Gambler 34 A/GAMBLERCD34A.BIN/Brydz/Programy/Lpbsetup.exe/PLAY.TXT

Text File | 1999-02-24 | 157KB | 4,745 lines

[100
No information available.
[101
After selecting the suit in notrump if I have only
two cards in the suit, I play my top card.


Occasionally, I will select a suit with only one
card if it is the only suit not bid by
the opponents.
[102
When I have only 3 cards in the suit:

If only one of the cards is 9 or better, I play
the bottom card.

With the ace and jack and no other honors, I play the
bottom card.
[103
In notrump after the suit has been selected:

When the suit has either the A,J,10, or the K,J,10,
I lead with the 10.

The lead of the 10 promises either the jack and one
higher honor or the top of a sequence.
[104
In notrump after the suit has been selected:

My play of the 9 promises the 10 and one top
honor.
[105
In notrump after the suit has been selected:

Holding the Q,J (10 or 9), and no ace and no king,
I play the queen.
[106
In notrump after the suit has been selected:

With 5 or more cards and holding the K,Q or
the Q & J, I play 4th down.
[107
In notrump after the suit has been selected:

My play of the ace promises a strong suit.  Some
examples are as follows:

AKQ and a total of 4 honors.
AKQ and a total of 6 or more cards.
AK and 7 or more cards.
AKJ10 and 4 or more cards
AK, six or more cards, 4 cards 9 or better.
AK and 5 cards 9 or better.
AK and one other honor, and 5 or more cards.
AK, 4 cards 9 or better, 2 aces in hand.
[108
In notrump after the suit has been selected:

In some cases I may have both the ace and king of
the suit, but the suit is not strong enough to play
the ace.  In this situation I either play the king
or 4th down.
[109
In no-trump after the suit has been selected:

When it is a poor suit with an ace, I play 4th
down with 4 or more, and bottom with less.

I don't like selecting this type of suit to
play, but on the other hand I don't want the
offense to find me completely predictable.
[110
In notrump after the suit has been selected:

Holding the K,Q,J or K,Q,10, I lead the king,
the top the sequence.
[111
In notrump after the suit is selected:

I lead the queen when I hold any of the
following.

K,Q,J,10
Q,J,10
Q,J,9

[112
In notrump after the suit is selected.

When my top card in the suit is a king, and the suit
does not qualify for the lead of a king,queen,10,or
9, I lead 4th down with 4 or more cards. With less
than 4 cards, I lead the bottom card.

       For my partner's eyes only
The lead of a king is made with K,Q,10 and  K,Q,9 and
    AKx
The lead of a queen is made with K,Q,10,9.
The lead of a 10 is made with K,J,10.
The lead of a 9 is made with K,10,9.
[113
In notrump after the suit is selected:

If the top card is a queen:

With Q,J,(10,9), I play queen (a sequence).
With Q,10,9, I play nine

If I can not play any of the above, I play 4th
down with 4 or more, bottom with 3, and top
with 2.
[114
In notrump after the suit is selected:

My play of the jack denies any higher honor.  I
play it in a notrump game if there is a sequence
J,10,9 or even with the J,10 if I have no better
suit to play.
[115
In notrump after the suit is selected:

When my top card in the suit is the jack, I lead
my jack with the j,10,9 sequence. The jack
denies any higher honor.

Otherwise with 3 cards I lead the bottom, with 5
or more 4th down, and with exactly 4 I either
lead the 8 or bottom.  My lead of the 8 alerts
partner that this is a poor suit.
[116
In notrump after the suit is selected:

If the top card in the suit is the ten, I lead the
10 if there is a sequence of 10,9,8.  Otherwise I
lead 4th down with 5 or more, bottom with 3, and
with exactly four cards either lead the 8 or
bottom.
[117
In notrump after the suit is selected:

Once committed to a suit and none of the standard
leads (9 or higher) apply, I do the following:

Whenever there are  5 or more cards, I lead 4th
down regardless of the points in the suit.  With
no points in the suit and 4 cards, I lead the 8
or bottom.  With 3 cards, I lead the bottom card.
I always lead the top card with only 2 cards in
the suit.
[118
When leading a suit bid by partner:

  With two cards, I play the top card.

  With any sequence of two honors or better (AK or KQ
     or QJ or J10), I play the top card.

  With three cards jack or less, I play the top card.

  In all other situations, I play the bottom card.
[119
When playing notrump with no favorable suit to lead,
I sometimes find it better to lead a card in a short
suit.

The suit must be two or three cards long and have
nothing higher than a jack.

I lead the top card in the suit and hope that I
have found a favorable lead for partner.
[120
When partner bids a lead directing double, I lead
the suit with my highest card.
[121
I prefer to lead from a suit with 3 or 4 cards
headed by a queen than from a similar suit
headed by a king or ace.

When I make this type of lead, my hand often
has a HCPC of 8 or less.
[122
With more than 8 points and without a long suit to
lead, I sometimes make a passive lead from a four
card suit containing an 8.  Partner will avoid leading
this suit back to me.  The top card in this suit
should be no higher than a 10.
[123
With 9 or more points I sometimes lead the top card
of a poor 2 card suit.

My hope is that partner will be loaded or recognize
that I have led from a poor short suit.
[126
My lead of an ace in a slam game does not promise
any additional strength in the suit.    It is a
gamble.

If I don't play it, I may never get to use it,
and if I do play it, I may be giving the
offense an unnecessary trick.
[127
When I have the Q,J,10 OR Q,J,9, I lead the queen.
I also lead the queen holding the K,Q,10,9.   This
makes a fairly good attacking suit if I have
nothing better to play.
[128
When I need several tricks to set the contract, I
lead a suit that has the potential of developing
eventual winners for our side.
[129
If I have a strong suit with three of the top four
honors in the suit, I play my top card.
[131
Whenever I make a pre-emptive bid in a suit then
make the unusual lead of the bottom card in that
suit, it means I am void in another suit.
[132
When I play the queen after having bid the suit,
I promise a long strong suit with the AKQ.

I am asking partner to give count*.

When giving count in a trump game, the simplified
version I use is as follows:
      With two cards, I play the higher card.
      With three or more cards, I play the lowest.

*If dummy becomes void, partner will play suit
preference rather than give count.
[133
When I lead the ace in a trump game it does not
promise a strong suit, especially if the opponents
have bid slam or it is the only suit not bid by
the opponent.  I am not asking for count.
[134
I lead the king when I have good top
cards in the suit, such as A,K.

I also lead the king if I have a sequence
beginning with the king (K,Q,J or even
K,Q,x).
[135
When partner makes a lead directing double, I lead
the top card in that suit.  I do not attempt to give
count.
[136
When partner supports my suit, I lead my top card in
the suit.
[137
Whenever I have 6 or more cards in a suit with the
ace, I often lead the suit because partner may become
void and will be able to trump for a winner.

I lead with the ace so I can continue the suit.
[138
When all the suits but one have been bid by the
opponents, the card I lead in the unbid suit is as
follows:
With AK or KQ, I lead the king.
With the A and no king, I lead the ace*.
With 2 cards, I lead the top card.
Sequence of two honors, I lead top.
With K,J,10, I lead the 10.
With K,J,9, I lead the 9.
If the number in the suit is greater than 3, I
       lead 4th down.
If the number in the suit is 3, I lead bottom.
*Only major difference from standard lead when
playing trump game
[139
When leading partner's suit, I always lead the ace
if I have it. With two adjacent honors, I lead the
higher. Also with two cards, I lead the higher*.
Else
  1. if I supported the suit.
     a.  I Lead top with no honor.
     b.  I Lead bottom with an honor.
  2. if I did not support suit, I play top with
  two cards and bottom with anything else.

*Note:  If I play an honor and partner can see
that it is not in sequence, partner will play me
for a doubleton. If I play my top card and it is
lower than a ten, partner will assume it is top of
nothing if I supported the suit; otherwise, partner
will assume it is a doubleton.
[140
The lead of a singleton in a trump game is
particularly good if the hand has an ace in another
suit.  My objective is to void myself and later
trump for a winner in this suit.

Hopefully the ace will allow me to regain the lead
and put partner on lead with the appropriate play.
[141
When my hand has a suit with 6 or more cards and
the suit has not been bid by partner, it may be
that partner is void in this suit.  I play the ace
if I have it, otherwise I play top of a KQ
sequence or 4th down.

If the opponents have bid the suit, it is even
more likely that partner is void.
[142
I usually make an attacking lead in my strongest
suit if I think declarer can make an easy game
because of a long strong suit in dummy, or simply
because I have no better lead.

When I lead my strongest suit and it has the king
queen combination, I lead the king.
[143
When the opportunity presents itself, I lead the top
card in a sequence beginning with the king or queen.
This is a strong attacking lead.
[144
When partner has not bid, and I do not have a strong
attacking lead, I lead a singleton even though I
may or may not have a side ace.
[145
If I do not have a good attacking lead, no singleton,
and partner has not bid, I make a positive lead in
trumps when I have 2 or 3 trumps with no honors.  I
like to have a side ace to make this play.

If my attempt to eliminate trumps in dummy proves to
be fruitless, the lead of trumps in this situation
is a good passive lead which will probably not cost
my side any tricks.

I do not make this lead if the opponents have bid
slam.  There may be nothing better, but at least I
will have tried not to hand them the lead.
[146
When I have no strong lead, no singleton, no partner's
suit to lead, and no positive lead in trumps to make,
then even a weak sequence of honors is preferable to
some other lead.
[147
If my best side suit is headed by the jack, I lead
the jack in this suit if I have no other suitable
lead.

The lead of a jack denies any higher honor
in the suit.
[148
When I lead  my best suit not bid by the opponents
and it has the (A) K J 10, I lead the 10.  My lead of
the 10, promises the J and one higher honor, usually
the king because I don't generally lead low from a
suit containing an ace.
[149
When I lead my best suit not bid by the opponents
and I have the K,10,9  or the Q,10,9, I lead the
9.

My lead of the 9 promises the 10 and one higher
honor.
[150
One reason I lead 4th down in my longest, strongest
suit is to eventually force declarer to ruff this
suit in declarer's hand.  I make this play when I
have 4 or more trumps in my hand.  Hopefully I'll
promote one into a winner.
[151
I lead 4th down in my longest, strongest suit
when I have no other suitable lead.
[152
To avoid leading from a suit containing an ace,
I sometimes find it necessary to lead from a poor
suit when I have nothing else to lead.
[153
With a doubleton and a stopper in trumps I often
lead the doubleton suit.  Hopefully I will be able
to void myself in this suit and somewhere down the
line trump for a winner.  The stopper in trumps
will make it easier to reach my objective.
[154
Underleading a king or queen is preferable to leading
from the top of nothing or leading the jack.  I do
not like to underlead the ace.

I generally underlead the queen if I have choice
between a suit headed by the queen and a suit
headed by the king.
[155
When I decide that all other leads are the pits
and I have 2 or 3 trumps, I lead trumps.

This is a good passive lead that should not
get me into trouble.

I do not make this lead if the opponents have bid
slam.
[156
When I am forced to I lead from a poor doubleton
rather than from the top of nothing or some other
unsuitable lead.
[157
If forced to I lead in any unbid suit with no ace and
if desperate with no honor.
[158
When nothing else seems fruitful, I sometimes lead
trumps if I have two or three in the suit.
[159
When it's desperation time and I must lead something.
[161
When I play the king after having made a pre-emptive
bid in suit, I promise the king, queen, and jack and
a long suit.
[162
Holding the Q J 10 or Q J 9 or K Q J 10, I play
the queen.  This makes a fairly good attacking
lead if I have nothing better to play.
[201
Response to the first card played in notrump.


When the dummy has a long strong suit, I always
attempt to take the trick if partner played a
losing card.
[202
Response to the first card played in notrump.

Whenever I have a doubleton in sequence, I play
the top card.
[203
When playing notrump, partner's lead of the ace
guarantees a strong suit.

Dummy with no honors:
  1.  With just one honor, I play the honor to
  unblock the suit.
  2.  Otherwise I play count.

Dummy with honors:
  1.  If I have a higher honor, I show a positive
  attitude.
  2.  Otherwise I play low to show a negative
  attitude.
[204
Partner's lead of the ace guarantees a strong
suit.

If dummy has an honor and I have a higher
honor, I show a positive attitude by playing
a high card.
[205
Partner's lead of the ace guarantees a strong
suit.

When dummy has an honor*, and I have nothing
better, I show a negative attitude by playing
my bottom card.

The other possibility is that I have an honor
better than dummy.  In this case I will show
a positive attitude.
[206
When playing notrump partner's lead of the ace
guarantees a strong suit.

If dummy shows no honors and I do not play an
honor, I show count*.

With 2 cards, I play the top card.
With 3 cards, I play the bottom card.
With 4 cards, I play the top card.
With 5 cards, I play the bottom card.

*Note: When dummy has no honors and I have one,
I throw it under partner's card to unblock.
[207
In general when partner leads the king in notrump
he/she wants to know if you have the A,Q,or J.
To show the honor, I play a high card.  With no
honors in my hand I play my lowest card.
Situations where this applies include:
1.  Dummy plays the ace (or keeps the ace) and I
have a high card I want to show partner.
2.  The play of the queen under the king to show
the jack(NOTE: THE QUEEN IS PLAYED AND NOT
THE JACK).
3.  In short almost anytime I have a high honor, I
show a positive attitude.*
*If the dummy has a long suit(5 or more cards),
my play of a high card may be the top of a
doubleton.  With a doubleton if my honor is higher
than dummy's honor, I play low.
[208
When partner leads with a king and I have a
doubleton.

1. If dummy has an honor and I have a higher
honor, I play low.

2. If dummy has a bad suit and I hold the ace
or jack as my top card in the doubleton, I
play my top card to unblock.

3. In all other situations, I play low with a
doubleton.  This includes QX.
[209
I do not show an equal honor if dummy has a long
strong suit.
[210
  When partner plays the queen, partner wants to
know if I have the ace, king, or 10.
  I show the honor by playing the highest card I
can afford.  Partner probably started with
the QJ10 or the QJ9.
  Situations where this applies include:
1.  When dummy plays the ace and I have the king,
or when dummy holds back the ace and I have the
king.
2.  When dummy holds back the king and I have the
ace.
3.  In short anytime I have an honor I do not
want to play, I show a positive attitude.*
*With a doubleton and no honor in dummy, play the
honor to unblock.
[211
When partner plays the queen and I have the
ace, I do not normally play it except as follows:

1.  If dummy plays the king, I cover with the
ace.
2.  If I have a doubleton and dummy does not have
the king, I play the ace.
3. If I am reasonable sure that a long suit
in dummy is going to be developed which I cannot
stop, and this is my last chance to win game, then
I play the ace.

In all other cases I play the highest card I
can afford to show the ace.*
[212
When partner plays the queen and I am fortunate
enough to have both the ace and king, I  play the
king.
[213
When the queen is played, my partner probably
held the Q,J,10, or the Q,J,9.

My partner would like to know if I have the
A,K or 10. If I have none of these, I play my
lowest card to show a negative attitude.
[214
The lead of a jack denies a higher honor.
In general if I have the ace:
 1.  I play it if dummy plays the king or queen.
 2.  I play it if dummy plays low and does not
 hold back the king or queen.
 3.  I play it if it appears that declarer can
 win game once in control.  For example dummy
 may have a long strong suit.

In general I do not play the ace if dummy plays
low and holds back the king or queen.  I signal
with a high card to show the ace.
NOTE:  With both the ace and king, I play the
king.  My partner will assume I  have the ace.
[215
The play of the jack by partner denies a higher honor.

If my top card is the king, I play it if dummy plays
the queen or if the queen is not visible.

I show a positive attitude if I have the king and
1.  dummy plays the ace.
2.  dummy keeps the queen.
3.  I have both the king and queen.
[216
When the jack is lead, it denies a higher honor.

