Avoidance Play
Avoidance play means a play in a contract designed to keep a weak holding in a suit protected by keeping the danger hand off lead.
For example you may have the King and 2 small ones in the dummy, with nothing in your hand. You try to keep the hand off lead that can lead through the King.
Of course sometimes you cannot help it, but if there is a choice of which way to finesse in a suit, then you should play with this in mind.
Play this hand with me.
North
♠ J 10 5
♥
which runs round to your Jack. The lead of the 10 marks North with the other top cards in the suit. You can tell this as South did not have a higher card to play. If South would have had the Ace or the Queen, he would have played it.
Therefore you must try to keep South out of the lead. Once he gets in, he will play a Diamond through your remaining honour and the contract will fail. However you don’t mind North winning a trick, as he cannot profitable play another Diamond without giving you another trick.
You will need club tricks to make this contract, and you cannot keep South out of the lead if he has the Ace, so just hope that North holds it.
Therefore play a small club at trick 2. Lo and behold, North pops up with the ace.
Whatever he next plays, go the table with a club to the Queen. North shows out, so you can finesse later.
Now the key play.
Play a heart from the table and put in the 8.
You are finessing against the Queen. IT WORKS.
The queen is doubleton after cashing your Ace.
You make
1 Diamond
5 Hearts
2 Spades
3 Clubs
Lucky?
NO NOT lucky
Correct technique in avoidance play gives a top score
