Tournament Tip Time
Streamlining Your Tournament Experience
In 1996 or so I wrote an article for The Matchpointer, the Vancouver bridge newsletter, called Hurry Up And Think. It didn't quite fit on a single page and with no "continued on page..." space available, I reduced the font size slightly to make it fit, and because of this (or maybe because of the title) few read it. When I posted the article online, a Director in Britain asked me for permission to reprint it on his site, and you can read it here. In almost thirty years since, I have received almost a dozen requests to reprint it in tournament handouts, at events in Asia, Africa, South America, Europe, and Australia. The Internet can be amazing. I often joke (using a line borrowed from Stephen Leacock, the Canadian humourist who was our version of Mark Twain) that my little article has been reprinted in every quarter of the globe, and at times into every eighth or sixteenth of it.
The gist of it is quite simple: to play fast you don't need to play fast. You just need to play slow less often. And by 'play slow' I don't just mean playing. Most of the delays we see come from needless time being lost, much of it simply due to confusion over how things work in a big tournament, others related to the types of issues in the article I wrote. Remove all these, and you will have more time to play and think, without being hurried along by Directors and other players.
But then a quarter-century later we had a two-year hiatus from live bridge and we all got used to playing bridge online, something many of us still do quite often. More online play makes live bridge more difficult, especially in a large tournament setting where the procedures are unfamiliar.
And so, on this Monday with no bridge (a temporary condition, we'll probably be back to the regular schedule next year), here are some tournament survival tips to avoid delays. Ready?
Buying entries: Every session here in Penticton has 2-7 different events and you need to know which event you are entering. This year, all events are sold inside the playing area, with team events sold at the Director's desk in the middle, and pairs events sold at a table nearby in the pairs area. Afternoon games are the busiest lines, and there will usually be a Director on line control to answer questions about which events are on and direct you to the person selling the one you want. Only one person from a pair or team needs to be in line, but if paying with multiple cards, that person will need to know which ones are paying what. By the time you get to the front of the line, you should know all of the following:
- Which specific event you are entering
- How many masterpoints you and your partner, or your team as a whole, has
- Whether you are paying for the entry fee with one card or multiple cards, or free play coupons issued by District 19 — remember, cash is not an option
- If more than one card and it's not a simple split into 2 or 3 or 4, let us know
- If you have specific needs (stationary teams, north-south in pairs, specific areas you need or want to avoid) the entry purchase is the time to mention them, and while we will do what we can, choices may be limited if you buy late
It's important to listen to what the seller asks and not try to anticipate questions. The correct answer to 'how many points do you and your partner have' is not "A" or some other letter. Sellers try to spread the pairs in each strat throughout each section, but also try to ensure that the superstars are not all concentrated in one section or one area. Saying "we're A's" when you have 25,000 points between you doesn't tell us what we need to know.
If you've got your entry but you made a mistake that needs correcting, come back to the front of the line, but do not interrupt the next sale. Wait until it is finished before making your request please. Sellers need to get the right amounts charged to the right people and it is difficult to do so when you are fielding simultaneous questions from multiple sources. The busy seller should absolutely not be the source of your vital question about whether something is alertable or not, or a scoring correction from yesterday you need fixed, when there are dozens of others waiting behind you.
Entries: For bracketed team events you will need to know your team's total masterpoints (and how many you have if the number is more than four). This needs to be accurate because it takes time to enter all of the names into the computer and check to see that all teams are in the right bracket. If your team is not, you will not get credit for anything brilliant you've done before we reseat you in the right bracket.
For Swiss teams, the team total is not needed, teams get a random entry setting their first-round opponent, and are matched based on victory points thereafter.
Once you have your entry for a pairs game, go to your table, fill out the entry form (names and ACBL numbers please, legibility is important) and wait for boards to arrive. Both players should be seated and ready to go at gametime and the entry form will be picked up in the first round, so make sure it is visible. If the first round ends and the entries have not been picked up, East-West should move for the next round and leave the entry on their original table.
If you are playing in a Swiss Teams event, the team number on your entry will be permanent and when you find that number on the rack, the card above will show the table for your North-South pair to go to. See below for how to determine the East-West pair's destination.
In a bracketed round robin or knockout team event, you will get a temporary team number with your entry. Once the selling is done, the Directors will work at dividing the field into brackets. This is a busy time for the Directors behind the desk and it's very inconvenient to hit them with a masterpoint total change at this point that may cause work to have to be restarted. Get corrections in before the sale ends please.
In a bracketed knockout teams, your first-round assignment will appear on the rack, and if you win and move on, future assignments will be on the bracket sheet. Your team will be known by the name of the captain, the temporary team number is a thing of the past. Don't forget to pay for the next round after winning, before you leave for the mid-session interval or the end of day! Doing so at the end of a session lets us know who has won and gets the pairings for the next round decided. If you leave, we will not know who won your match and the Hideous Hog (in Training) never picks a team that forgot to report to win a bracket.