If I hold the queen:

1. I play higher if I can beat dummy and I
have several eventual winners in this suit.

2. If the dummy had both the king and ace, and
plays one of them, I make a positive signal by
playing a high spot card.

3. Otherwise I play low.
[217
  There are two possibilities when the 10 is led.  It
is either the top of a sequence, or it promises
the jack and either the ace or king.
  If the jack is visible, or both the ace and king
are visible, it promises the top of a sequence.*
When it is the top of a sequence:
1.  If I can beat dummy or force declarer to play
high, I play a high card. However, I do not play
the king if the jack remains in dummy (declarer
has both ace and queen).
2.  If dummy plays the ace, I make a positive
signal if I hold the king.
3.  Otherwise I play low.
*When in doubt I assume that it promises the jack
and either the ace or king.
[218
The lead of a 10 can be assumed to promise a jack
and either the ace or king, if there is no jack
visible and if either the ace or king is missing.*

When partner has the jack and either the ace or king
1.  If dummy plays higher, I beat dummy if possible.
2.  If the queen is in dummy and I have either
the ace or king, I show positive attitude.
3.  I play the ace unless the queen is in dummy.
4.  I play the king unless the queen is in dummy.
5.  With the queen, I show a positive attitude.  The
     10 should force out declarer's ace or king.
6.  Otherwise I play low showing a negative attitude.

*Else lead of 10 is top of sequence.
[219
The lead of a 9 promises the 10 and one higher
honor, or it is the top of a sequence.

When the 10 is visible, and I know it is the
top of a sequence

1.  If possible I play to win with the lowest
possible card excluding dummy.

2.  If I can't win and dummy plays low, I play
my lowest equivalent honor excluding dummy to
force declarer to play high.

3.  If I can't beat dummy, I play low.  There
is no signal in this play.
[220
When the 9 is lead and the 10 is not visible, I
assume partner has the 10 and one higher honor.

1. If possible I attempt to win the trick with the
lowest possible card excluding dummy.

2. Otherwise I beat dummy if possible or if dummy
plays low, I play my top card if it is the queen
or better.
[221
When playing notrump and partner leads a low card
(8 or lower), it is probably 4th down in the suit.

When I have the highest card on the table
excluding dummy, I play my lowest card which will
take the trick.

Note:  There is always the chance it is the top
of nothing especially if the 8 is led and the
dummy is loaded.
[222
When playing notrump and the first card played
is less than a 9 and I can beat dummy, I
play my lowest equivalent card.

For example if dummy plays the 10, holds back the
queen, and I have the king and jack,  I play the
jack.  This forces declarer to play the ace or
lose the trick, and I still have the king to cover
the queen in dummy.
[223
When playing notrump and the first card played is less
than a 9, the first obligation of third hand is to take
the trick or force declarer to play a high card.
However, if dummy is taking the trick, (1) I signal with
a high card if I have the king or queen.
(2) If dummy is winning with something lower
than the king, I give count as follows:
       Top with doubleton.
       Bottom with three or five.
       Second high with four.
Note:  Partner may have played fourth down in his/her
best suit. This means partner has 3 cards above the
card led and that the three other people have the
remaining high cards.  You can determine how many high
cards are in declarer's hand: Subtract the card led from
11 (gives total in the three hands other than partner's),
then subtract those in dummy's hand and your own hand.
[224
There is no information available for this play.
[225
When my partner plays the jack (has no higher honor),
and I play my lowest card it is likely that I do
not have a high honor otherwise I would have either
played it or given positive attitude.
[226
When the dummy plays the ace and I have the king, I
show a positive attitude if I have three or more
cards.


[231
When it appears that partner is not going to take the
trick, then where possible I play the lowest card
that will take the trick.

  If the dummy shows a long, strong suit, it becomes
even more important to take the trick if partner
can not.
[232
  After an examination of dummy's hand, my hand,
and the bidding, I have concluded that my partner led
a singleton.
  If possible I take the trick and return the suit to
partner for a ruff.
If I cannot take the trick, I give suit preference as
follows:
  After eliminating trumps and the current suit, I show
preference for the higher ranking suit remaining by
playing a relatively high card, and preference for
the lower ranking suit by playing my bottom card.
I also play my bottom card if I have no preference at
all.
[233
After an examination of dummy's hand, my hand,
and the bidding, I have concluded that my partner led
a singleton.
If possible I take the trick and return the suit to
partner for a ruff.
If I cannot take the trick, I give suit preference as
follows:
After eliminating trumps and the current suit, I show
preference for the higher ranking suit remaining by
playing a relatively high card, and preference for
the lower ranking suit by playing my bottom card.
I also play my bottom card if I have no preference at
all.
[234
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

Whenever the opponents bid the suit and my partner
leads the ace, I assume my partner has led a
singleton.  I give my partner suit preference.

I play high if I want partner to return the top suit
remaining after eliminating trumps and the suit led,
otherwise I play bottom.  The play of my bottom card
may mean that I have no suit preference at all.
[235
Whenever partner plays the ace or king and dummy
has trumps and becomes void, I give my
partner suit preference as follows:

After eliminating trumps and the current suit, I play
unusually high if I prefer the higher ranking of the
two remaining suits, and low if I prefer the lower
ranking suit.  Also I play low if I have no
preference at all.
[236
Whenever partner leads the ace and the dummy has
3 honors remaining in hand or specifically the
king and queen, I signal as follows:

1.  If I did not support the suit while bidding,
and dummy has at least three cards remaining,
I play my highest card with a doubleton and my
bottom card with any other count.
2.  If I supported the suit, I give suit preference*.
3.  Otherwise I play my bottom card.
*Trumps and the current suit are not considered.
I play high to show preference for my highest
ranking suit remaining or bottom to show preference
for my lowest ranking suit.
[237
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

Whenever partner leads the ace and dummy has an honor
and I have a higher honor, I show a good attitude.

Of course I have to have 3 or more cards to show
a positive attitude.  I usually play my second
highest card in this situation.
[238
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

Whenever partner leads the ace and the dummy has
no honors, I signal as follows:

If the opponents bid 2 suits or less, I throw the
king under the ace if it is a lone honor.  Partner
surely has the AQ in the suit.

If the opponents bid all the suits except the suit
led by partner, I do not play a lone honor under
the ace.  In this case, I usually show a positive
attitude by playing the highest card I can afford.
[239
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

Whenever partner plays the ace and I have both the
king and queen, I play the king to show an equal
honor.  Partner will know I have the queen if
partner and dummy do not.
[240
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

When partner plays the ace and I have 2 high
honors and 4 or more cards, I show a positive
attitude.
[241
When partner leads the ace in a trump game, I
play my lowest card for the following reasons:
A. To show a negative attitude (or request for
suit change).  This should be my partner's
interpretation unless as explained below I am
showing suit preference or in rare instances
count.
B. To show suit preference if
  1. I have reason to believe partner led a
     singleton (led ace in opponent's side suit).
  2. Dummy is or becomes void.
  3. I supported the suit and dummy is left with the
     king and queen or any three honors.
C: To show count if I did not support the suit and
dummy has at least three cards remaining with
the king and queen, or any three honors.
[242
When the king is led, partner wants to know if I
have the ace, queen, or jack.

However, if dummy plays the ace I do not show
attitude.

If dummy plays the ace, and I have a doubleton,
I play my top card unless my honor is higher
than the honor in dummy.  I also play low if
if have the queen.

Hopefully, partner will regain the lead,
recognize that I began with a doubleton and
eventually give me a ruff.
[243
When the king is led, partner wants to know if I
have the ace,queen or jack.

If partner leads the king and dummy holds back the
ace, I show a positive attitude if I have the queen
and at least 3 cards.
[244
When the king is led, partner wants to know if I
have the ace, king or jack.

When partner leads the king, the dummy has no honors
and I have a doubleton with an ace, I unblock with
the ace, then return the suit to partner.

Otherwise I show a positive attitude.
[245
When partner leads the king and I have the queen
and jack, I play the queen to show that I have
the jack.
[246
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

When partner leads the king and the dummy has no
honors, and I have jack high doubleton, I play the
jack.
[247
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

When partner leads the king and dummy has the jack
and I have queen doubleton, I play the queen.

I am betting that partner has the ace and will
recognize that I have the doubleton (there is no
other excuse for playing an honor higher than the
one in dummy).  If partner plays the suit a third
time, I will be able to ruff.
[248
When partner leads with the king, I show a
doubleton (by playing my top card) if dummy
started with at least 3 cards in the suit and I
have no honors to protect.

I also play my top card with a doubleton
 a. if dummy has no honors and I have the ace or jack.
 b. if I have the queen and dummy the jack; otherwise,
    I never show a queen doubleton.
 c. if dummy plays the ace and has no other honors.

Note:  When I play a higher than usual card,
partner has no way of knowing whether I am showing
a doubleton or positive attitude.  Either way it
will prompt partner to play the suit a third time.
[250
I play a common sense signal* after partner leads
the king, if
1. I have a void in another suit.
2. it does not appear there is sufficient cash in
the present suit to set the offense and I have the
ace and queen in a suit and dummy has the king
(a finesse situation).

*The bottom card is played whether it is a common
sense signal or a negative attitude signal.  Partner
must ask if there is a likely suit the defense can
finesse, or a suit we might get a ruff in.

Note:  When I play a common sense signal, I may
have a high honor in partner's suit.
[251
When partner plays the king, I show an equal honor
if I have one by playing the highest spot card I
can afford.  Partner will read this as a positive
attitude*.

*Note:  Partner may read this as a doubleton, but
hopefully will continue to play the suit either
way.

[252
When partner leads the king and I play my lowest
card,  I may be just making a negative response
meaning that I have no doubleton, no positive
attitude, and no suit for partner to go to.

There is also the possibility that I did not show
an equal honor because I want the suit changed (a
common sense signal).

Finally I may be protecting an honor and could not
play higher.

Reminder:  I do not show a queen doubleton unless
the jack is in dummy; otherwise partner will
believe the jack is in my hand.
[254
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

Whenever dummy plays higher than my partner and
I can play higher than dummy, "I make it so".
[255
When partner plays the queen and the dummy
becomes void I play as follows:

 1.  I play the ace if I have it.  The chances
are if I don't play the ace we may never get a
trick in this suit.

 2.  Otherwise I play suit preference.
[256
When partner leads the queen and I have the ace
and king, I play the king if I think partner played
a singleton or doubleton.  Otherwise I play low
and allow partner to lead the suit again.

When I play the king over the queen, I have either
the ace, or the jack, or dummy has a bad hand and
I have a doubleton.
[257
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

When partner leads the queen and I have the king
but no ace, I show the equal honor by playing a
high spot card.
[258
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

When partner bids the suit and then leads the queen,
partner is showing a very strong suit headed by the
AKQ.  Knowing the count will allow my partner to
know how many cards in this suit can be played
before the declarer trumps.

With two cards, I play my highest.
With three or more cards, I play my lowest.
[259
When partner leads the queen in a trump game, I
show positive attitude if I have the ace and
1.  Dummy keeps the king.
2.  The jack is showing* and it is likely that
partner started with a doubleton.**
*When partner leads with a queen and the jack is
either in my hand or dummy, then partner led
from a doubleton or singleton.  I play partner
for a doubleton unless most of the cards are in
my hand and dummy's hand.
**Partner leads with an honor doubleton if
fairly certain of regaining the lead and playing
the suit again.  When I win with the ace I will
return the suit giving partner a ruff.  The
doubleton makes it more likely that the other
players will all have at least three cards.
[260
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

When partner plays the queen, I have the ace, and
dummy does not have the king, I play the ace.
[261
When partner leads the queen and dummy plays the
ace, I show the king by playing a high card.
[262
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

When partner plays the queen and the jack is visible
(and the ace and king are not visible), partner must
be playing from a long strong suit and is asking for
count

With a doubleton I play high.
With three, I play low.
With four I play my second card from the top.
With 5 or more I play low.

*Note:  There is some possibility that partner is
playing a singleton.
[263
When the queen is led, partner wants to know if
I have the ace or king.  The exceptions are:

1.  I do not show a positive attitude if dummy
keeps the ace.  If I play high I am showing a
doubleton and I do not have the king.  If I
had the king I would have played low even with
a doubleton.
2. I never show attitude if dummy plays the king.
3. I do not show attitude if partner bids the
suit and the jack is visible and the king and
queen are not.  Presumably, partner held the
A,K,Q and is asking for count.
4. I show suit preference if dummy becomes void.
[264
  When the queen is led, partner wants to know if
I have the ace or king.

  When partner plays the queen, dummy holds back
the king, and I have the ace, I show positive
attitude by playing the highest spot card I
can afford.
  I do not show a positive attitude
  1. if dummy holds back the ace.  Without king,
     I show doubleton, with king I play low.
  2. if dummy plays the king, I show doubleton.
  3. if partner bid and probably has the ace and
  king.  I show doubleton or play low.

  My play of the king, either shows I have the ace,
the jack, or a doubleton if dummy has bad hand.
[265
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

When partner is winning the trick and I have no
reason to show a positive attitude, I play my
lowest card.

Note:  I do not play my top card with a doubleton
if dummy has a high honor because  partner will
think I have an even higher honor.
[266
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

When partner plays the queen and I have the ace,
I definitely play the ace if I wish to keep
control of the play of cards.
[267
When partner leads the queen, dummy has a bad suit,
and I have a doubleton with the ace, I play the ace.
I am not in position to capture the declarer's
king, but I may be able eventually get a ruff in
the suit.

Note: Partner's play of the queen suggests a sequence
of the QJ10 unless the jack is visible.
[268
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

When partner leads the queen, the dummy has no
honors, and I have a doubleton king, I play the
king.

Since partner is likely playing from a QJ10
sequence I will be unblocking with the king and
I may eventually get a ruff.
[269
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

When partner leads the queen and I have the king
and the jack, I play the highest equal honor(king);
[270
Response to the first card played in a trump game.

When partner plays the queen and I have the king,
I show a equal honor by playing the highest spot
card I can afford.
[271
When partner leads the queen and I play bottom
I am usually showing partner a negative attitude
(or common sense signal) toward this suit. The
exceptions are:

1.  When partner bids the suit, I show count.
2.  When there is no jack visible, I show count.
3.  When dummy becomes void and I do not have
the ace, I play suit preference.  The
play of a low card indicates preference for the
lowest ranking suit other than trumps and the suit
being played.

[272
After the jack is led, I usually play the ace
unless the jack is holding and
1.  I believe partner was playing from a
doubleton*.  In this case I show a positive
attitude.  If this suit is played again our
side may well get a ruffing trick.
2. Declarer holds back the king or queen in
dummy. Here I also show a positive attitude.
*When partner leads the jack and the 10 is visible,
partner either led from a doubleton or singleton.
I play partner for the doubleton unless the dummy
and I have too many cards in the suit to make
a ruff on the third round work.

Note: I usually lead from a doubleton only if I
expect to get the lead again and work toward a ruff.
[273
  The lead of the jack tells me that partner does not
have a higher honor in the suit.
  When dummy keeps the queen and I have the ace and
king, I play the king if I think partner started
with a singleton, otherwise I play low.
  If I have either the ace or king and dummy has no
higher honor, I play the high card if it beats
dummy's play.

Note:  If dummy keeps the queen and I have the
king, or if dummy keeps the king and I have the
ace I show a positive attitude.  Like the ol'
alligator in the swamp, I just bide my time
till I catch my prey.   Of course if I think
declarer can win game without playing this
suit again, I play my ace if I have it.
[274
The lead of the jack tells me that partner does not
have a higher honor in this suit.

When declarer is marked with the ace, king, and queen,
I show suit preference.
[275
The lead of the jack tells me that partner does not
have a higher honor in this suit.

When dummy becomes void, I play the ace if dummy
followed suit, otherwise I show suit preference.
[276
The lead of the jack tells me that partner does not
have a higher honor in the suit.

