Throw In Plays

A Throw In Play is a bridge play strategy, whereby the opponent is deliberately given a trick, thereby gaining the lead as expected, in order that the declarer can establish one or more subsequent tricks also. Different types of Throw In Plays follow.

A. Tenace Throw In Play: An opponent is thrown in and at the same time is forced to lead from a broken honor holding, thereby losing a trick.

	AQ 3
75 A		K8 A
	6 5 7

The declarer, South, has established that East holds the King of Spades. South therefore throws East in by playing the 5 of Hearts. East is then forced to return a Spade to the tenace in the dummy, giving South two tricks.

 

B. Trump Throw In Play: Also known as an Elimination Play, the opponent is thrown in and must concede a ruff and discard.

	5 4 6
75 A		AKQ
	9 8 7

Spades are trump. South is the declarer. South seems to have one loser in Hearts and one loser in Diamonds. However, South leads a Heart, which East wins. East is now forced to return a Heart, giving South the chance to discard the losing Diamond and trumping in the dummy. South then leads the Diamond from the dummy and trumps in his hand.

 

C. Entry Throw In: This type of Throw In Play allows an opponent to gain the lead, but is forced to lead to a suit, in which the declarer has established tricks, but to which the declarer has no entry.

	AK 4
75 A		85 A
	86 7

The contract is No Trump. South is the declarer. South has no entry to the dummy and the winning tricks. When South plays a Heart, East is forced to cover by winning the trick. East is then forced to return a Spade to the two winning tricks in the dummy.

This Throw In Play requires proper execution by the declarer. Two factors are involved:

1. By stripping or eliminating, the declarer must be completely aware of the fact that once he throws in an opponent, that particular opponent has no other safe lead.

2. The second factor is knowing the correct throw in card. The declarer must, at the proper moment in play, throw the correct opponent in and lose the lead to that opponent only, that has been eliminated of any other safe exit cards.

 

D. Double Elimination: This type of Throw In Play can allow either defender to win a trick, and it is irrelevant which defender has the lead due to the layout of the cards.

	4 73 84
K765 Q		95 K93
	AQ8 J5

Diamonds are trump. South is the declarer. In order to fulfill the contract, South must take four more tricks. South leads a small Club. If West wins the trick, West must lead into the Spade tenace held by the declarer, thereby giving South the needed four tricks. In the case that East overtakes the Club lead by South with the King of Clubs, then this establishes the Jack of Clubs as a winning trick, also giving the declarer the needed four tricks.

 

E. Pseudo Elimination: This type of Throw In Play describes the situation where a defender might assume that the declarer is allowing him to win the trick in order to concede a trick. This may or may not be the situation and/or strategy of the declarer, only an assumption. It occurs when the defender believes that he will become the player to give the declarer a ruff and a sluff. This situation, based on the assumption of the defender, may or may not be useful to the declarer, since the declarer may have concealed another card of that particular suit in his hand or else the ruff and sluff permits the declarer to discard a card, which was not a loser anyway.

	A10 KQ106 543 A965
KQJ987 32 KQJ J2		432 987 9876 Q87
	65 AJ54 A102 K1043

The contract is 4 Hearts. South is the declarer. West leads the King of Spades, which declarer wins in the dummy. South draws the outstanding trumps. At trick Five, South plays the Ace of Diamonds and leads another Diamond. West wins two Diamonds tricks and a third Spade trick. On the Ninth trick, the situation is as follows:

	6 A965
J98 J2		4 9 Q87
	8 4 K1043

The correct defense is for West to continue with a Spade on the Ninth trick. South can indeed discard a club in one hand and ruff the Spade lead in the other hand. However, this leaves South still with a Club loser, and the defenders will defeat the contract. However, if West is reluctant to give South the possibility of a ruff and sluff, which is the prelude to the Pseudo Elimination situation, then West might lead a Club, believing this lead to be a better lead, but which allows South to avoid an additional loser in the Club suit, thereby making the contract.

A study of the many Throw In Plays, which can result during the play of many card combinations, is important and the bridge player should be aware of them. Knowledge of this form of strategy is essential, but also demanding, since the declarer must learn to concentrate, count and conclude.

 

 

If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.

 

 

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