In a bracketed round robin teams, or a Soloway-style knockout where day one is a round-robin teams to qualify four teams to the semifinals, your temporary three-digit team number will point to a two-digit number which is your permanent team number, and the rack will have your assignment each round. In these events, the schedule is set and the directors will update the schedule once everyone is playing, so by the time you finish, your next round schedule will be posted (if you are among the first ones done, you may need to wait for the later matches to finish before starting the next). Usually, bracket one consists of teams 11-19, bracket two consists of teams 21-29, and so on. The initial three-digit number on your entry is history; it's the two-digit one you need to write down.
When your entry is filled out (legible names and ACBL numbers for all, please) and you've begun your first match, please leave the entry in a visible spot on the table, so it can be picked up and names can be entered quickly. Be sure you have written your non-temporary team number down on your scoresheet before entries are collected.
Reading the rack: Team numbers are always below the assignment for that team; find the number, and look above it for the assignment. This is where your North-South pair goes. To find out where to send the East-West pair, you first need to know whether you are in a head-to-head match or a three-way match. Beside the rack there will be an indicator of which tables have three-way matches; the rest are all head-to-head matches. In the frenzy before the first round, there may be an announcement of which tables are three-ways before the signs are updated.
Matches, head-to-head or three-way, always take place at tables with the same number. Head-to-head matches will take place at the same table number, matching A with B, C with D, E with F, G with H, and so on. Three-way matches will be at A-B-C, D-E-F, or G-H-I, all at the same number. The rack will only tell you where your North-South pair goes and you need to work out where your East-West pair goes.
In a head-to-head match this is easy once you get the hang of it: A with B, C with D, E with F, same number: if North-South goes to D7, East-West goes to C7.
In a three-way match, the East-West pairs move to the next letter in the group: A to B, B to C, C looping back to A. Or, D to E, E to F, F looping back to D. Always stay at the same number. Once the boards are done, East-West pairs can take them back to their teammates (drop them off without comment) and proceed to the other table in the group. After two sets of boards are complete, go to your teammates table and score up two separate matches.
If you have a problem, get a Director to sort it out rather than arguing about it with the people who are occupying the seats you are assigned to. Much time is lost when two pairs argue over a table like children playing musical chairs, or a player makes fourteen confused trips between the rack and table E9 before discovering that they have written down the wrong team number and they should be at B3.
(In Victoria earlier this year, we used sections MNOPQR for the teams area and this might be the setup here in Penticton. If so, head-to-heads are M-N, O-P, Q-R and three-ways are M-N-O and P-Q-R.) (Nope, it is ABCDEF with extra tables in G and H in the teams area this year.)
Board numbers in teams: The board numbers in a team match always end with a number divisible by the number of boards in the match. Seven-board matches always end with #7, #14, #21, #28, or #35; eight-board sets end with #8, #16, #24, or #32. The number of boards at your table is also a clue: 3-5 boards is a head-to-head of 6-9 boards; six at one table may be a three-way. (If you must look at a board post-match, please return it promptly to the table it came from.) If you sit down and find boards out of sequence at your table, call a Director to sort it out.
Ending a set: Someone should clearly read out the raw scores ("Scores: 200, 50, and 140 for you, 650 for us, 100 for you, 50 for us.") from the lowest to the highest board after the last board is complete, before players move. This should not take long unless there is an error. Don't spend forever on sorting out an error; get a Director to help. Losing time on this, or on argumnets over the trick count on a deal, can turn a six-board match into a five-board match.
Scoring up: This also is fastest if someone leads — preferably someone who can IMP quickly — and the others follow. Get the IMPs worked out and the match result determined before you talk about any of the deals. If you win, promptly send an envoy with a filled-out match report slip and a scoresheet (in case there is a discrepancy to be checked) to the other table. If you lose and nobody comes to hand you one, look again, maybe you won! If both teams think they lost and waste ten minutes waiting for the other to claim a win, the whole room waits. In a three-way match, you may need to find both other teams if you've won both matches. If you win but the opponents have disappeared, fill out the ticket and write 'UNFOUND' or 'LOST' where the opponent's initial should be. Make sure you have your correct team number (not a temporary one) on the match report slip, and that the IMP margin is accurate and legible.
Knockout Winners: Knockout matches are scored in IMPs and a one-IMP win is enough to advance (although in a three-way it may be more complicated...). There is no need to fill out a match report slip in knockouts; just find the Director selling entries for the next round to match winners and report your team captain's name (and which bracket you are in if you know). If you win the final, let a Director know before leaving so we can record it on the wall display and post it to ACBL Live!