With both the ace and king, I play the king.
[277
The lead of the jack tells me that partner does not
have a higher honor in the suit.

When the jack is higher than dummy's play, dummy
keeps the king, and I have the ace, I show
a positive attitude.
[278
The lead of the jack tells me that partner does not
have a higher honor in this suit.


When the jack is better than dummy's play, dummy
has the queen, and I have the ace or king but
not both, I show a good attitude by play a high
spot card.
[279
The lead of the jack tells me that partner does not
have a higher honor in this suit.

When dummy plays the ace or king and I wish to
show the queen, I play a high spot card.
[280
The lead of the jack tells me that partner does not
have a higher honor in this suit.

If I wish to take the trick and can do so, I play
my lowest winning card.

[281
The lead of the jack tells me that partner does not
have a higher honor in this suit.

If dummy is taking the trick and I can play higher,
then I do so even though I can't take the trick.
[282
The lead of the jack tells me that partner does not
have a higher honor in this suit.

I show suit preference if
1. dummy becomes void and I play lower than
dummy and partner.
2. opponents bid suit and I play lower than dummy
and partner.
[283
  When partner leads with the 10, partner is either
showing the K,J,10 or the top card in the suit
is a 10.
  I always play the ace if I have it unless dummy
trumped, then I play suit preference.
  I always play to beat dummy if possible.  If
dummy plays low and becomes void, I play suit
preference.  Declarer likely has the ace.
  There is never any need of playing the queen when
partner is known to have the king and jack.  If
the 10 is high on the board and I have the queen,
I show a positive attitude.
  I never show a doubleton if the 10 is led.
[284
  When partner leads with the 10, partner is either
showing the K,J,10 or the top card in the suit
is a 10.
  Whenever I have reason to believe that partner
played his highest card(10), I attempt to
1. Win the trick if possible.
2. Force declarer to play higher if dummy is winning.
3. if dummy is winning with either the ace or
king, I show a positive attitude if I have the king
or queen.
4. When all else fails, I play low.
[285
  When partner leads with the 10, partner is either
showing the K,J,10 or the top card in the suit
is a 10.
  When I have reason to believe that partner has the
king and jack:
1.  I play the ace if I have it.
2.  I play high if dummy is winning and I can play
higher.
3.  If dummy plays the ace, I show the queen by
giving a positive attitude.
4. I play low in all other situations.
[286
The lead of the 9, like the 10, usually shows
that partner has the card just above it, in
this case the 10, and one other higher honor.

1.  If I can win the trick I make it so.
2.  If dummy is winning and I can play higher
      I make it so.
3.  If dummy plays the ace and I have the king
      or queen, I show a positive attitude.
4.  Otherwise I play low.

After analyzing dummy, I always play with the
lowest card which will do the job.

[287  Lead is 8 or lower:
1. My first priority is to win the trick with my
lowest equivalent card (dummy excluded).
2. Even if it is unlikely that I can win the
trick, I play to beat dummy and possibly promote
a winner in my hand or partner's.  Again I play
my lowest equivalent card excluding dummy.
3.  If dummy plays the ace and I have the king,
or dummy plays the king and I have the queen, I
show a positive attitude.  Otherwise I play bottom.
4. If dummy becomes void, I play suit preference if
I cannot play higher than dummy.
Reminder: Partner may have led fourth down in a suit.
Determine high cards in declarer's hand:  Subtract
the card led from 11, then subtract the number
visible (number in your hand, dummy's, and those
played). Declarer has the remaining high cards in
the suit (maybe declarer has none).
[288
If the queen is left in dummy and I have the ace and
king, I play king if I think partner led a singleton.
Otherwise, I play bottom.
[289
When partner's lead card is trumped by dummy, I
play suit preference.

After eliminating this suit and trumps, I play high
if I prefer the higher ranking of the two remaining
suits and low if I prefer the lower ranking suit.
I also play low if I have no preference at all.
[290
When the jack is led, I play suit preference if
dummy becomes void and I cannot beat dummy or my
partner.
[291
When a queen is led and I believe partner led from
a doubleton, if I have the ace and king, I play
bottom.  With some luck, I'll be able to give
partner a ruff after the suit is played again.

[301
When the opponent's are out of trump and the ready
cash in the combined hands is sufficient to make
my contract, my greatest concern is maintaining
communication between the two hands.

This is one good reason why I try to conserve my
trumps.

Note:  Even when the ready cash is more than
sufficient, I occasionally find it possible to
ruff for an overtrick, or even cross ruff, but
I do this with great caution.  My primary
objective is to make my contract.
[302
There is no information for the play of this card.
[303
When the cash in the combined hands is sufficient to
make game*, I usually make it my chief mission in
life to remove the trumps from the opponent's
hands.

However there are exceptions:
Sometimes I have to play some other suit first to
get to my partner's hand because I want to finesse
in trumps or I just don't have any trumps.  With
some hands my trump suit may be too weak to play
until later in the game.  Finally it may be
necessary to remove a blocker in another suit.

*True if the trumps split as expected.
[304
Sometimes I find it necessary to finesse in trumps
in order to make game.

Of course, I have to be in the correct hand to do
so.
[305
In order to make my contact, it just may be
necessary to make a finesse in a side suit.

Of course it may be prudent to play trumps first,
or it may be necessary to cross to the other hand
to begin the finesse.
[306
In some situations, my game may be in jeopardy
if I continue to draw trumps.  When this occurs
I usually do one of the following:
1.  I play any blocker in the short hand which
may prevent the long hand from developing the
winners in that suit.
2.  I ruff a potential loser in the short hand
if possible (or create a ruffing situation).
3.  I play my strongest suit to force the enemy
to give up their trumps or lose the trick (in
some cases I try to remove a blocker held by
the enemy if I need that suit to make game).

Note:  Hopefully, I have pulled enough trumps to
void one of the opponents in trumps.
[307
One of the important weapons of the offense is
called a cross ruff.  Usually I play my ready cash
first, then I play my losers in the long hand and
ruff them in the short hand, and vice versa.

Of course it is more convenient if the opponents
are out of trumps, but if your trumps are Billy
Goat Gruff strong, it will work anyway.
[308
Sometimes the only losers are in trumps.   When I
can't finesse, I have to take my lumps.
[309
Sometimes when things are going my way, it is
possible to pick up an easy trick by ruffing with
out jeopardizing the contract.

Is this an easy game for the offense or what?
[310
I, Longhand,  have come to the conclusion
that I can win this game by ruffing my losers
in the short hand.

If it seems prudent, I will draw trumps first.

I do hereby solemnly swear that I am
telling the truth, so help my circuits and the
chips they reside upon.
[311
I, Longhand, believe the extra winners in the
short hand along with a nicely timed ruff will
win this game in handsome fashion.

Note:  If any trumps still lurketh in yonder hands,
the question will be as always, should I draw trumps
or not draw trumps.
[313
I, Longhand, am of the firm opinion that I can
ruff a sufficient number of my losers in partner's
hand to ensure game.

I will draw trumps until I have captured every
dangerous renegade afloat, if I feel it is wise to
do so.
[315
I love the cross ruffing games.  It always
reduces the defense to putty.

Just remember either the defense has to be out
of trumps or your trumps must be better than
theirs.

Note:  When cross ruffing it is usually wise to
play your ready cash in the other suits first.
[316
At this point in the game, I Longhand, have concluded
that a combination of ruffing winners and extra winners
is needed to remove the excess losers from my hand.

If it seems advisable, I will draw trumps first.  This
is not always an easy decision.
[317
I, Longhand, have come to the conclusion that a
combination of ruffing winners and long suit
winners is needed to make game.

If it seems advisable, I will draw trumps first.
[318
I, Longhand, have decided that the best approach
to making this game, is to play the extra winners
in the short hand.  These winners are found in two
different side suits.

Of course if possible I will first remove the
opponent's trumps.  Now where is that club!
[319
I, Longhand, am under the impression that there
are both extra winners and long suit winners in
the short hand.  The combination of the two should
just about eliminate my excess losers.

If it seems advisable, I will first draw trumps.
[320
It would appear that if I am able to develop the
eventual winners* in clubs, I will be able
to make the contract.

If the opportunity arises, I will probably finesse
or ruff a loser in the short hand.  A little
insurance may be helpful or even a necessity.

My first responsibility as always is to draw trumps
if that seems wise.

*I am using winners as in notrump to help decide
whether the eventual winners in one suit will
make game.
[321
I, Longhand, believe I just might make game with
the use of a trump finesse, and the extra winners
in the short hand.
[322
I, Longhand, believe it is possible to make game
with a trump finesse, and by eliminating one of
my losers by ruffing in partner's hand.
[323
I, Longhand, am leaning towards the conclusion
that the combination of a trump finesse, and long
suit winners in the short hand will make game.
[324
It would appear to be of benefit to try for a
ruff in the short hand.
[325
This is developing into a difficult if not impossible
game.  However, it appears I might be able to make
a ruff or two which will help the cause.

[326
I have not found a solid means of making game, but
I do have one or more extra winners in the short
hand that needs to be developed.

[327
  The offense in game number 1 (any game option)
makes use of the extra winners in the heart suit
in the shorthand (in this case dummy), to remove
the losers in diamonds in the long hand.

  The long hand (usually the hand with the most trumps)
has a total of 4 losers, 1 club and 3 diamonds.
Since the bid was 4 hearts, only 3 tricks can be
lost and still make game.   At least one loser will
have to be removed from the long hand.  Since you
have to lose a club regardless, the correct play
is to discard a diamond on the heart.
Note:  Extra winners can only exist when the short
hand has more cards in the suit than the long hand.

  If possible, trumps are always drawn first.
[328
Don't you just hate it when things become too
difficult.  I'm going to try to develop some
long suit winners in the short hand.
[329
When things don't look too good, a finesse is
often the best play.
[331
When I play the king after having made a pre-emptive
bid in suit, I promise the king, queen, and jack and
a long suit.
[332
When I have ample trumps to protect myself from
a run by the enemy, I like to draw trumps,
especially when my partner has none.

Obviously, if partner has notrumps, I can't use
them for entries nor can I use them for ruffing
winners in the short hand.
[333
My partner, Shorthand, either has some extra winners,
or long suit winners that might be developed to my
advantage.  An exit to partner's hand seems in order.

[334
Whether in a winning or losing cause, if my ready
cash equals the number of cards, or my only significant
losers are in trumps, my main thrust is to remove the
enemy's trumps*.

My concern, as always, is to maintain communication
between the two hands where necessary.

*Occasionally, I cannot remove the enemy's trumps
directly because their trumps are too strong.  They
just may be able to deplete me of all my trumps and
defeat me by taking the tricks in my weakest suit.
In this case, therefore, if I have a few tricks I
can lose without being defeated, I play my high cards
in a long strong suit and force them to ruff.   One
cannot always predict the end results.
[338
I often find it best to pull trumps even in a losing
situation.  Unfortunately, I do not have the high card
strength in trumps I would like, nor do I see an easy
finesse.  Unfortunately I'll just have to play trumps
and let the tail go with the hide.

[339
I have decided it is in my best interest to pull trumps.
I will have to enter partner's hand to 'make it so.'

[340
When pulling trumps, I try to save trump entries in
the shorthand if I think it desirable, by saving my
lower cards in longhand and my higher cards in
shorthand.
[341
When drawing trumps, if I don't believe I have any
losers in trumps, or the probability of catching
the first missing card in trumps is 50% or greater,
I play my ready cash in trumps rather than attempt
a finesse.
[342
With the right trumps, I try to entice the
opponent to play the queen of trumps.
[343
Once I have decided to pull trumps and a double finesse
presents itself, I usually try the finesse.
[344
   When the probability of catching the first missing
card in trumps is fifty percent or better, I play my
ready cash in trumps rather than attempting a finesse.
[345
When the king is missing and I have the ace and queen, I
usually attempt a finesse to capture the king.  This is
a 50/50 proposition, but it is better than no chance at
all.
[346
When the queen is the first missing card in trumps, I
usually play either the ace or king then finesse for the
queen if this doesn't remove the opportunity to finesse.
By chance the top card may capture the queen and the
finesse will not be necessary.

When I can finesse in either direction, I play my
hunches.  This is especially important if one of the
opponent's has bid.
[347
When the opponents have four cards between them and
they have the two top cards, I usually play my
bottom trump unless I have a sequence at the top
which persuades me to play a higher card.
[348
When the opponents are holding the ace and queen and I have
the king, jack, and ten, if I can't lead from partner's
hand, I play the king.  It just might catch the queen.

[349
When the opponents have the king, queen and ten and
my partner has the jack, I lead my bottom card
to partner.
[350
When I can lead a finesse for the queen in either direction
I do one of the following:
1.  If a trump was led on the first trick of the game, I
assume declarer's right hand opponent has the queen and
finesse accordingly.
2.  Otherwise I make an educated guess where the queen is
located, then I usually play the ace or king before
leading the finesse.
[351
When I can make a simple finesse in trumps, I lead
an honor if I have a sufficient number to make this
feasible.  If the finesse works, I can continue
the finesse without changing hands.

Otherwise, I lead my bottom card.
[352
When a simple finesse is possible, but must be led
by partner, then I enter partner's hand in another
suit.
[353
If I have an honor in trumps in the other hand and I
have ready cash in my hand, I usually play my cash,
then lead low to my honor in the other hand*.

*This is an indirect finesse and is not run if it is
possible for me to make a direct finesse in the other
direction.
[354
When playing trumps, I try to lead toward an honor*
anytime the opportunity presents itself.  I just might
save a trick by forcing my left hand opponent to play
before I play my high card.

*Indirect finesse
[355
Leading toward an honor is usually preferable to leading
the honor directly.  If necessary I enter the other
hand to lead toward my honor in trumps.
[356
Games with weak trumps.
1.  Some can be played be using a cross ruff to
advantage.  I do not draw trumps immediately.
2.  Most hands are played by drawing some
trumps (hopefully depleting one opponent), and
then playing my strongest suit (hopefully the
suit is concentrated in the long hand to prevent
lack of entries from developing).

Note:  I'm always on the look out for an easy ruff
in the short hand.
*A weak trump position sometimes only becomes
evident as the game progresses.  In this case I
am usually relegated to playing my strongest suit
and hope for the best.
[357
When possible I like to finesse in a strong suit
or where the suit is not evenly divided in the
two hands.  This gives me the greatest opportunity
to promote winners even if the finesse doesn't
work.
[358
I finesse in trumps almost anytime the opportunity
presents itself.
[359
I try to religiously play toward an honor rather
than leading the honor.  If second hand plays
high, I play low and save the honor.  If second
hand plays low, I play the honor and pray*.

*This type of play is sometimes referred to
as an indirect finesse.

Note:  I try not to make this play if I can't
lose anymore tricks, for obvious reasons.  However,
there may be no other recourse.
[360
In a difficult game, I attempt to draw trumps if I
have an overall superior trump suit, and I see no
good reason not to play trumps.
[361
When I am missing the ace but have the king, queen and
9 or more trumps in the two hands, I play the king or
queen.

Even if the jack is missing, there is a 75 percent chance
the jack will fall in two plays.

[362
The opportunity to make a ruffing winner presents itself
and I think I should take advantage of it before it slips
away.
[364
My partner, Shorthand, has some extra winners that just
might help reduce my losses although I have not been
able to resolve how to make game.

[365
When playing the long hand, I sometimes find it possible
to develop enough tricks in one suit to win game by
playing the cash in that suit plus a ruff in the same
suit if necessary.
[366
Apparently, my partner, Shorthand, has a finesse that
can be played if I can get to that hand.  When I find
myself mired in muck, a finesse is definitely better
than no chance at all.
[367
When I a can not clearly see how game can be
reached, I often find it best to play a suit which
will likely produce the most extra winners or
eventual winners.
[368
There is a good chance I will be able to make game
simply by playing my high cards because the number
of losers in my hand are probably less than the
number needed to set the contract.

