assumes layouts that favor you. In for a penny, in for a pound.

[@amehoela6708]

Please, please do more of these! I love the way you talk through the hand, the bidding and the play. I love your conversation. You’re both great to listen to. Thanks for doing this for is.

[@dkinrys]

I enjoyed hearing Curt and Bajir talk these hands through, unscripted. Made for some informative-- and compelling-- viewing!

[@kadust1]

Really enjoy your videos! I’m fairly new at the game. What does M? Stand for and what are the percentages for? Are they a rating of sorts? Thanks!

[@Zhenwei-ku8vw]

​@@kadust1 Well I think the Mps stands for match points and the percentage stands for how many people you win with your score on average. like in the first game, they play better than 53% of people who play the same board

[@pw2783]

Always enjoy and learn from your clever guests. Thank you for doing these helpful vids

[@teofurtado5867]

This is a fabulous way to teach Bridge.

[@fionamcerlane4133]

Thanks Curt and Bajir, that was great! Would love to see more random hands, it's really helpful to see how Curt thinks it through

[@PatriciaMills-s5v]

Really helpful. Keep them coming!😊

[@lindaclayton9128]

Loved it, little bit long-winded, but certainly let's do more of these.

[@eleanorluckhurst9192]

I agree more random hands.

[@patriciagriffin3142]

Yes, it was exactly what I need and have always wished I had a teacher to help in just this way. TU

[@kennyfa2874]

More pls! Unfortunately I got a club lead from the robot 😢

[@mandycouve4404]

Please do more of this! It was great to work through the options and reasoning.

[@Solarion-pf2ze]

even if you set up a club winner, there's no entry, it's best to hope for the spades as it's the only chance to make it and costs nothing the only case where club is better is if west gets endplayed having only spades and clubs and this is even more unlikely than the ace hearts being onside.

[@d.basile1018]

I would have been tempted to take the 8 sure winners and hope another trick fell out. Thanks for the encouragement to always try to make the contract.

[@voulitsotrakaki7439]

I enjoyed very much this format. Please make more of that

[@georgiabrown4186]

So helpful hearing the thinking process!

[@rebageorgiadis3861]

Yes, please do more like this!😊

[@douglashopkins8070]

Very nice set of hands. Always enjoy these.

[@punk7066]

Enjoy this content.

[@David.M.]

Yes this is fun and useful!

[@rtrain46]

Loved the video; more, please!

[@MaryODowd-nd9pn]

Brilliant.Great learning from it.

[@anncallaghan3426]

Brilliant idea

[@lydiadumas5002]

Yes do more please

[@brentjacocks9110]

Agreed!

[@BrianOxleyTexan]

My first approach was to win the trump, play CA, and lead out the DQ, and see how the hand develops.

[@maryjaneboyd6388]

Yes❤yes❤yes❤

[@jenresnik5547]

thanks guys was great

[@francesblack746]

fabulous thank you

[@TitanicDundee]

Love this

[@craigentinny2]

Maybe you didn't have the time but I would have loved to see how the first game could have been won with commentary. Also where do you play this robot bridge, I don't know anyone where I am who can play bridge . Thanks. Entertaining as usual.

[@d95mback]

East discarding a spade seems strange. My theory is that the robots "know" that you can finesse the spade, and don't take into account that you won't.

[@johnworf]

I love at 24:39 curt is doing the waving of the hand - lol - I do the same thing.

[@vinofonsea6688]

hmm … we would open 2H indicating we have at minimum 5 - 4 in the majors and a minimum of 15 pts

[@philbarker8219]

This is good...

[@conwaycat5112]

On the first hand, why not play the Q♦️Ayer winning the A♥️ to be able to trump there and maybe draw the Ace to set up the K in dummy?

[@andrewbuchanan5342]

This is great, at a good level for me, thanks so much, I learn so much from your discussions. For the app, however I don't like that the probabilities are distorted by this system. If a hand is boring I can easily skip to the next one. But I want the hands generated to be honest. And how can I learn defence if I'm always being given more points than average? I use an app that allows me to swap the hands that I'm playing, try out what ifs etc, so I can really learn a lot from each hand whatever my initial point count. And how far does the app messing with the probabilities? Does it imply that you can't trust the probabilities for suits breaking or finesses working?

[@johnwilson839]

well it turns out that the finesse of the king and the 3-3 spade break allows you to set up the spades before they draw your ruffs

[@brettmccardle9303]

West missed the boat by not playing the ace of clubs perhaps

[@kiwi1fruit]

I would think it was poor play by defense for those that didn't go down.

[@Quincy2056]

What about "up the line?"

[@user-cn6ln7tp6i]

👍

[@olivercenturier-harris4525]

Very nice discussion ... I learned something .... perhaps a little too verbose or discursive for me. Lekker though.

[@taratalwar3438]

Play low

[@jfl1943]

👌👌🌟

[@taratalwar3438]

Let them use their trump

[@sheemamuneer]

👍