VP Scores: In other team events, almost all matches will use the 6-9 board 0-20 VP scale listed on the convention card. Victory Point scores written on the wall displays are cumulative and go from right to left, so you can easily see who is winning and at the end the names and ranks will be beside the final scores. In 9-team brackets where everyone plays in three-way matches all the time, two rounds are scored at once. Directors need to know quickly if there is a scoring error, especially in Swiss teams where the VP totals determine the matchups. In later rounds especially, some players feel it is vital to know exactly where they are in the standings before starting a new round. This is fine as long as you don't need 15 minutes to memorize the scoreboard. Trust me, you'll do better just trying to get as many IMPs as you safely can, than trying to find the strategy that gets you the exact number of IMPs you need.
Awareness is the key. Many delays that shorten matches turn out to be due to players trying to solve them themselves rather than getting a Director to help. Most Directors would prefer that you learned the simple secrets rather than give up before trying: if you ask me where your East-West goes in a head-to-head match if North-South is at B2, I could tell you the answer but I'd prefer that you learned how to work it out yourself. Most teams have one person at least who gets it, the best strategy is to make that person the captain and follow the captain's instructions: "We're in a [head-to-head / round-robin] match and our North-South goes to [table letter and number], our East-West goes to [table letter and number]" is the best form.
The pairs jungle: Almost all pairs games will see boards go down a table each round and pairs go up a table each round. Rounds are called with one or two minutes left on the clock. Different sections will have different clocks depending on the number of boards in a round: a two-board round will have 15 minutes on the clock at the start of a round, a three-board round will have 21 minutes. Find out which clock your section is on and be aware of the time left. If you drop below five minutes per board remaining, you need to pick up the pace and you should let the rest of the table know when a deal ends. Call the Director if one side is clearly at fault for slow play but be aware that a dispute will waste more time.
If you have to start a round late, we expect you to not get further behind (all should cooperate no matter which pair is at fault) and slowly get back on pace. One thing I often see is pairs getting five minutes behind in the first round — and staying five minutes behind for the rest of the game, and feeling they've done their duty. You've proved you can keep up! Why can't you catch up? Being behind every round disrupts everyone's game: pairs behind you wait every round to start, tables wait for boards, pairs ahead of you wait for your arrival. We need you to do your best to get caught up when you fall behind. If this is something that happens to you occasionally, often the thing to do is to be ready to go in round one and kill the problem where it starts. If the first board of the day always takes ten minutes, you're going to be in time trouble often.
Moving boards: North-South may be stationary but still have the responsibility to get boards moved. There are not enough Directors in the district to move all the boards each round, but it is OK to ask East-West to move them for you if that's easier. If you fall behind, please move played boards so the table waiting can start the next round. If you are East-West and have finished the round, move when the round is called, even if the next table is still playing, so that a new round can start where you were. Remember that these plastic boards designed for preduplication can often be quite loose and cards may easily fall out if tossed onto a floor or a chair, or left leaning against a table leg. Try to move boards to the next table without disturbing play as best you can.
Forbidden words: Two words are sources of constant trouble if they get overheard by someone in another section: 'skip' and 'break.' There is normally only one break after twelve boards, in the middle of the session. Players who call out to a Director five tables away, "Is this a break?" a round or two early will be overheard by all and the next round will take forever to get started, so don't do this. Some players are so into their game that it takes three rounds for the announcement of a break to get through their blue funk, and when they loudly ask "Is this a break?" after round nine, the room thinks we've called another one. Similarly, if there is a rare skip in one section, we'll come around and tell you at each affected table. If you've heard the word 'skip' bandied about but we haven't visited to confirm, it's only in another section, not yours. Please don't assume.
Web Movements: these 21st-century innovations allow everyone to play the same 26 or 27 boards in a session no matter how many tables are in the section, so you can go for dinner and not have to sit out the conversation because the current board being discussed never got to your table. It means that some tables will have extra chairs with piles of boards and you may see different copies of the same board (different coloured boards, too) during the game. The order of boards you play will be a little unusual, but you'll know the game is over when you have results for all 26 or 27 boards in the set on your scoresheet.
Board cases: One thing made necessary by Web movements and preduplicated deals, is a new industry by which dozens of heavy cases of preduplicated boards are trucked to the setup area, unpacked and checked, put out into the playing area, brought back to the setup area after the session, repacked and trucked to the preduplicator, who has provided a dozen or more sets for the next session. The board setup area is not where you want to leave your coat or your purse or your convention card holder, for we need all of this space before each session and extra stuff will be moved somewhere else. If you see the heavy cart of 12-20 board set cases coming your way, understand that it won't be able to stop on a dime and has to get where it is going.