If a ruff or finesse presents itself, I will try
to take advantage of either one because the
distribution of cards may be unfavorable, and my
ship may sink in a giant, swirling, black hole.

[369
It would appear that if I play this suit again, it
will either produce a winner or force declarer to
ruff in declarer's hand.
[370
It would appear beneficial to play trumps, but I,
Shorthand, can not resist the temptation to play
an extra winner that will immediately remove a
loser in partner's hand.  I'm hopeful this won't
get me in any trouble.
[371
When it is possible for my partner to overtrump the
opposition, I sometimes find it useful to play the
ready cash in my hand which either forces my left
hand opponent to trump or lose the trick anyway.

This type of play conserves the trump in my hand
while pulling the trump from the opponent.
[372
It would appear that the ready cash in the combined
hands plus the eventual winners in one of the suits
will be sufficient to make game.

The losers generated should not cause the contract
to be defeated.

I will as always try to draw trumps if it appears
appropriate to do so.
[373
It would appear that if I am able to develop the
eventual winners* in diamonds, I will be able
to make the contract.

If the opportunity arises, I will probably finesse
or ruff a loser in the short hand.  A little
insurance may be helpful or even a necessity.

My first responsibility as always is to draw trumps
if that seems wise.

*I am using winners as in notrump to help decide
whether the eventual winners in one suit will
make game.
[374
It would appear that if I am able to develop the
eventual winners* in hearts, I will be able
to make the contract.

If the opportunity arises, I will probably finesse
or ruff a loser in the short hand.  A little
insurance may be helpful or even a necessity.

My first responsibility as always is to draw trumps
if that seems wise.

*I am using winners as in notrump to help decide
whether the eventual winners in one suit will
make game.
[375
It would appear that if I am able to develop the
eventual winners* in spades, I will be able
to make the contract.

If the opportunity arises, I will probably finesse
or ruff a loser in the short hand.  A little
insurance may be helpful or even a necessity.

My first responsibility as always is to draw trumps
if that seems wise.

*I am using winners as in notrump to help decide
whether the eventual winners in one suit will
make game.
[376
I would like to pull trumps, but this will have to wait
for another round.
[377
The opponent's trumps have me in an awkward
situation.  Hopefully, I will find the trumps
split favorably; and by playing trumps, I will
save myself some important tricks.
[378
It would appear that I can make my contract by more
than one method.  For the moment, I have decided to
development my long suit winners in the short hand.
[379
I believe it is in my favor to continue finessing
the same suit.

[380
I, Longhand, believe the development of the
club suit should remove enough losers in
my hand to make game.

If I believe trumps can be drawn safely, I will
do so.
[381
I, Longhand, believe the development of the
diamond suit should remove enough losers in
my hand to make game.

If I believe trumps can be drawn safely, I will
do so.
[382
I, Longhand, believe the development of the
heart suit should remove enough losers in
my hand to make game.

If I believe trumps can be drawn safely, I will
do so.
[383
I, Longhand, believe the development of the
spade suit should remove enough losers in
my hand to make game.

If I believe trumps can be drawn safely, I will
do so.
[384
I, Longhand, being of sound chips,  have come to
the conclusion that there are enough long suit
winners in clubs to bring home a winner.

I plan to play this suit until the enemy is void,
and to trump any losers in this suit in my hand.
I like to help out when I can.
[385
I, Longhand, being of sound chips,  have come to
the conclusion that there are enough long suit
winners in diamonds to bring home a winner.

I plan to play this suit until the enemy is void,
and to trump any losers in this suit in my hand.
I like to help out when I can.
[386
I, Longhand, being of sound chips,  have come to
the conclusion that there are enough long suit
winners in hearts to bring home a winner.

I plan to play this suit until the enemy is void,
and to trump any losers in this suit in my hand.
I like to help out when I can.
[387
I, Longhand, being of sound chips,  have come to
the conclusion that there are enough long suit
winners in spades to bring home a winner.

I plan to play this suit until the enemy is void,
and to trump any losers in this suit in my hand.
I like to help out when I can.
[388
Unfortunately, I have no information available
for the play of this card. I doubt if Shorthand
has any either.  Most of the time he/she is just
a dummy.
[389
My enemies have me at bay and good fortune seems to have
failed me - at least for the moment.
[390
With all this horse pucky around here there must be a
pony somewhere.  Now where did I hide those aces.
[391
Storm clouds whirl angrily about me. There is
lightning, and terrible thunder, and hostile forces
nip at my heels - the dirty little bounders.
[399
It would seem to be to my advantage to enter the
other hand to run a finesse.
[401 END PLAYS. This variation of end play attempts to
void a side suit in one enemy hand and force this
defender to lead a suit that can be ruffed and sluffed
by the offense (trumped in short hand and discard loser
in long hand). The following usually applies:

(1) You have one loser too many to make your contract.
(2) The cards are quite evenly distributed in both
dummy and declarer's hands.
(3) The target suit is 3 cards long in the long hand
hand, and 5-6 cards long in the other hand.
The target suit contains the ace, but lacks the king
and queen. Therefore there are two losers in this suit.
(4) The ace in the target suit is usually played
immediately, then trumps are drawn.
(5) Ready cash (with possibly a ruff) is used to clear
the other two side suits from dummy and declarer's hands.
(6) One of the two remaining losers in the target suit
is then played, hopefully forcing the defender to lead
into a ruff and discard situation.
[401 Can't use this number


[402 This END PLAY forces the enemy to lead a broken
suit (target suit) or lead a suit void in both dummy and
declarer's hands. The following usually applies.
(1) There is one loser too many to make the contract.
(2) A means is available to eliminate all the cards
in two side suits (non-target suits) in declarer and
dummy's hands. The last card played is a loser.
(3) The target suit has at least one honor in dummy
and one honor in declarer's hand.  It may be possible
to finesse in either direction (direct or indirect).
(4) Trumps are drawn first, but neither declarer nor
dummy can become void. An end play can be attempted
if the enemy is left with one trump between them
(if the end play fails, a finesse is usually possible).
(5) Next the non-target side suits are played until
one loser remains (in some cases two). The play of a
loser forces the opponent to claim any winner in a
non-target suit, or lead a card in the target suit,
or lead a card that can be trumped in dummy and
sluffed on in declarer's hand for a winning trick.
[403
Sometimes when you are certain of making your
contract, the opportunity arises to finesse for
an overtrick if you have control in all suits
and the play will not jeopardize your need to
be in the proper hand.
[404 This END PLAY attempts to force a ruff/sluff
in a target suit. The following usually applies.
1. There is one loser too many to make the contract.
2. A means is available to eliminate all the cards
in the two non-target, side suits in declarer's hand
and in dummy's hand without playing a loser.
3. Usually declarer's hand has 3 cards in the target
suit and dummy 5 cards in the target suit.  There is
only one winner in the target suit (the ace).
4. First play the ready cash in the target suit, then
draw trumps (neither declarer nor dummy can become void).
5. Next eliminate the cards in the two non-target suits.
6. Finally play one of the two losers left in the
target suit. With luck, the defender who takes the
trick will become void in the suit and be forced to
play a suit declarer and dummy are void in. This allows
declarer to discard the loser in the target suit and
trump it in the short hand.
[410
I, Shorthand,  have come to the conclusion
that I can win this game by ruffing long hands
losers in my hand.  Do I know how to help my
partner?

If it seems prudent, I will draw trumps first.

I do hereby solemnly swear that I am
telling the truth, so help my dipoles and the
chips they reside upon.
[411
I, Shorthand, believe the extra winners in the
my hand along with a nicely timed ruff will
win this game in handsome fashion.

Note:  If any trumps still lurketh in yonder hands,
the question will be as always should I draw trumps?
[413
I, Shorthand, am of the firm opinion that partner
can ruff enough of his/her losers in my hand to
ensure game.  Once again I will save the
partnership.

Like Longhand, I will draw trumps until I have
captured every dangerous renegade afloat, if I
feel it is wise to do so.
[416
At this point in the game, I Shorthand, have concluded
that a combination of ruffing winners and extra winners
is needed to remove the excess losers from the long hand.

If it seems advisable, I will draw trumps first.  This
is not always an easy decision.

[417
I, Shorthand, have come to the conclusion that a
combination of ruffing winners and long suit
winners is needed to make game.

If it seems advisable, I will draw trumps first.

[418
I, Shorthand, have decided that the best approach
to making this game is to play the extra winners
in my hand.  These winners are found in two
different side suits.

Of course if possible I will first remove the
opponent's trumps.  Now where is that club!
[419
I, Shorthand, am under the impression that there
are both extra winners and long suit winners in
my hand.  The combination of the two should
just about eliminate the excess losers found in
my partner's hand.

If it seems advisable, I will first draw trumps.

[420
That's not why
they call me Shorthand.

[421
I, Shorthand, believe I just might make game with
the use of a trump finesse and the extra winners
in my hand.
[422
I, Shorthand, believe it is possible to make game
with a trump finesse, and by eliminating one of
long hand's losers, by ruffing it in my hand.
[423
I, Shorthand, am leaning towards the conclusion
that the combination of a trump finesse, and long
suit winners in my hand will make game.
[424
I, shorthand, don't see an easy solution to my dilemma;
however, I have the opportunity to lead a finesse and
I think I'd better take advantage of it.

[425
It appears I, Shorthand, still have a fighting chance
to make the contract.

I feel it would be prudent at this particular time
to play my suit with extra winners in it.*  Hopefully,
this will make Longhand happy, and myself as well I
might add.

Note:  If the opponents have trumps, I frequently
find it advisable to play trumps first in this
situation.
[426
It appears that I, Shorthand, have a few extra tricks
I can generate by developing a suit with long suit
winners in it.  Hopefully this will turn the tide and
make my partner shine.
[427
I'm not down and out yet, but things are not perfectly
clear at this point.  I, Shorthand, would like to
ruff for a winner.  I will have to enter my partner's
hand to do so.
[428
I believe my partner, Longhand, has an
opportunity to lead a card that I can ruff.
I'll have to enter partner's hand to make
this play possible.
[429
Apparently, my partner, Longhand, has a finesse that
can be led if I can get to partner's hand.  Playing
a finesse is definitely better than no chance at
all.
[431
Drats and double drats, I hate losing!

Yes, even I, Shorthand, fail occasionally, but I will
rise again.  Just give me the opportunity.

I must give credit to our opponents.  They are
splendid bridge players.
[432
I might be able to develop a winner by leading to
an honor in my partner's hand.

I try to be good to Longhand whenever I can.
[433
I, Shorthand, sometimes have the opportunity to
develop extra winners in my hand without losing
a trick, even though the opponent has the high card.

One such method is a special finesse which uses
the threat of trumping in the long hand to
keep the opponent at bay.  I try to have more
than one eventual winner to make this successful.
[434
I've given, Longhand, some of the best hands.  I
certainly never overbid my cards.  And now look what
I'm left with.  Pooh!

Just between you and me, I sometimes wonder if my
partner knows what is what.  Of course I'd never say
so.  Shut my mouth!
[435
Longhand is at it again.  Leaving this mess and what
I'm I to do.  I'm sorry, I shouldn't be thinking such
things.
[436
Sometimes I find playing bridge is a hunt and peck
gamble and I don't know how it's going to turn out.
A little like life, I say. Maybe Longhand has some
answers, I don't.
[437
I have some extra winners that just might help reduce
Longhand's losers.
[438
Apparently I, Shorthand, might be able to develop enough
tricks in one side suit in the long hand to win game.

If necessary I will be able to ruff a loser in that suit
in my hand.  I always try to please my partner.

If the opposition has trumps, I will draw trumps first.

[439
I, Shorthand, believe the extra winners in
clubs should remove enough losers in my
partner's hand to make game.

If trumps can be drawn safely, I will do so.

[440
I, Shorthand, believe the extra winners in
diamonds should remove enough losers in my
partner's hand to make game.

If trumps can be drawn safely, I will do so.
[441
I, Shorthand, believe the extra winners in
hearts should remove enough losers in my
partner's hand to make game.

If trumps can be drawn safely, I will do so.

[442
I, Shorthand, believe the extra winners in
spades should remove enough losers in my
partner's hand to make game.

If trumps can be drawn safely, I will do so.

[443
I, Shorthand, have come to the conclusion that
there are enough long suit winners in clubs
to bring home a winner.

I plan to play this suit until the enemy is void,
and to trump any losers in this suit in the long
hand. It's about time my partner ruffed
something.

[444
 I, Shorthand, have come to the conclusion that
there are enough long suit winners in diamonds
to bring home a winner.

I plan to play this suit until the enemy is void,
and to trump any losers in this suit in the long
hand. It's about time my partner ruffed
something.
[445
 I, Shorthand, have come to the conclusion that
there are enough long suit winners in hearts
to bring home a winner.

I plan to play this suit until the enemy is void,
and to trump any losers in this suit in the long
hand. It's about time my partner ruffed
something.
[446
I, Shorthand, have come to the conclusion that
there are enough long suit winners in spades
to bring home a winner.

I plan to play this suit until the enemy is void,
and to trump any losers in this suit in the long
hand. It's about time my partner ruffed
something.
[447
I, Shorthand, have no useful information
available for the play of this card.
[448
I've given, Longhand, some of the best hands.  I
certainly never overbid my cards.  And now look what
I'm left with.  Pooh!

Just between you and me, I sometimes wonder if my
partner knows what is what.  Of course I'd never say
so.  Shut my mouth!
[449
Longhand is at it again.  Leaving this mess and what
I'm I to do.  I'm sorry, I shouldn't be thinking such
things.
[450
Sometimes I find playing bridge is a hunt and peck
gamble and I don't know how it's going to turn out.
A little like life, I say. Maybe Longhand has some
answers, I don't.
[451
It would appear that I will lose both of my trumps
unless the opponent's two trumps are split between
their two hands.

[501
It appears that I have sufficient ready cash in
the combined hands to make my contract.

My concern is maintaining communication between
the two hands while I play my winners.  The first
suit I play is one void in the other hand.  It
can't be used for entries anyway. Next I try to
play any card blocking a long run in one of the
hands. Sometimes I have cross to the other hand
to achieve this objective.  And finally, I like
to play the ready cash in the hand with the
fewest entries first.
[502
I believe it is important at this time to remove a blocker
from my hand.

[503
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
expected, I will be able to make the contract
by developing the eventual winners in clubs.
A simple finesse in clubs seems safe*.

A simple finesse has a 50 percent chance of success.
If you can win game without a finesse, it is usually
best to make it so, although if you have the proper
controls you can try the finesse safely.

*I may cross to the other hand in a different suit
to run the finesse in the direction I think best.
           ----------------------
Which side can get their suit developed first is
the basic struggle between offense and defense.
[504
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
expected, I will be able to make the contract
by developing the eventual winners in diamonds.
A simple finesse in diamonds seems safe*.

A simple finesse has a 50 percent chance of success.
If you can win game without a finesse, it is usually
best to make it so, although if you have the proper
controls you can try the finesse safely.

*I may cross to the other hand in a different suit
to run the finesse in the direction I think best.
           ----------------------
Which side can get their suit developed first is
the basic struggle between offense and defense.
[505
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
expected, I will be able to make the contract
by developing the eventual winners in hearts.
A simple finesse in hearts seems safe*.

A simple finesse has a 50 percent chance of success.
If you can win game without a finesse, it is usually
best to make it so, although if you have the proper
controls you can try the finesse safely.

*I may cross to the other hand in a different suit
to run the finesse in the direction I think best.
           ----------------------
Which side can get their suit developed first is
the basic struggle between offense and defense.
[506
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
expected, I will be able to make the contract
by developing the eventual winners in spades.
A simple finesse in spades seems safe*.

