Agreed Signals - I

Trump Peters - exploiting the hidden power.

All partnership signalling systems need to be disclosed on your convention card. But it is in the use and interpretation of the signalling system by the partnership, not the keeping secret wherein the power lies.

If you can know declarers distribution, you then know what he/she wants to do in what sequence and can thus thwart declarers intentions more effectively as a defender.

The bidding is the first clue to declarers holdings. Further clues to declarers distribution can come from partners chosen lead and sometimes what he/she did not lead particularly against a no-trump contract.

But more often than not, declarer is in a trump suit - where the declaring side hold 8 or more trumps. In this case you are unlikely as a defender to hold more than 3 trumps - but just two are often sufficient to give partner the final clue in unravelling declarers distribution and thus making defence both more interesting and more effective.

Your trump holding is say 7 3 2 or 8 5, but this apparently hopeless holding holds great power if you and your partner know how to wield that power.

If you count a void as an even number of cards in a suit, then all hands of 13 cards must have 3 suits with an odd length or 3 suits with an even length.

So you can tell partner which it is by agreeing that a high-low peter in trumps is 3 odd suits and a low-high signal is 3 even suits. Often this is sufficient with other clues from the bidding and opening lead for partner to know declarers exact distribution and if your defensive holding of trumps break 2-2 or 3-2 without a doubleton honour it is possible for both defenders to know declarers distribution.

Enjoy your bridge.
R. Wells Simple Tips with Big Impact

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