Squeeze Plays... A Mystery in 13 Cards           - Roy Wilson

The Three Card Ending

Declarer leads the 9 and West has to make a discard...

North
   A J
   8
  
  
West East
   K Q    4
   A   
       6 3
     
South
   6
   K
   9
  



Do you see that West is caught in a squeeze and has to make a Hobson's Choice as to a discard?  Whatever card he pitches means that declarer is going to take the rest of the tricks.

Notice that if the East and West hands are exchanged, then East has the same problem.





A Beginning...
The world of bridge has a number of good books written on the topic of how to create squeeze plays, but these can be daunting the first time you sit down with them.  However, if you already understand such arcane things as squeeze plays, these books are highly interesting.  Unfortunately, that's sort of a chicken and egg process.  When a few of my bridge-playing friends asked if I could clear up some of the mysteries of these interesting executions I gathered some notes and made up these hands to illustrate the basics.

These notes and hands are not a text book.  They were designed for use as discussion points with a group of players around a kitchen table, led by an experienced and knowledgable player.  Even so, hopefully when you are finished with this set of examples perhaps those arcane books will be easier to read.

Anyone reviewing these notes would benefit from laying out the hands and then playing them one card at a time.

Best of all would be to invite several of your favorite partners to sit around your kitchen table and discuss each of these hands.  Print these 16 example hands as a packet for each person and take your time.  Arcane, yes, but the mystery will fall away, I promise.

Oh, and after you've studied these hands come back and look at Wilson's Maxim:

                        Better to lose one trick early than two tricks late.

(If you've done your homework it will make more sense.)