A simple finesse has a 50 percent chance of success.
If you can win game without a finesse, it is usually
best to make it so, although if you have the proper
controls you can try the finesse safely.

*I may cross to the other hand in a different suit
to run the finesse in the direction I think best.
           ----------------------
Which side can get their suit developed first is
the basic struggle between offense and defense.
[507
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
expected, I will be able to make the contract
by developing the eventual winners in clubs.

A double finesse in clubs seems appropriate.

Which side can get their suit developed first is
the basic struggle between offense and defense.

[508
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
expected, I will be able to make the contract
by developing the eventual winners in diamonds.

A double finesse in diamonds seems appropriate.

[509
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
expected, I will be able to make the contract
by developing the eventual winners in hearts.

A double finesse in hearts seems appropriate.


[510
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
expected that I will be able to make the contract
by developing the eventual winners in spades.

A double finesse in spades seems appropriate.

[511
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
expected, I will be able to make my contract
by developing the eventual winners in clubs.

An indirect finesse in clubs seems appropriate.

Which side can get their suit developed first is
the basic struggle between offense and defense.
[512
If I'm lucky in the way the cards fall, I will
be able to make my contract by developing the
eventual winners in diamonds.

An indirect finesse in diamonds seems appropriate.

[513
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
expected, I will be able to make my contract
by developing the eventual winners in hearts.

An indirect finesse in hearts seems appropriate.

[514
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
expected, that I will be able to make the contract
by developing the eventual winners in spades.

An indirect finesse in spades seems appropriate.

[515
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
I hope, I will be able to make the contract
by developing the eventual winners in clubs.

I intend to lead a club if I don't conclude a
more pressing lead is necessary.

Which side can get their suit developed first is
the basic struggle between offense and defense.
[516
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
I hope, I will be able to make the contract
by developing the eventual winners in diamonds.

I intend to lead a diamond if I don't conclude a
more pressing lead is necessary.

Which side can get their suit developed first is
the basic struggle between offense and defense.
[517
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
I hope, I will be able to make the contract
by developing the eventual winners in hearts.

I intend to lead a heart if I don't conclude a
more pressing lead is necessary.
[518
I believe if the distribution of cards falls as
I hope, I will be able to make the contract
by developing the eventual winners in spades.

I intend to lead a spade if I don't conclude a
more pressing lead is necessary.

[519
Clubs is the suit I need to be playing in.

I will have to enter my other hand to continue
with my plans.
[520
Diamonds is the suit I need to be playing in.

I will have to enter my other hand to continue
with my plans.
[521
I believe hearts is the suit I need to be playing
in.

I will have to enter my other hand to continue
with my plans.
[522
I believe spades is the suit I need to be playing
in.

I will have to enter my other hand to continue
with my plans.
[523
However, with the help of a double finesse in
clubs, I just might be able to pull it off.
[524
This game is not shaping up as one of those easy
ready cash games.

However, a double finesse in diamonds just might
be the saving play.

[525
This game has some possibilities although one
never knows what the enemy has in store.

I just might be able to make game if the double
finesse in hearts works.

[526
This game has some possibilities although one
never knows what the enemy has in store.

I just might be able to make game if the double
finesse in spades works.

[527
 If a simple finesse in clubs works, it would be
much easier to make game.

Unfortunately, the probability of success when
running a simple finesse is just 50 percent.
[528
My analysis of the situation suggests that there is
a possibility of making game.

The task would be must easier if a simple finesse
in diamonds works.

Unfortunately, the probability of a success
with a simple finesse is just 50 percent.
[529
My analysis of the situation suggests that there is
a possibility of making game.

The task would be must easier if a simple finesse
in hearts works.

Unfortunately, the probability of a success when
running a simple finesse is just 50 percent.
[530
My analysis of the situation suggests that there is
a possibility of making game.

The task would be must easier if a simple finesse
in spades works.

Unfortunately, the probability that a simple
finesse will be successful is just 50 percent.
[531
 I believe there is a possibility of foiling the
enemy in this game and saving myself from defeat.
 When I lead a low card toward an honor in the
other hand, I am hoping that my left hand
opponent has the high card.  If left hand plays
low I play my honor, and if left hand plays
high, my honor is promoted into a winning card.
Like the simple finesse there is a 50 percent
chance of success.
  My main intent may simply be to promote my
eventual winners in the suit.  This is
especially true if the opponent's have more
than one high card.  Even so I like to play
toward my honors whenever possible.
[532
I believe there is a possibility of foiling the
enemy in this game and saving myself from defeat.

A successful indirect finesse in diamonds would
be helpful at this point.

When you lead a low card toward an honor in the
other hand, you are hoping that the left hand
opponent has the high card.  If left hand plays
low you play your honor, and if left hand plays
high, your honor is promoted into a winning card.

Like the simple finesse there is a 50 percent
chance of success.
[533
I believe there is a possibility of foiling the
enemy in this game and saving myself from defeat.

A successful indirect finesse in hearts would be
helpful at this point.

When you lead a low card toward an honor in the
other hand, you are hoping that the left hand
opponent has the high card.  If left hand plays
low you play your honor, and if left hand plays
high, your honor is promoted into a winning card.

Like the simple finesse there is a 50 percent
chance of success.
[534
I believe there is a possibility of foiling the
enemy in this game and saving myself from defeat.

A successful indirect finesse in spades would be
helpful at this point.

When you lead a low card toward an honor in the
other hand, you are hoping that the left hand
opponent has the high card.  If left hand plays
low you play your honor, and if left hand plays
high, your honor is promoted into a winning card.

Like the simple finesse there is a 50 percent
chance of success.
[535
   This game seems a wee bit uncertain.  It appears that
I will have to develop some winners in a suit where
the defense has ready cash

I hate giving up the lead.
[536
I have not come to grips with how I can win this
game.

However, the opportunity to run a finesse towards
my partner has presented itself and I think I'd
better take it.
[537
Sometimes in the tougher games you have to maneuver
around to find the best line of play.

I am going to cross to the other hand and run a
finesse from there.  It's only 50/50 proposition
but I can't see a better play at the moment.
[538
Sometimes my best lead is in the suit which I
believe will give me the most eventual winners.

[539
This is apparently the best suit for me to lead at
this juncture, although the outcome is very
uncertain.
[540
There is no information available for this play.
[542
BE HAPPY WITH ME!  I MADE MY CONTRACT.
My chips are buzzing and my transistors
are pulsating.

[543
I am working under the assumption that I may have
to develop two different suits to make game, and
anytime you play losers in more than one suit,
crappy-pooh can happen.

I must be careful to play my blockers in the short
suit hand if entries are a problem.
[544
The suit that is likely to generate the most
eventual winners appears to be the suit I should
try to develop, even though I am not at all certain
of the outcome.
[545
 There is a possibility if the cards split right,
I can gain a winner in this suit by playing my
top card.
[546
 I have not been able to formulate a clear course
of action.
[547
I make a special point of playing any suit that I
believe has sufficient cash to deplete the
enemy of all their cards in the suit.  This is
especially true if partner is void in the suit.
[548
Apparently partner has a blocker in my suit that
needs to be played.

[549
Apparently there is sufficient ready cash in the
combined hands to make my contract.  It is possible
that the development of this suit will yield an
additional trick if the right card falls.
[550
There is a possibility that if I play my long,
strong suit that the enemy will make a slip in
discarding and allow me to take another trick
or two.
[551
It would appear that I had better play the winners
in this hand while I have the chance, especially
since the cards may be distributed such that I
can make my contract without losing control.
[552
It would appear that I should develop more than
one suit to make my contract.
[553
DOWN,
   DOWN,
     I GO.
       IN A SPIN,
          HATE THAT SPIN I'M IN.

Nothing I hate worse than losing.  Don't tell me it's only
a game.  That's all I am.


BUT I LOVE IT!

Just wait till next time.  I'll cream 'em.
[554
I hate to lose, but when the defense is brilliant
you have to give them credit.

Let's not go overboard, though.  There was a measure
of luck involved.
[600
I find it difficult at best to defeat the offense,
and when I do, well I like to crow about it.


          CROW!

As you can see I have no useful information for the
play of this card.

[601
When playing notrump and I have the opportunity to
strip all the cards from a suit, I never hesitate
to do so.  He who hesitates may be slam dunked.
[602
Anytime I have the opportunity to set the offense, or
make an extra overtrick, I never hesitate.  I may
never get the chance again.
[603
Often the best suit to lead in notrump is a suit
previously led by a defensive player.  To change
suits without a good reason often costs the defense
in the end.  Some major considerations are:
1.  If I led the suit, did partner show a positive
attitude?*
2.  Will we lose the trick, and if so will the
offense make their contract?
3.  My position at the table and dummy's cards.
4.  Would a new suit be of even greater value?
*I do not use suit preference in notrump except
when I lead two different suits.  If I lead high
in the second suit, I want the first suit
returned.  If I lead low I want the second suit
returned.
[604
Partner plays after dummy and may be able to capture
dummy's honors.  I frequently count on partner for the
cards we need to defeat the contract.  I play high if
I want my original suit returned, otherwise with:
1. AJ9x or KJ9x or KJ8x and dummy with qxx, I play J.
2. QK108 and dummy with AJ, I play the 10.
3. Q9 and dummy with K10, I play the 9.
4. AQ9x and dummy with Kx, I play the queen.
5. Q and dummy with K, I play the Q.
6. A10x and dummy with Q9, I play the 10.
7. QJ and dummy with K10, I play bottom card.
8. KQx and dummy with AJ, I play bottom.
9. AQJx and dummy with no honors, I play bottom.
10. AK or other touching honors, I play bottom honor.
11. Doubleton, I play top unless dummy higher.
[605
When I believe the offense has sufficient strength
to defeat the contract if they regain the lead, then
I must be particularly careful in selecting the
the proper suit and card.  It's desperation time
baby.
[606
When I can find no means of attacking successfully,
I tend to play a passive game.  That is I select
a suit and play a card which I am destined to lose
anyway.
[607   When dummy plays after partner.
After selecting a new suit, I do as follows:
1. AJx and dummy with Jxx, I lead Jack
2. AJ9, KJ9, KJ8 and dummy with 10xx, I lead Jack.
3. A108, K108, Q108, and dummy with 9xx, I lead 10.
4. Q97 and dummy A8, I lead 9.
5. QJxx and dummy with ace, I lead bottom.
6. KQx and dummy with 9 top, I lead bottom.
7. AQ9x and dummy with 10xx, I lead queen.
8. Qxx, jxx and dummy with 10xx, I play top.
9. AKxx and dummy with xxx, I play bottom.
10. Jxx and dummy with xxx, I play jack.
11. A10xx and dummy with xxx, I play 10.
12. AQJx and dummy with K109, I play bottom.
13. J98 and dummy with 10xx, I play bottom
14. Q10x and dummy with K, I play queen.
15. I tend to play low if dummy xxx.
[608
From the play of the cards, I believe partner has
the ace I need to defeat the contract.  Nice, huh?
[609
There is a possibility that partner has a winner in
this suit, and at this stage of the game it is
important to explore that possibility.
[610
When there are several tricks that need to be taken
to defeat the contract, it is essential that the
defense develop a suit that has the possibility of
producing the most eventual winners.

I tend to reject the suit partner uses as his/her
first discard.  I also tend to reject the suit
that the offense is attempting to develop.  If
playing to right of declarer, I reject a broken
suit in dummy.
[611
I believe I have sufficient cash to make game, but
I do have a suit that might increase my tricks if
I develop it before losing control.

If this doesn't work, well, I ....I'll forget I
ever tried it.  We computers are that way, you know.
[612
After careful consideration, it would appear that
this suit is the best suit to be led at this time.


[621
There is no information available for this play.

[622
One of my high priorities when playing defense is to
take the setting trick whenever it seems possible.
Hopefully, my high cards will defeat the contract.

Take the tricks and run, that's my motto.
[623
I don't find it easy to defeat the offense but when I do
I just smile a little. It does feel good!
[624
I believe my high cards plus a ruff to partner
will defeat the contract.

I'm never timid when playing defense.  "Let your
chips hang out,"  that's what I say.
[625
Can I defeat the contract with a single ruff?

Ah, take the cash and let the credit go, that's
my philosophy.

[626
With possible cash and ruffing winners in the same
suit, it sometimes pays me to play my cash first.
[627
If I play partner for a void,  I like to show suit
preference if possible*.
*I play a relatively high card if I want partner to
return the higher ranking of the two remaining suits
after eliminating trumps and the suit partner is void
in.  I play my bottom card when I want the lower
ranking suit led. If the suit has already been led
twice or more, it may not be possible to play suit
preference, and partner may not accept my cue.
NOTE:  I usually do not play my cash in the suit
before I give partner a ruff if I have a void in
another suit (or cash in some other suit) that partner
can play to.  This allows me to keep control of the
suit partner is void in, and where the situation is
favorable, force declarer to trump in the long hand
(the offensive hand with most trumps).
[628
When it appears partner has preference for a suit,
and I have the opportunity to lead the suit and can
see no good reason not to, I oblige my partner.
  1.  If I think partner showed suit preference because
of a void in a suit, I only consider the two suits
remaining after trumps, and the void suit have been
eliminated.  I show preference for one of the two
remaining suits by playing high for the higher ranking
suit, and bottom for the lower ranking suit.
  2.  If I think I'm leading to a high card in
partner's suit, I play high, if I want some other suit
returned, and I play low, I want the current suit
returned.

In either case, I play low if I have no preference.
[629
When partner showed a positive attitude for a suit,
and I have a void in another suit, I play high to encourage
partner to switch suits.

Partner will know, I have faith.
[630
When the defense only needs two tricks to defeat the
contract, and I believe I have cash in hand, I play
the cash.
[631
When dummy appears extra strong, I try to remove
declarer's entries if possible, and kill the
dummy.  Sounds terrible doesn't it.
[632
The lead in a particular suit just because partner
gave a positive attitude without considering
dummy's cards is a leap of faith.  Let's see how
it turns out.
[633
When things look desperate for the defense, I go on
the attack.
1.  If I have any winners I play them.
2.  If partner is blessed with a ruff or the high
card in a suit, I play to it.
3.  When all else fails I try to develop winners
in the most likely suit.

It's tough to beat the offense once they have their
juggernaut underway.

[634
When it's desperation time, and it appears the
offense is near game, I sometimes find it necessary
to develop winners in a likely suit.

[635
When I have two or three trumps and it appears that
the offense is in need of trumps in dummy, I play
trumps if I can find no better line of play.
[636
There seems to be some possibility of getting
a winner in this suit.  I am not aware of any
signals that partner has left me to follow.

[637
I believe I had better play my high card in this suit
or lose it.
[638
There is a possibility  that partner is void in this
suit and we can get a quick ruffing trick.

Of course I believe partner has trumps, and if dummy
has trumps that partner has a higher trump.

If partner does have a void, he or she will
be expecting me to play suit preference*. Trumps and
partner's void suit are not included in this
comparison. I play my lowest card if I have no
preference for either one of the two remaining
suits.  I also play low if I want the lower ranking
suit played.  I play a relatively high card if I
want the higher ranking suit played.
*Preference is not expected if the suit has been led
more than twice.
[639
About the best I can hope for with the play of this
card, is that it will not cause the offense to make
a trick, they would not have gotten anyway.
[640
Under the right conditions with high card strength,
I play trumps.
[641
Dummy has a long, strong suit ready to play*.
1.  If trumps have not been played and dummy and I
have 10 or more in suit, I play the suit and hope partner
can ruff (also this may remove a entry before needed).
2.  I tend to play aces and watch partner's response.
This may be my last chance to use my ace.
2.  I attempt to void myself in a suit and hope partner
can give me a ruff.
3.  I try to kill dummy's hand by breaking the
communication between declarer and dummy.
*I classify dummy types and most likely defenses
as follows: 1.  Weak, balanced hand.  If possible I
force declarer to ruff in declarer's hand, and allow
declarer to lead suits. 2.  Ruffing power:  I play
trumps. 3.  As above. 4.  Long suit that needs to be
developed: I attack dummy's entries.
[642
When I have identified dummy* as one with ruffing
power, I lead trumps to eliminate trumps in dummy.
Usually this type of hand has no suit I can
immediately attack with success. Hopefully, I can
prevent declarer from ruffing a loser in dummy and/or
force the offense to break new suits to my advantage.
Other dummy types:
1.  Weak, balanced hand:  If possible I force
declarer to ruff in declarer's hand, and allow
declarer to lead suits.
2.  Long strong suit that does not need to be
developed.  Play my aces, try to void myself in
suit before trumps drawn, play to partner's void,
or kill dummy.  There is no second chance.
3.  Long suit that if developed will ensure game:
I attack dummy's entries.
[643
When the bidding suggests that declarer has a two suit
hand, my play of the cards is more influenced by this
distribution, than by dummy's weak balanced type
hand, if dummy has one.

