Count SIGNALS

by Ned Downey

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Once a player’s attitude is known—or irrelevant—it is then possible to give a count signal. Count is indicated as follows:

A high card followed by a low card shows an even number of cards in the suit.
A low card followed by a high card shows an odd number of cards in the suit.

You
♠	8 6 4 3 2
♥	10
♦	8 7 4
♣	8 7 5 2

You are defending a contract of 4♥ , and declarer is pulling trump. If you wish to tell your partner that you started with three diamonds, you could discard the ♦4 first, and follow it with the seven when trumps are led the third time. If you would rather tell your partner about your five-card spade suit, you could discard the two, followed by the three. Or you might show him your four-card club suit by pitching the seven on the second trump trick and following it with the two. I realize that this example is not very exciting, so let’s look at a count signal that really matters.

West
♠	A 4 2
♥	7 3 2
♦	K Q J 10 9
♣	5 3
		South (You)
		♠	K Q J 10
		♥	10 9 8
		♦	A 7 4
		♣	Q 4 2

You are defending 3 NT, played by East. You lead the ♠K. Declarer wins with dummy’s ace and leads the ♦K. Partner follows with the two and declarer plays the three. Do you take this trick? Let’s say you hold up. Declarer now calls for the ♦Q, partner plays the six and declarer follows with the five. Now do you play the ace?

The key, of course, is knowing how many diamonds declarer holds. And you won’t know the answer to that question unless you know how many diamonds your partner has. This dilemma arises with a certain degree of regularity in bridge. If you are playing with a good partner who has learned when and how to signal, the solution is easy.

Let’s review. Dummy has a long diamond suit with no side entry. If we take our ♦A too early, declarer will have a low diamond remaining in his hand and can bring in the entire suit. If we take our ace too late, declarer may have stolen a diamond trick to which he is not entitled. It is also clear that our partner has nothing in diamonds. That being the case, his attitude towards the diamond suit is already known—he hates it. Since his attitude is known, his play in diamonds should signal count. When the king was led, he played the deuce, showing an odd number of diamonds. The alternatives are:

He has a singleton diamond.
He has three diamonds.
He has five diamonds.

If he has a singleton, then declarer holds four. If so, it doesn’t matter when we play the ace—declarer will always have enough to get to dummy. If partner has five diamonds, then declarer started with a void. That possibility goes out the window when declarer follows to the first trick. This leaves only one holding that matters, partner holds three and declarer has two. You now know that you must play the ace to the second trick. Perhaps the full deal looked like this:

		North
		♠	9 8 7
		♥	6 5 4
		♦	8 6 2
		♣	J 10 9 8
West				East
♠	A 4 2			♠	6 5 3
♥	7 3 2			♥	A K Q J
♦	K Q J 10 9			♦	5 3
♣	5 3			♣	A K 7 6
		South
		♠	K Q J 10
		♥	10 9 8
		♦	A 7 4
		♣	Q 4 2

The only problem is that your partner must be working as hard as you are. If he simply plays the card that is closest to his thumb — affectionately known as’playing by the rule of thumb’ — you may receive the wrong signal. On this hand it would work out OK, but look what could happen if we change the layout just a bit.

		North
		♠	9 8 7
		♥	J 6 5 4
		♦	3 2
		♣	J 10 9 8
West				East
♠	A 4 2			♠	6 5 3
♥	7 3 2			♥	A K Q
♦	K Q J 10 9			♦	A K Q
♣	5 3			♣	A K 7 6
		South
		♠	K Q J 10
		♥	10 9 8
		♦	A 7 4
		♣	Q 4 2

This time, you must wait for the third diamond. If partner isn’t with the program (or if he falls asleep) then he may play the “unimportant” deuce when the ♦K is led. You, on the other hand, are expecting a count signal—automatic in situations such as this. You will read him for three diamonds, take the second trick and declarer will walk away with the contract. But If your partner is awake, he will play the ♦3 the first time through. The options will be:

Partner has a singleton. Once again, if that is so, your play doesn’t matter.
Partner has a doubleton. If so, you must wait for the third diamond trick.
Partner has four diamonds. If this is true, then declarer started with a singleton. The auction may prove this impossible. If not, you may have to wait for the second trick to find out for sure.

No matter what, it’s a heck of a lot more fun than defending blind. But remember: You can not give count unless your attitude is either already known or obviously irrelevant.

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