Rule of 11

Hi All,

Most of you are advanced enough to have come across the rule of 11. Surely some of your advanced partners/teammates/mentors have mentioned it once or twice, or you've read about it in some bridge book/column somewhere. As a growing bridge player I ignored this basic analytical tool too long. I, no doubt, was more involved with learning systems, getting to know partners, learning rules and competitive strategies to bother with this basic skill.

I've since lost my naivite and perform that analysis automatically every single time a partner or opponent fesses up to a "fourth best" lead. Here's how it works.

What you do is subtract the spot card that hits the table from the number 11 and it denotes how many outstanding cards there are higher than the spot card that hit the table. So, what you do is count the number of cards in the disclosed hand and your own hand, subtract that number from the result of the difference obtained in the previous subtraction process and voila, you know the remaining number of cards higher than the original led card in the undisclosed hand?

Clear as mud? Let's go through an example. The bidding was simple. 1S 1N!,3N. Cool, the H7 hit the table to this dummy: AJT64,T8,AQ,AK73 and this is my hand. K7,J652,T972,Q42. Immediately, without a moment's hesitation the math starts: 11-7 =4. There are four outstanding cards greater than the 7 in the remaining three hands. I count three that I can see (HT, H8, HJ) which means that the undisclosed hand, my rho has one card higher than a 7. This one is easier than most. Since lefty does not hold AKQ in the suit (or else he/she would not have led fourth best) rho must have one of those cards. I play the h8 and sure enough, rho rises with the Q. I wait for a lower card back than the 7 (or perhaps another suit) but something funny happens. Rho plays the HK. Given the math, he/she should not have that card --that would be two cards higher than the 7 spot which is impossible unless lho did not lead fourth best. Hmmm, I played low again and lefty now produces the 9. So lefty has the 9,7 and didn't lead like he/she had a doubleton. Apparently he/she led from A97 (third best). And so it was, I ducked that next card and the A popped on air.

A couple of hands further, there was a like situation. Uncomfortably, we had hit 3N on these cards and the S7 hit the table. Here's my dummy: 8652,A5,J7,AK875 and here's my hand: AQJ4,K963,QT6,32. Immediately the arithmetic started. 11-7 is four. I see four spades higher than my spot card in the combined dummy and declarer hands: SA, SQ, SJ and S8. Rho followed with the ST a card he/she could not hold if the lead were from "fourth best". I figured it might be a doubleton lead and confidently finessed once again for the SK. Wrong, rho had lead form K973; i.e third best -no wonder the original math did not work.

I encourage you to practice this analytical manipulation so it becomes automatic and part of your tool box whether partner or your opponents lead the suit. Trust me, it gives a huge clue as to the flow of the hand when you can figure it out. Thereby, don't make this an arduous, laborious task when you play. Drill and memorize those two digit combos that add up to 11. 83 74 65 56 47 38; just like your third grade math teacher would have liked. Your brain is needed for much more important calculations during any serious bridge competition.

Good luck, I'd be happy to answer any questions.