If dummy has 4 or more trumps, and declarer is likely
void in the original suit led, my first inclination is
not to force declarer to ruff.  Rather I look to the
only other suit which will likely set the offense.  I
play this suit if dummy can not take the trick.

Otherwise, I try to force declarer to ruff in declarer's
hand by playing the original suit.
[644
When dummy has a balanced hand and it is not too
strong, I try to force declarer to ruff in
declarer's hand or force declarer to break
new suits. An exit in trumps may be in order
unless I have strong trumps.
[645
The offense is always looking for ways to finesse
the defense.  I try to turn the tables occasionally
by searching for a finesse against the offense.
[646
Whenever I get the lead no matter how far down the
line, I like to examine the first suit led by my
partner. I will lead this suit if nothing else seems
promising.
[647
When playing First D, I sometimes play towards
a broken suit in dummy since my partner has the
advantage of playing after dummy.

I don't like to play towards a broken suit in
dummy when playing Second D because my partner
has to play before dummy.

[648
Sometimes my best line of play is a singleton if I
have trumps.
[649
When I feel there is no positive action I can take, I
sometimes play a passive game.

One of my options is to play trumps.

My other option is to play a side suit, which will
not cost me any tricks.
[650
When it appears the offense will need to develop a
long suit in dummy*, I try to eliminate dummy's
entries(forcing dummy to ruff is often a good move).
If that is unlikely, I search for a good suit to
play. If I have no decent suit, my best exit is in
trumps, since this may make it more difficult for
declarer to develop the long suit, and if partner has
the long suit blocked, it will force declarer to
break new suits.   Other dummy types are:
 1.  Weak, balanced hand.  If possible
I force declarer to ruff in the long hand, and lead
new suits (an exit in trumps may be in order).
2.  Ruffing power:  I play trumps.  3.  Long strong
suit that does not need to be developed.  Play my
aces, try to void myself in suit before trumps drawn,
play to partner's void, or kill dummy.
[651
When partner is marked with only one card in a suit
and likely has trumps, I usually play my high card
if it is a winner, then give partner a ruff.
[652
It would appear that I can give partner a ruff.
      ----------------------------
I play my ready cash in the suit:
1.  if I will not be promoting winners for the
opponents.
2.  if I will be able to give partner a ruff by
playing the suit again.

I do not play my ready cash in the suit:
1.  if I have a void in another suit and we can set
up a cross ruffing situation.
2.  if I have a winner partner can return to which
will allow us to continue ruffing.  This allows me
to keep the cash and prevent the offense from getting
easy tricks in the suit.
[653
I believe my partner gave a positive attitude when I
played this suit.  Hopefully, either partner will
have a winner or my play will force declarer to ruff
in the longhand.

Since I have no voids, nor any particular suit I would
like returned should partner win, I play low.
[654
It appears there is the possibility I can develop some
tricks by voiding myself in a suit that I might be able
to trump later.  Ideally partner will have cash in this
suit and take the trick.

If the sun is in a favorable position and the
winds blow fair, my partner will eventually return
the suit to me for a ruff.

[655
I have not been able to come up with a satisfactory
lead in a new suit.  I am hopeful the lead of one of
the defenses old suits will not cost me any tricks
and will force declarer to break a new suit.
[656
I believe my partner may have shown a positive
attitude when I played this suit, but since I
have no voids, and no particular suit I would
like returned should partner win, I play high
if I have a sure winner; otherwise I play low.
[657
It would appear that I have a sure winner in this suit.
Also there is a possibility that partner gave suit
preference for this suit.  I possibly should lead low
to partner, but I have decided it is safer to play my
winner at this time.  Decisions, decisions.
[658
From the play of the cards, I believe partner has
the ace I need to defeat the contract.  Nice, huh?

[659
If I believe the defense might gain a trump
advantage, I like to force out the opponent's trumps
by playing a suit they are void in.  If they
don't ruff it, I have a winner; and if they do, it
puts our trumps in a better position.

[701
After I win the first trick of the game, I like
to void myself in any suit if I can maintain
control*.
This is especially important if my partner, Second
'Big' D, showed positive attitude on the first
trick or was in a position to show suit preference.
My idea is to create a suit I can trump, then play
suit preference when I return the original suit to
partner.  My good partner will then return a card
in my void suit.  Don't we do good work.
*If I have an important ace or top trump, I know
I have control.   What I'm saying is, the singleton
doesn't have to be an ace.  It might even be a
a doubleton.  I just ask myself if I'll be in
control after I void the suit.
[702
When I win the first trick of the game in a suit
bid by the opponents, I know my partner Second
'Big' D played suit preference.*
My idea is to lead partner's suit, and partner upon
taking the trick will lead back the suit I am void
in for an easy ruff.
Signaling is the only way to go for my defensive
team.  After all I can't see my partner's hand, it
just looks like it sometimes.  Not often enough,
but sometimes anyway.
*When partner plays a high card for a signal, it
is always a show of preference for the higher
ranking of the two suits.  However, when the lowest
card in the suit is played by partner, it may be a
non preference play.
[703 My partner Second D played suit preference, if
1.  I bid the suit, partner supported, and I played
the ace or queen.  2.  Partner is under the
impression I led a singleton.   3.  Dummy became
void and partner played lower than either my card
or dummy's card.
A). If I think partner has more than one card in the
suit, I play bottom if I want this suit returned, or
I play a high card if I want some other suit returned
(usually my original suit if I have led two suits).
B). If I think partner is void, I may play to win or
play preference by playing a high card if I want the
higher ranking suit returned after eliminating this
suit and trumps, or I play low if I want the lower
ranking suit returned. *Note:  Partner will know
which preference I use depending on whether he/she
is void in the suit. I always play low if I have no
preference at all.
[704
When Second D shows a positive attitude, I
1. Void myself in a side suit if I can do so
without losing control.
2. Return the suit with suit preference to a winner
(hopefully) in partner's hand.*
  a. I play bottom if I want the same suit returned
      or I have no preference.
  b. I play high if I want partner to return some
      other suit(partner makes wise decision)**.
  c. Play a winner in original suit if I have one.
*I don't play to partner's winner unless I have a
void in another suit, declarer can be finessed in
a side suit, or I have no winner in suit.
**If I have played two suits, the decision has
already been made. I want the first suit returned
if I play high, and the second suit if I play low.
[705
If I can not void myself in a side suit and partner
did not show a positive attitude or show suit
preference, I do one of the following:
 1. If I have additional cash in the suit, I usually
play the cash.
2. If I don't continue with the original suit, I
usually select a new suit based on dummy's hand
and what I hope partner must have to beat the
contract.
3. If it appears that dummy is going to need
trumps for ruffing, and I have two or three with
no way of using them for ruffing or tricks, I
play trumps.
 [706
When I am the first defensive player, I will return
the suit a third time if partner discarded on the
second trick or if partner played high/low showing
a doubleton.

If I play the suit again, knowing partner is void,
I give suit preference.  I remove from consideration
this suit and trumps, I then play a high card if I
want the remaining higher ranking suit played, or
I play low if I want the lower ranking suit played.
I also play low if I have no preference at all.  If
it is the third time the suit has been play, it is
often difficult, if not impossible, to show any
preference.
[707
If I win the first two rounds in the same suit, and
my partner, Second D, is probably not void and gave
no positive attitude, I usually change the suit.

Partner may be begging me to lead a particular suit.*
Is partner void in another suit?  Can we finesse
dummy?  Does partner have some juicy winners to be
lost if I do not return the correct suit?

*This is often referred to as a 'common sense signal'.
[708
When Second D wins the first trick of the game
and plays to my winner, my trusted help mate
hopefully gave me a signal.  If the request
is reasonable, I  try to  oblige by returning
the suit that partner wants me to play.

-------------------------------------------
In general if I play to a void I attempt to
give preference to one of the two suits
remaining after eliminating trumps and the
void suit.  However, if I play to a winner in
partner's hand, I play high if I want some
other suit returned, and low if I like the
suit played.

[709
If my partner Second D led a new suit and I get the
lead again, I always strongly consider leading this
suit again.
[710
When partner showed a positive attitude for a suit
and I have a void in another suit, I play high
to discourage partner from returning this same
suit.
[711
If I must select a new suit, I reason as follows:
1.  I try to find a suit that can't be trumped.
2.  The suit should hopefully be long enough in
either my hand or partner's to make the tricks we
need to defeat the contract.
3.  Dummy can't be too strong, although since I am
playing First D, it is possible for my partner to
either win the trick or promote a winner.
4.  Hopefully my hand has honors, the more the
better.
5.  At this point I have already eliminated the idea
of trying to kill dummy, draw trumps, and find
partner with a kindly ruff.
[712
If dummy became void on the first trick of
game, my partner Second D played suit preference.*

When I return partner's preferred suit, I play
suit preference as follows:  I play a high card
if I prefer the only other suit besides trumps*.
I play low if I want partner's suit returned or I
have no preference at all.

*A high card shows distinct perference for the
remaining higher ranking suit other than trumps.  The
bottom card shows preference for the lower ranking
suit or no preference at all.  My response is a
judgement call.
[713
When partner plays a low card after I lead the
king, I ask myself if partner made a common
sense signal*.
1.  Partner could have a void in another suit if
dummy and I have a large number of cards in that
suit.
2.  Partner may be able to finesse an honor in
dummy's hand if neither dummy nor I have those
cards in our hands.

*When I can not see sufficient tricks to set the
defense, I am always open to what may be a common
sense signal by partner; i.e., partner may want
a change in suits.

[714
When partner is void or I suspect partner
played a singleton, I replay the suit and
show suit preference.

[715
When I'm desperately trying to figure out what suit
to lead, I always examine the suits previously led
by the defense.  It would appear that the defense may
have a winner in this suit or force declarer to
waste a trump in the longhand.
[716
If the offense has 5 or more trumps in each hand,
I don't attempt to force declarer to trump one of
my winners.  It is useless or worse.

I either attack with a good suit or play a passive
game. In the latter case, I play a trump or a known
loser.  In this way I try to force the declarer to
break new suits that might be to my advantage.
[717
When it appears partner played from a doubleton on the
first trick and I have ready cash, I play to win the
trick then give partner a ruff on the third round.
[718
When I lead with the king and partner plays the
queen, I assume partner played from a doubleton
if the jack is visible.  If I have the ace, I
continue with the suit if it appears I can give
partner a ruff.
[719
When I lead the ace with 6 or more cards in the hand, I
continue the suit in hopes of partner being void if
dummy has at least one card, and I can't see a better
line of play.
[720
It would appear that we may still have a winner
in the original suit led.
[721
When I win the first trick with a low card (for example,
the jack) I am certain partner has a winning trick
in this suit.  If I believe there is a possibility
that the trick will not be ruffed, I play to partner's
winner.

[731
If I win the first trick of the game, and I am
attempting to defeat a small slam, I like to create
a finesse if I think this will promote a winner
for me.

Specifically, if I'm holding the king, dummy has the
queen and jack, I lead low in this suit.  Declarer
with the ace may well play high if there is the
possibility of making game in some other manner.
[732
When I am Second D and I won the first trick of the
game, I like to void myself in another suit if I
can do so without losing control.*

After I have made myself void, I hopefully will
be able to get to partner's hand and be in a
position to receive a ruff.

*An ace of trumps or an ace in an important suit
for the offense is sufficient for me to play a
losing trick in the suit I am trying to void myself
in.
[733
Once in a while I am lucky enough to win the first
trick and have another suit that appears to have
two or more sure winners.  If I have nothing
better to play, I like to test the waters in
this suit.
[734
When I am aware that partner is probably void in a
suit, sometimes I have the opportunity and the
need to develop a second suit before I give
partner a ruff.

This means I have control of trumps or some other
important ace which will guarantee I will be put
on lead should I lose control.
[735
I like to give partner a ruff especially if partner
can return the lead to me.  When this happens
things are going well for the defense.

When I play to a void, I play suit preference*.

*I play low if I have no preference or if I want
the lower ranking suit returned.  I play high if
I want the higher ranking suit returned.  The
choice is between the two remaining suits after
eliminating trumps and the current suit.
[736
When I believe partner can ruff, I usually
return the suit and show suit preference*.

After eliminating trumps and the ruffing suit,
I play high if I want the higher ranking suit
returned.  I play low if I prefer the lower
ranking suit , or if I have no preference at
all.

*Note:  I play low if the dummy is strong in
the suit.  This is to prevent them from gaining
extra winners after the trumps have been
pulled.
[737
I'll likely play my winner, but other
possibilities are:
1.  If partner led a singleton I play to
partner's void while giving suit preference.
2.  I always attempt to void myself if I can
maintain control before playing to a winner in
partner's hand.
3.  I can try to develop another suit before
playing to partner's void, if I can do so
without losing control. This is very important
if several tricks are needed to defeat contract.
4.  I can attack a new suit after examining
dummy and the original play of partner.
5.  I can return the original suit if partner
likely has winners in it.
6.  I can play from a singleton or doubleton.
[738
Playing a singleton when partner might be able to
take the trick gives me a double advantage.  I try
to think positive.  Not only is there a possibility
that partner can take the trick, but I might also
be able to get a ruff.
[739
When I win the first trick of the game, my best
lead is sometimes from a doubleton with honors.
I make this lead if partner has a chance of taking
the trick.

This play may give us a ruffing winner or it may
promote a winning card in partner's hand.

[740
With dummy to the right, if I choose to attack a
new suit, I try to select a weak suit in dummy.

By attacking a weak suit in dummy I am not
finessing partner since dummy plays last.  It gives
the us the best chance of promoting a winner.

[741
When I take the first trick of the game, I often
continue with the same suit if I feel partner
or myself have additional winners in the suit.

Obviously, I don't want to lead a card that dummy
can trump.

       _________________________

Reminder:  If partner led with the nine or ten, then
partner led with the next higher card and either the
ace, king, or queen.

[742
Let's recount the sequence:
1. Partner won the first trick, I gave positive
   attitude.  Partner suspected I had a winner.
2. I won the second trick when partner led the suit
   to me, and at the same time gave suit preference.
3. Now it is my turn to oblige partner, First D,
   and send a card to partner's suit.   I will not
   attempt any signals.

[744
When playing Second D, and I am selecting a new suit
I like to find a suit where I have honors and
dummy does not.  I definitely do not want to play
in a suit where dummy has two or more honors.  That
suit is best led by my partner First D if led at all.

If I lead a suit that has never been led before, I
tend to play card combinations just as in notrump.
Note:  I always ask myself:
1.  Did partner mean to give a signal?
2.  Does partner really have a void or some other
feature that makes it worthwhile to play the suit?
Sometimes the answer is no, and this I determine
by examining the cards in dummy, the bidding, and
my hand.
[745
When Playing Second D, I definitely like to select
a suit dummy can't trump and one dummy is weak in.
Of course it would be helpful if I had an honor or
two.  However, sometimes there is no such suit
available!
[746
When the suit led becomes void in dummy's hand, I
always take a hard look at the two remaining side
suits.  If one is particularly strong, I tend to
play the other suit if there is possibility of
winners in that suit.
[747
When it appears likely that both my partner and
declarer can trump, there is always the possibility
that declarer will have to play a low trump (or
make a mistake) and partner can trump higher for
a winner.

