To decide your plan of play in any deal, follow the order of choice of plays. Somewhere in that list will be the play you need to make the contract you are after. That order of preference is: Trumping, establishing suit, not blocking, strip-and-end play, squeeze, Infrequent coups, finesse.
Some are easy plays. Some are usually handled only by experts.
Little Slam Bid.
|
 A J
 Q 4 3
 9 6 5 4 3 2
 6 3 |
|
| K Q 10 6
10 7 6 5
10
K 9 8 7 |
|
9 8 5 3 2
J 9 8
—
J 10 5 4 2 |
|
7 4
A K 2
A K Q J 8 7
A Q |
n the above deal, South must make six diamonds.
West leads the spade king. When dummy spreads, South can see a loser in spades and a posible loser in clubs. He must save the spade or the club loser. He is unable to do it by trumping. Nor by establishing some suit for ruffing. Nor can he see any unblocking play that will do it. That brings him to a study of his chances with a strip-and-end play.
Which he finds will answer his purpose. And from the lead, he can expect West to hold the spade queen. Dummy takes the first spade trick with the spade ace. Declarer, takes a round of trumps, three hearts, and then leads a spade, That strips his own hand and dummy of both spades and hearts.
He exits into west. That is, it makes West get into the lead. And West is now end played. That is, he is forced to lead at the end of a stripping process. West must now lead a spade or a heart or a club.
If west leads a club, South takes both club tricks.
If West leads a spade or a heart. He permits dummy to trump and South can sluff the club queen. The strip-and-end play is the expert way of avoiding a finesse that is likely to lose.
