HINTS ON AUCTION BRIDGE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 928, 22 March 1930, Page 23

HINTS ON AUCTION BRIDGE

;T vinculo Keeps A Record (II) iWr ‘"' n f °’ T/it ™ C OPU r, Bh , t„ S'u, Zealand.) “D“S to know abfcntT”-’ ots more > answered Trinculo. “What would you like •‘Suit distribution always interests me" ..a t. ~ „ mJ'JSSXLSSZ!’ ..J ,h,„

Suit Patterns of 60 Consecutive Hands.

the use oTit?”**'’” Said Stephaao > after examining the chart. “But what’* it h.‘s‘ eerUi; e o7nts“i e int^sT ln the' 1 slmf 6 '"****• b But the llmple "’the -rrospondence of unshakable faith in the law of avrases LT.u if * , are aware ' an SO minute a sample to vindicate eXpCeted . Bhld someone, “has it done so?” ‘ Why, Jooa: at this.” And Trineulo showed us this:

Suit Patterns of 60 Consecutive Hands

‘The results of the 60 deals give, as you will agree, a surprisingly accurate idea of the relative frequency of various distributions.” “Anything else of interest!” “Yes, the comparative paucity of hands containing six or more cards of one suit. I should have expected—looking at the thing mathematically—to hold about 12 of these in 60. Instead, I only held eight. The explanation, of course, may merely be that my sample is much, too small. But the same result has presented itself before. I have a theory which explains it, though T won’t go into it now.” * * ell, all this seems rot to me,” said Stephano, who is on the Stock Exchange, and who despises Trinculo’s theorising. “It would have been more interesting to be told whether suit calls turned out better as a rule than No-Trumps. ,y Stephano is a firm believer in the “ take-out” of a >io-Tramper into a suit; and protracted and vigorous argument sometimes ensues. “No sooner asked for than supplied. But this,” added Trinculo, “must be my last exhibit for to-day—and I shan’t, I fear, have time to dircuss it properly. ”

“Two very striking points emerge from this analysis—the number of hands played in No-Trumps and the comparative failure (on which I have commented before) of game-going calls in Hearts and Spades. The tendency is always for players holding the major suits strongly to push themselves * over the edge. ’ ”

Distribution. o. of Hands held. No. of Hands which secured the Declaration >’o. of Successful Declaration 4432 14 0 1 , 5332 14 O o431 4333 7 4 5422 6 tj* 2 6322 6421 2 — , — 7321 Cf “ 4441 — 5321 6331 1 1 1 7420 .1 1 1 Total 60 16 13

Suit Distribution. Number of Hands*. to be expected a priori. Actually held 4432 13 14 5332 9 14 5431 8 4333 6 5422 6322 6421 Others 12 6 Total 60 60

Call. Successful. Unsuccessful. Total. On© No Trump 5 1 6 Two 2so Trumps .. 14 3 17 Three No Trumps 1 — 1 Total: No Trumps CO 4 24 One Spade 1 1 Two Spades .. 3 4 7 Three Spades 5 2 7 Four or more Spades 1 1 One JTeart Two Hearts . . 2 — 2 Three Hearts 4 1 5 Four or more Hearts l 4 Total: Major Suits 17 ii 28 Clubs or One 1 1 Two 1 — 1 Three 4 1 5 Four or more 1 — 1 Total: Minor Suits 7 1 8 Total 44 16 60