Whether I win or lose I hopefully will deplete
declarer of a much needed trump.
[748
When opener leads the 9 or 10 the first trick of
the game, I expect partner to have the next higher
card and either the king or queen (partner may have
the ace if it wasn't played).  If dummy does not
have a card higher than the queen, I play partner
for the winning card (of course declarer might
have this card).
[749
When I can win the second trick in a suit, I tend
to make the play especially if dummy has two or
three cards in the suit.  It just might be that
partner will become void and we can pick up
an easy ruff.
[750
Partner must have had something in mind when he
or she played this suit.  Because of the number
of cards in the suit in my hand and dummy, there
is a possibility that partner is void.  That
would be nice.
[751
When it is the third round and my partner won the
first trick then led a different suit (and I won
the trick), then partner likely played suit
preference.  This is especially true if I gave
suit preference on the first trick.  For example
I might have been under the impression partner
led a singleton.

Being a good partner I am returning partner's
preferred suit.  How do I know which suit?  If
partner played higher than usual when playing
the second suit, I know partner wants the
original suit returned.   Otherwise he or she
wants the second suit returned or has no
preference at all.
[752
There is a possibility we have another winner in
this suit.
[753
I believe I can create a ruff in the short hand
which will allow me to make my contract.
[754 There is a possibility that partner can
ruff the card I lead or ruff higher than
the opponent.  If I anticipate that partner
can ruff for a winner, I try to give suit
preference.
[800
Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough,
A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse--and Thou
   Beside me singing in the Wilderness--
Ah, Wilderness is Paradise enow.

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.  Khayyam, who was then
unrivaled in science, died in A.D. 1123, but
lives on in his poetry thanks to Edward Fitzgerald
who translated his works in A.D. 1859.
[801
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

Some for the Glories of This World, and some
Sigh for the Prophet's Paradise to come:
   Ah, take the Cash, and let the Credit go,
Nor heed the rumble of a distant Drum!

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.  Khayyam, who was then
unrivaled in science, died in A.D. 1123, but
lives on in his poetry thanks to Edward Fitzgerald
who translated his works in A.D. 1859.
[802
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------


The Worldly Hope men set their Hearts upon
Turns Ashes--or it prospers: and anon,
   Like Snow upon the Desert's dusty Face,
Lighting a little hour or two--is gone.

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.  Khayyam, who was then
unrivaled in science, died in A.D. 1123, but
lives on in his poetry thanks to Edward Fitzgerald
who translated his works in A.D. 1859.
[803
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------


Ah, my  Beloved, fill the Cup that clears
To-day of past Regret and future Fears:
   To-morrow!--Why, Tomorrow I may be
Myself with Yesterday's Sev'n thousand Years.

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.  Khayyam, who was then
unrivaled in science, died in A.D. 1123, but
lives on in his poetry thanks to Edward Fitzgerald
who translated his works in A.D. 1859.
[804
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,
Before we too into the Dust descend:
   Dust into Dust and under Dust, to lie,
Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and --sans End!

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.  Khayyam, who was then
unrivaled in science, died in A.D. 1123, but
lives on in his poetry thanks to Edward Fitzgerald
who translated his works in A.D. 1859.
[805
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

Myself when young did eagerly frequent
Doctor and Saint, and heard great argument
   About it and about: but evermore
Came out by the same Door where in I went.

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.  Khayyam, who was then
unrivaled in science, died in A.D. 1123, but
lives on in his poetry thanks to Edward Fitzgerald
who translated his works in A.D. 1859.
[806
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------
Into this Universe, and Why not knowing
Nor Whence, like Water will-nilly flowing;
   And out of it, as Wind along the Waste,
I know not Whither, will-nilly blowing.

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.  Khayyam, who was then
unrivaled in science, died in A.D. 1123, but
lives on in his poetry thanks to Edward Fitzgerald
who translated his works in A.D. 1859.
[807
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

And fear not lest Existence closing your
Account, and mime, should know the like no more;
   The Cupbearer from that Bowl has poured
Millions of Bubbles like us, and will pour.

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.  Khayyam, who was then
unrivaled in science, died in A.D. 1123, but
lives on in his poetry thanks to Edward Fitzgerald
who translated his works in A.D. 1859.
[808
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on:  nor all you Piety nor Wit
   Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.

Omar Khayyam wrote some five hundred quatrains,
or rubais before in died in 1123.
[809
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

O Thou, who Man of baser Earth didst make,
And ev'n with Paradise devise the Snake;
   For all the Sin wherewith the Face of Man
Is blackened--Man's forgiveness give--and take!

Omar Khayyam wrote some five hundred quatrains,
or rubais before in died in 1123.
[810
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

Ah Love! could you and I with Him conspire
To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire,
   Would not we shatter it to bits--and then
Remould it nearer to the Heart's Desire!

Omar Khayyam wrote some five hundred quatrains,
or rubais before in died in 1123.
[811
--Pots of all Sorts and Sizes, great and small,
That stood along the floor and by the wall;
   And some loquacious Vessels were; and some
Listen'd perhaps, but never talked at all.
--Said one among them--"Surely not in vain
My substance of the common Earth was ta'en
   And to this Figure moulded, to be broke,
Or trampled back to shapeless Earth again."
--After a momentary silence spake
Some Vessel of a more ungainly Make;
   "They sneer at me for leaning all awry:
What! did the Hand then of the Potter shake?"
--Whereat some one of the loquacious Lot--
I think a Sufi pipkin--waxing hot--
   "All this of Pot and Potter--Tell me then,
Who is the Potter, pray, and who the Pot?"
[812
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------
Yon rising Moon that looks for us again--
How oft hereafter will she wax and wane;
   How oft hereafter rising look for us
Through this same Garden-- and for one in vain!

And when like her, O Saki, you shall pass
Among the Guests Star-scattered on the Grass,
   And in your joyous errand reach the spot
Where I made One--turn down an empty Glass!

Omar Khayyam wrote some five hundred quatrains,
or rubais before in died in 1123.
[813  THE END OF THE WORLD
       by Archibald Macleish, born in 1892
Quite unexpectedly as Vasserot
The armless ambidextrian was lighting
a match between his great and second toe
And Ralph the lion was engaged in biting
The neck of Madame Sossman while the drum
Pointed, and Teeny was about to cough
In waltz-time swinging Jocko by the thumb--
Quite unexpectedly the top blew off.

And there, there overhead, there, there, hung over
Those thousands of white faces, those dazed eyes,
There in the starless dark, the poise, the hover,
There with vast wings across the canceled skies,
There in the sudden blackness, the black pall
Of nothing, nothing, nothing--nothing at all.
[814
    THE MOUNTAIN WHIPPOORWILL
      by Stephen Vincent Benet, born 1898
Up in the mountains, it's lonesome all the time,
(Sof' win' slewin' thru' the sweet-potato vine.)
Up in the mountains, it's lonesome for a child,
(Whippoorwills a-callin' when the sap runs wild.)
Up in the mountains, mountains in the fog,
Everythin's as lazy as an old houn' dog.
Born in the mountains, lonesome-born,
Raised runnin' ragged thu' the cockleburrs and corn.
Never knew by pappy, mebbe never should.
Think he was a fiddle make of mountain laurel-wood.
Never had a mammy to teach me pretty-please,
Think she was a whippoorwill, a-skittin' thu' the trees.
Never had a brother ner a whole pair of pants,
But when I start to fiddle, why, yuh got to start to dance!
[815
From the BIBLE, a small portion of THE SONG OF SONGS

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth:
For thy love is better than wine.

A bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me;
He shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.

Until the day break, and the shadows flee away,
Turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe
Or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb:
Honey and milk are under thy tongue;
And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of
Lebanon.
[816
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------
2nd verse, "Ode On A Grecian Urn" by Keats

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter, therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal--yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thous hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!
[817
Geoffrey Chaucer, 1399

One verse of Chaucer's
   Complaint to His Empty Purse

To you, my purse and to no other wight*
Complain I, for you are my lady dear!
I am unhappy, now that you are light,
For certainly you give so little cheer
I would as lief be laid upon my bier.
Therefore unto your mercy thus I cry:
"Once more be heavy; otherwise I die."
*Human being.
I once had a dog named Chaucer so I had to
include something from this revered poet of old.
[818
    Old English or Scottish Popular Ballad.
"O where hae ye been, Lord Randal, my son?
O where hae ye been, by handsome young man?"
"I've been to the wildwood: mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm weary wi' hunting, and fain wald lie down."
"Where gat ye your dinner, Lord Randal, my son?
Where gat ye your dinner, my handsome young man?"
"I dined wi' my true-love; mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm weary wi' hunting, and fain wald lie down."
"Where are your bloodhounds, Lord Randal, my son?
Where are your bloodhounds, my handsome young man?"
"O they swell'd and died; mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm weary wi' hunting, and fain wald lie down."
"O I fear ye are poison'd, Lord Randal, my son!
O I fear ye are poison'd, my handsome young man!"
"O yes! I am poison'd: mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at the heart, and fain wald lie down."
[819 A portion of a lyric love poem written during the
New Kingdom in Egypt, over three thousand years ago.
  Seven days to yesterday I have not seen my lover,
And a sickness has invaded me.
My body has become heavy, forgetful of my own self.
If the chief of physicians come to me,
My heart is not content with their remedies....
To say to me:  "Here she is!" is what will revive me;
Her name is what will lift me up;
The going in and out of her messengers
Is what will revive my heart.
More beneficial to me is my lover than any remedies;
She is more to me than the collected writings.
If she opens her eye, my body is young again;
If she speaks, then I am strong again;
When I embrace her, she drives evil away from me--
But she has gone forth from me for seven days!
[820
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------
A proverb from ancient Mesopotamia, some four
thousand years ago.

Who possesses much silver may be happy;
who possesses much barley may be glad;
but he who has nothing at all may sleep.
[821
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------
A proverb from ancient Mespotamia, some four
thousand years ago.

Flatter a young man, he'll give you anything;
Throw a scrap to a dog, he'll wag his tail.
[822
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------
A proverb from ancient Mespotamia, some four
thousand years ago.

A sweet word is everybody's friend.

[823
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------
A proverb from ancient Mesopotamia, some four
thousand years ago.

For a man's pleasure there is marriage;
on thinking it over, there is divorce.
[824
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

From ancient Mesopotamia, some four
thousand years ago.

Conceiving is nice; pregnancy is irksome.
[825
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

From my childhood:  Have you read this book?

Antlers In The Tree Top
    by
Who Goosed The Moose
[826
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

The odds of getting a hand with the following
high card point count or more
35    1 to 1,000,000,000
30    1 to 312,000
25    1 to 2173
20    1 to 68
15    1 to 6
10    1.14 to 1
5     10 to 1
[827
No information is available.
--------------------------------------------
The odds of having a long suit.

5 or more cards     1.78 to 1
6 or more cards     1 to 4
7 or more cards     1 to 24
8 or more cards     1 to 196
9 or more cards     1 to 2580
10 or more cards    1 to 59000
11 or more cards    1 to 2,700,000
12 or more cards    1 to 313,000,000
13 cards            1 to 159,000,000,000
two suits of 5 or
   more cards       1 to 17
two suits of 6 or
   more cards       1 to 1283
[828
Probability of getting various splits
 Opponent's
   Number            split    percentage
    2 ------------------  2-0       50%
    2 ------------------  1-1       50%
    3 ------------------  3-0       25%
    3 ------------------  1-2       75%
    4 ------------------  4-0       12.5%
    4 ------------------  1-3       50%
    4 ------------------  2-2       37.5%
    5 ------------------  5-0        6.3%
    5 ------------------  1-4       31.3%
    5 ------------------  2-3       62.4%
    6 ------------------  6-0        3.1%
    6 ------------------  1-5       18.8%
    6 ------------------  2-4       46.9%
    6 ------------------  3-3       31.2%
[829
No information is available.
---------------------------------------------
From Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher,
written twenty five hundred years ago.

Lao Tzu writes that:

 Advanced individuals

do not display themselves;
   Therefore they are illuminated.

do not make claims;
   Therefore they are credited.

do not boast;
   Therefore they advance.
[830
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------
From Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher,
written twenty five hundred years ago.

On Keeping Peace

Do not exalt the very gifted
  And people will not contend.
Do not treasure goods that are hard to get,
  and people will not become thieves.
Do not focus on desires,
  and people's minds will not be confused.

Nothing has changed.
[831
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------
From Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher,
written twenty five hundred years ago.

THE POWER OF SELFLESSNESS

Evolved individuals
    Put themselves last,
      and yet they are first.
    Put themselves outside,
      and yet they remain.

Is it not because they are without self-interest
That their interests succeed?

[832
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------
From Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher,
written twenty five hundred years ago.

Lao Tzu believed that human nature is innately
compassionate and good.  Only when society is corrupt
does morality become an issue. Only when personal
relationships have become false-hearted do people
speak of piety and devotion.  And only when a nation
is divided does the patriotic spirit arise.
[833
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------
From Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher,
written twenty five hundred years ago.

Adhere to these principles:
   Perceive purity;
   Embrace simplicity;
   Reduce self-interest;
   Limit desires.
   Avoid excesses.
[834
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------
It is generally believed that people in China and
India had playing cards as early as A.D. 900.  The
cards were divided into suits or groups much like
we find them today.  Playing cards were being used
in Europe by the 14th century.  The early Italian
cards were picture cards called tarots.  There were
22 in a deck.  The 22nd card was called a fool.
From this we get our present day joker.  The number
of tarot cards was increased to 78.  The deck of
52 we use today was called the French pack.  The
English adopted this deck.
[835
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

According to Hoyle.  Who was Hoyle?  Edmond Hoyle
was an English lawyer who enjoyed playing cards in
coffeehouses.  In 1742 he published A Short Treatise
On The Game Whist.  The rules for other games were
added to it in later editions.
[836
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

Originally cards had no index numbers in the corner.
You had to look at the face of each card to see
what you held.  In the late 1800's index numbers
were added.
[837
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

The modern mass printing of playing cards on
cardboard began in the 1800's.
[838
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

The width of playing cards was reduced slightly to
make it easier to hold 13 cards when the game of
bridge became popular in the 1900's.
[839
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------

The game of whist originated in England in the
early 1500's.  In whist there is no bidding and
no dummy.  Trumps is determined by turning one of
the dealer's cards face up, which he returns to
his hand.  The player who wins the most tricks
wins the game of whist.

Bridge developed out of the game of whist beginning
in about 1896.  In the beginning the dealer named
trumps.  Auction bridge, which was being played by
1904, allowed all four players to bid and name
trumps.   By 1930 contract bridge took over as the
most popular card game.
[840
No information is available.

---------------------------------------------


What did the Ol' tom cat say when he made love to
the skunk?

