Trumping High 11.25.24

[@sbpierce9987]

Very useful explanation. Thank you

[@thebridgeteachers]

You're welcome!

[@scottparker9714]

Good analysis- as always

[@thebridgeteachers]

Thank you!

[@ChrisHasney]

Excellent presentation of an important topic. Don't ignore comments below and replies.

[@thebridgeteachers]

Thank you!

[@gk-qf9hv]

Well, why not descard one Heart!?

[@thebridgeteachers]

That's a great idea and can be the best solution. In this situation, discarding a loser is a reasonable choice, but probably not the best one. There are two things to consider when making this decision: Can the defense continue to lead the suit with negative results for you? In other words, if we discard a heart here, can east continue and lead another spade? If they do, is the situation, better, the same, or worse? The second thing to consider is how certain you are to lose the card you are discarding. In this case, if we discard, west will be on lead and we will be playing fourth, so a spade continuation would not harm us. When we consider the certainty of losing a heart, however, we have multiple ways to get rid of the heart loser, potentially not losing that trick. So, while west leading a spade after we discard a heart isn't a concern, discarding a heart on this trick and losing it, when we have other ways to avoid that loser may cost us a trick in the long run.

[@gk-qf9hv]

@ thank you 👍🏻