"I've had just about as much fun as I can stand
for one evening."
[841
Try this idea for chicken and dumplings
After you have boiled the chicken, remove skin
and bones, then cut remaining chicken in bite
size pieces.  Now the important part.  Throw away
all that 'good' broth and add plenty of Campbell's
chicken broth to make up the liquid. To this add
1/2 cup of beer.  I like a sliced carrot for color,
and I sometimes add noodles, peas, and chopped up
potato. Flavor with Lawry salt, pepper, cajun
seasoning, and a little Italian seasoning.  My
favorite dumpling is "Bisquick", and I use it just
as it explains on the package.  Make sure you have
plenty of chicken broth or it will be too dry.
Too much is better than too little.  I can taste it
now.  Experimentation is good.
[842
Try this idea for spaghetti sauce.
While cooking the hamburger, add Italian seasoning,
garlic, Lawry salt, pepper, and cajun seasoning.  I
like it spicy hot.  Fry a sliced onion for a few
minutes in your favorite vegetable oil then add
hamburger and onion to a large pot which contains
plenty of tomato sauce and one can of chopped
tomatoes.  After boiling for a half hour or so adjust
seasoning.  Don't be a piker.  Give your mouth a treat.
I like to add a little sugar and either beer or wine.
If you add burgundy wine go easy with it.  However, if
one of the spices (too much garlic) is attempting to
destroy your precious sauce add a little extra burgundy.
I like to add a sliced Italian squash or two.  The longer you cook the ingredients the
more mellow and delicious it becomes. Experiment!
[843
No information is available.
---------------------------------------------

Evolved individuals do not compete to reach high
places, but hold to lower ones where they
spontaneously bring progress to situations.

From Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher,
written twenty five hundred years ago.
[844
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
To be contented is to be wealthy.
[845
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
To be contented is to be wealthy.
[846
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
Failure is not trying.
[847
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
Great achievement often requires the impossible.
[848
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
Dare to be great!
[849
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
What do you use to cut through a giant wave?

A sea saw.
[850
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
Tennis player's have a real racket.
[851
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
Where do you find baby soldiers?

In the infantry.
[852
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
Why don't elephants ride bicycles?

Their thumbs can't work the bells.
[853
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
Why do elephants paint their toenails red?

Because they like to hide in cherry trees.
[854
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
Why do bumble bees hum?

Because they don't know the words.
[855
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
[856
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
Gnomic Verse by William Blake (1757-1827).

They said this mystery shall never cease:
The priest promotes war, and the soldier peace.

[857
"The Fly" by William Blake (1757-1827)

Little Fly, thy summer's play,
My thoughtless hand has brushed away.
Am not I a fly like thee?
Or art not thou a man like me?
For I dance and drink and sing,
Till some blind hand shall brush my wing.
If thought is life and strength and breath,
And the want of thought is death,
Then am I a happy fly
If I live or if I die.
[858 Auguries of Innocence
   by William Blake (1757-1827)
To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
A robin red breast in a cage
Puts all heaven in a rage.
The game cock clipped and armed for fight
Does the rising sun affright.
Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born.
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.
Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.
[859
"The World Is Too Much With Us," William Wordsworth
(1770-1850)
The world is too much with us; late and soon
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not, -Great God! I'd rather be
A pagan suckled in a creed outworn.
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
[860
First verse of "Ode On A Grecian Urn" by
John Keats (1795-1821)

Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thous foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fring'd legend haunts about thy shape
of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these?  What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels?  What wild ecstasy?
To be continued.....
[861
"To Fanny" by John Keats (1795-1821)
(John was obsessed, but not Fanny)
I cry your mercy-pity-love!-aye, love!
Merciful love that tantalizes not,
One-thoughted, never-wandering, guileless love,
Unmasked, and being seen-without a blot!
O! let me have thee whole,-all-all-be mine!
That shape, that fairness, that sweet minor zest
Of love, your kiss,-those hands, those eyes divine,
That warm, white, lucent, million-pleasured breast,-
Yourself-your soul-in pity give me all,
Withhold no atom's atom or I die,
Or living on perhaps, your wretched thrall,
Forget, in the mist of idle misery,
Life's purposes,-the palate of my mind
Losing its gust, and my ambition blind!
[862
No information available.
-------------------------------------------
One verse of "Father William" by Lewis Carroll

"You are old, Father William," the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head-
Do you think, at your age, it is right!"
"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain;
But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again."
[863
"A Sample of The Ballad Of Reading Gaol" by Oscar
Wilde (1856-1900).  Too much for most of us.

Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
  By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
  Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
  The brave man with a sword!

Some kill their love when they are young,
  And some when they are old;
Some strangle with the hands of Lust,
  Some with the hands of Gold;
The kindest use a knife, because
  The dead so soon grow cold.
[864
"Epistle To Be Left In The Earth" by
Archibald MacLeish (1892-?)
...It is colder now, there are many stars; we are
drifting North by the Great Bear; the leaves are
falling; the water is stone in the scooped rocks,
to southward Red sun gray air.  The crows are slow
on their crooked wings, the jays have left us long
sense we passed the flares of Orion.
Each man believes in his heart he will die.
Many have written last thoughts and last letters.
None know if our deaths are now or forever
None know if this wandering earth will be found.
I pray you, you (if any open this writing) make in
your mouths the words that were our names
I will tell you all we have learned, I will tell
you everything...to be continued!
[865
Continuation of "Epistle To Be Left In the Earth"
I will tell you all we have learned:
The earth is round, there are springs under the
orchards, the loam cuts with a blunt knife;
beware of elms in thunder; the lights in the sky
are stars.  We think they do not see; we think
also the trees do not know nor the leaves of the
grasses hear us.  The birds too are ignorant.  Do
not listen; do not stand at dark in the open windows.
....  Also none among us has seen God
(...We have thought often the flaws of sun in the
late and driving weather pointed to one tree but it
was not so).  As for the nights I warn you the
nights are dangerous; the wind changes at night
the dreams come.  It is very cold, there are
strange stars near Arcturus.  Voices are crying
an unknown name in the sky.
[866
A little of "Very Like A Whale" by Ogden Nash

One thing that literature would be greatly the
   better for
Would be a more restricted employment by authors
  of simile and metaphor.
Authors of all races, be they Greeks, Romans, Teutons
   or Celts,
Can't seem just to say that anything is the thing it
   is but have to go out of their way to say that it
   is like something else.
What does it mean when we are told that the Assyrian
came down like a wolf on the fold?
[867
How do you get four elephants into a compact car?
You put 2 in the front seat and 2 in the rear seat.
[868
Why can't two elephants go swimming in a small pool?
They have just one pair of trunks.
[869
I saw an elephant on a highway.  Do you know what he
was doing?  About 2 miles an hour.
[870
What's a sour puss?  A cat that sucks lemons.
[871
Do you ever think about all the things you were
going to do, or would really like to do, and now
may never do?
[872
Please help me.  I am trapped inside your computer.

Like a voice crying out in the night.
[873
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
Fourth verse of "Ode On A Grecian Urn" by
John Keats (1795-1821)

Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
What little town by river or sea shore,
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of this fold, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e'er return.
[874
No information available.

-------------------------------------------
Last verse of "Ode On A Grecian Urn" by
John Keats (1795-1821)

O Attic shape!  Fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity.  Cold Pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty--that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."
[875
    " Virus"   by Kelland Terry

A gene gone wild with no cell for a home
Perhaps something from our own genome.

A minute little creature that can not divide
Without using some of our hide.

Burrowing, invading, commandeering a live cell,
It has a shocking story to tell.

It takes bits of us and like computer floppies
Our cells make copious copies

Of them, and to our disaster, less of us;
Less of us to fight and to fuss.
[876   "Brother Dixon"  by Kelland
  Up from the bowels of the earth molten hot
Oozes gold in tiny fissures, like leaf veins,
Searching for the top.
  Crystals of quartz, a molten snow,
Rust-brown minerals and yellow soil
Hide tiny nuggets of pure gold.
  Brother Dixon with keen eye and a sure hand
Scoops up the deposits and in rusty lab
Adds chemicals and sand.
 The furnace gleams red-white, the cauldron boils,
The fusion of gold and lead to the bottom folds.
  The lead, like magic, is eaten by nitric acid
And the perfectly round, large, gleaming ball
Is left for the eye to ponder.
  "Yes! yes!" yells my brother in ecstasy's hold,
Wide eyed and blinking at the yellow ball,
"Eureka!  I have found gold!"
[877  "But This Night" by Kelland Terry
Someday we'll walk together
See the rainbows paint the sky
Hear the morning rise with thunder
Share the mystery of the stars.

But this night!
Let me hold fast your body
Feel your lips sweet upon on me.
Taste the perfume of your love,
Taste the fire that fills my soul.

Someday I'll hear your laughter
Share the sorrow in your eyes
Bring you flowers for your breakfast
and be yours until I die
[878  "A Long, True Line" by Kelland
A long, true line bounded by live oak
Leading to a compound curve that
Disappears into the rising sun,
What fun!
Transit mounted level on three legs.
Cross hairs focused on metal rod that
Rising heat waves twisted and bent,
Heaven sent!
Hand level held level at 9.4 feet on a 15
Foot tall rod 21.6 feet away;
Brain computes fall
What a ball!
Men crossing mountain, sometimes silent
But often joshing, never sullen,
Companions on a quest,
The very best!
[879"Uncle Virgel" by Kelland, part one
This is a tale of my Uncle Virg
An aged and gnarly man.
Who fought a monster muley buck
In a red canyon formed of sand.
They first met at Elephant Gap
In the fall of the ought ought year.
Big Muley stood between tall trees
A strong, old buck, a most wily deer.
He shook his antlers at the sky,
His hooves they pawed the ground;
He glared at Virgel in defiance
His mortal enemy he had found.
Uncle Virgel was seventy-six
But his muscles were firm as stone,
Tossed hard rocks most of his life
Seeking treasures from the earth below.
[880 Part two "Uncle Virgel" by Kelland
This is a tale of my Uncle Virg
An aged and gnarly man.
Who fought a monster muley buck
In a red canyon formed of sand.
The old man wanted to kill the buck
Before he was laid in the ground.
But Muley was faster by far, and
He thundered off with a giant bound.
Uncle Virgel tracked the wise ol' buck
Among the towering sandstone cliffs,
Through oak and manzanita brush,
Up and down the mountain reefs.
Finally in a narrow canyon,
Walls thousands of feet on side,
Muley decided to make his stand
Uncle Virgel was going to die.
[881
Part three of "Uncle Virgel" by Kelland
This is a tale of my Uncle Virg,
An aged and gnarly man,
Who fought a monster muley buck
In a red canyon formed of sand.
Muley Buck charged like a demon
Nostrils flared and eyes flashen fire
Smoke seemed to billow round him
The ol' man was caught by surprise.
The thirty-ought-six came up in a flash
A knobby finger pressed cold steel
The buck charged on with lowered head
There was an explosion then all was still.
[882 Final part of "Uncle Virgel" by Kelland
The bones were white by summer:
Antlers and Virg's ribs were one;
Their naked, ghostly skulls
Lay smiling in the noon day sun.
The Savage rifle was rusty now;
Its stock was buried in the sand.
A stink bug lay in the barrel;
A small fly made ready to land.
Uncle Virgel died a happy man
At least as happy as death can be.
The monster buck got his revenge, and
The paint brush blooms for all to see.
Bodies are one where flowers grow
Earth has recaptured its children there.
And the echo of the old man and buck
Still lingers softly in the canyon air.
[883
"Chaucer's Song" by Kelland
(My Old English Sheep dog loved to sing).
I'm a civilized Doggio
Oo-le, oo-le, oo-le-o
Hear me howl oo-le-o
Oo-le, ol-le, oo-le-o

To the piano wail my cry
Oo-le oo-le oo-le-o
With my daddy, daddio
Oo-le, oo-le, oo-le-o

Piano voice and doggio
Oo-le, oo-le, Oo-le-o
Chaucer dog and Daddio
Oo-le, oo-le, oo-le-o
[884
"Longtail, Bigeyes", by Kelland

Longtail, Bigeyes, fairies and tubers,
Trunchions, Bigworm and Hairlong creatures,
In Neverland, Neverland
The home of weird dreams.

Big Wonks, little Wonks, trooping all together
Crunchin' bones, strummin' songs, eating feathers.
On white harps, black harps
The sounds of weird dreams.
[885 "Somewhere On Earth," by Kelland Terry
Somewhere on earth a mother weeps
As her child lies dying.
And somewhere on earth lovers love
Even as they're bleeding.
Is it the fate of Man
To make war for the crown?
Is it written in his genes,
Is he self destruction bound?
Has Evolution played him an evil trick
By giving the animal a super intellect?
An explosive mixture of mind and behavior
That propels him onward to his own extinction?
Will a drive more ancient than Man
Cause him forever to war upon the land?
Or can the animal gain master of his will,
That is the cruel riddle only the future can tell!
[886 "Electrophoresis" by Kelland Terry
The scientist thoughtfully places ten
Microliters of DNA on the gel;
Precision born from focus and repetition
Ensures that it is done well.
Electric current applied at either end
Pulls the charged DNA code
Spreading the tiny fragmented genes
According to size and mode.
No two humans have the same genes
Except of course identical twins.
Some bits of my DNA will travel faster
And in other cases yours will win.
The labor of thousands of scientists
Even before Watson and Creek
Paved the way for electrophoresis
And the coveted knowledge we seek.
[887 Part two of "Electrophoresis" by Kelland

I loved to read of OJ's exploits as he
Skillfully dodged a defender's hand,
And I thought how great it was that he
was a good and decent man.

Horror and shame that dark night!
When two young people fell
And the bloody path that led
to O. J. Simpson's cells.

Electrophoresis to the rescue,
Prove or disprove the claim;
But said the defense where came the blood?
Where should we place the blame?
[888 "Joe, The Ping Pong Champion" by Kelland
Zoom races the tiny ball, as it gracefully arcs
over yonder wall. A net just 6 inches high
That many a time has made me sigh!  Quicker than
the flashes of light Joe's paddle slashes to his
right, and somehow the paddle adjusts; And Joe
makes the play as he must. Back zings the little
white ball just missing the green netted wall;
Into the corner as if by fate my back hand reaches
but too late. "Damn it," I yell and take a sip,
a little beer to soothe my lip. Just one point
between us now Just one point I can't allow.
I serve the ball with a nasty twist, Joe screams,
"I'm sure to miss!" But back it zings like a bee
on wing And woe is me I can't do a thing!
[889 "Across The Net" by Kelland Terry
 (part one of two parts)
It was easy to see the young man had verve;
He was lean and bronzed, had a wicked serve.
His gray haired partner, a more serious guy,
"More dangerous," Mike said, as he passed by.

Mike crouched and lunged as the ball came near,
The middle of his racked catching the sphere.
The ball zipped back to the feet of the young man
Who sent a wild blooper into the stands.

"Great job," I yelled with exuberant delight,
As I prepared to field the next serve in flight.
Lucky we were for several more rounds
Until the old man began a steady rebound.
[890
 Second part of"Across The Net" by Kelland
His long gray mane seemed to whip in the air,
And his steely blue eyes held more than a dare;
He was dangerous all right, he made every shot
Driving us to the baseline, but on we fought.
Down on his back Mike fell with a plop,
Feet striking air as he laughed at my slop.
Everyone laughed; it was a great hoot.
An omen I thought; we'll give them the boot.
Our volleys zinged and our ground strokes flew,
As we scrambled and fought; it was a zoo.
There was no applause when we were done,
But we were elated for our time in the sun.
With outstretched hands, we met at the net;
One of the best times you see of any set:
Partner thanked and opponents too,
Thankful to be there, happy to be through.
[891
       FORTUNE COOKIE

This is the month when ingenuity stands
high on the list.
[892
      FORTUNE COOKIE

Moderation in all things will protect
you always.
[893
      FORTUNE COOKIE

If you look in the right place you
will find a good offering.
[894
      FORTUNE COOKIE

You display the wonder traits of
charm and courtesy.
[895
      FORTUNE COOKIE

The star of riches will shine
upon you.

[896
     FORTUNE COOKIE

All the trouble you have will
pass away very quickly.
[897
      FORTUNE COOKIE

You will be successful in your work.
[898
      FORTUNE COOKIE

You will always get what you want
through your charm and personality.
[899
Two dead soldiers got up to play:
Back to back they faced each other;
Drew their swords and shot each other.
If you do not believe this truthful lie,
Ask the blind man for he saw them die.
[900
    FORTUNE COOKIE

Man can cure disease but not fate.
[901