BridgeMate entry: Help us avoid errors, please. Spades and hearts score the same but throw the machine into fits if you mix them up. The machine has the boards in its memory and raises red flags when someone makes 6♥ on a 2-1 fit. We have no idea whether you have entered 6♥ when you meant 6♠, or whether you entered 'N' as the declarer when you meant 'E'. Another thing to avoid is the press-the-confirm-button-while-looking-somewhere-else pitfall. I'm surprised how often players fight like hell to make or defeat a doubled contract and then somehow two pairs of eyes miss that North has forgotten to enter the double.
Second session assignments: In a two-session pairs game, the second-session assignments will be on the posted scoresheets in the right-hand column, and will also be posted on ACBL Live. Please don't assume that you are going back to the same table; it doesn't always work that way.
Director Calls: Remember that:
- the poor Director was not at the table when all this happened and needs to be clearly told how you got to where you are
- If there is a revoke involved, players should not be revealing or inspecting face-down played cards until the hand is over, at which point nobody should mix their cards. Players should not touch the cards of another player's hand, even if that player seems to be having difficulty understanding the instructions given by the Director (if he's confused, he'll be more confused when you grab his card).
- If there is an insufficient bid, the next player has the option of accepting it, but not if we determine that it was in fact an unintended bid, so call and let us work that out.
- Penalty cards require a Director: ignoring this rule, even in the most obvious of circumstances, sets a flawed precedent for other impressionable players, and eventually we hear about penalty cards applied to declarer or even dummy, which should never happen: call before continuing after a penalty card is proposed.
- A dispute in the number of tricks won does not automatically go to the side that didn't mix their cards, or the side that has a 3-1 majority view: we try to find out what actually happened.
- Not much can be decided if everyone wants to give their side of the story at once, or players interrupt others, or players use needless volume to make their point, or players answer the questions they expect rather than the one actually asked. Help us out here and time will be saved. Using "rhetorical techniques" to avoid an answer you think may hurt your case doesn't fool us. Just the facts, please.
Awareness again is the key. With the rise of online bridge during the pandemic some of us seem to be less familiar with the etiquette and routine of live bridge:
- When asked about a call, explain in plain language rather than giving a name that may not be understood: "four spades and five or six hearts, 11-15" may take more time than "Flannery" but if your opponent doesn't know the convention you'll be explaining it anyway.
- Think and decide before reaching for a bid-box card or a card from your hand. It's a good habit to get into. Reaching for the bid-box and then hovering between several possibilities just makes it impossible for partner later with all the extraneous information you've released.
- Keep score without delaying others. If you're on opening lead, make the lead first, then write down the contract. If you're dummy, write the contract only after facing all thirteen cards. At the end of the deal, score first (including BridgeMate entry), then discuss. If the next pair is waiting to take your seats and you insist on some 'right' to take the time to write, surprise: there is no such thing. Get up and move. Catch up on the scoring later.
- Once the opening lead is faced, dummy's thirteen cards should be exposed quickly, without comment or delays for declarer to admire every suit. If you refuse to sort your cards before the auction, please do so when it ends with partner as declarer, so you can display dummy in a reasonable time.
- Many of us have lost the peripheral vision needed to see cards played from each player's position by playing online, where played cards go to the middle of the screen and the computer sorts it all out in a microsecond at the end. I know this because since the pandemic I have seen a huge increase in revokes by players who follow suit of the most recent card played, instead of the card led to the trick. Look around you; be aware.
- When the cardplay is over and a result is agreed, put your cards back in the slot. Don't be a clutcher! Clutchers apparently believe that you cannot contest a result after you let go of your cards, so they shuffle them several dozen times while they discuss the fine details to make sure they've not missed anything, and minutes are lost. (It's not true: you can contest a result later if you wish.) Some clutchers delay the game even further by taking more time to score after they have finally been asked to put their cards back so we can move on. Enough already. Put the cards back. Do it now and break the habit. Holding onto your cards for minutes after everyone else has replaced them in the slot is like driving on the freeway between two lanes at 30mph. Break the habit.
It's The Same Game: Like Gene Hackman in Hoosiers leading his talented small-town basketball team into the huge arena for the state finals, and pulling out a tape measure to make the point that the dimensions of the court are the same whether there are 115 in attendance or 11,500, bridge is the same game you are familiar with, even at a big tournament. Directors understand that from time to time you will get something above a little bit wrong, and our main job is to restore equity if necessaary, and educate so that the mistake might not re-occur. The number of times where we apply a penalty that goes further than restoring what likely would have happened without the infraction is quite small. The number of times where we come to the conclusion that someone has deliberately broken the rules is vanishingly small; most infractions are accidental or come from a misunderstanding, and angry opponents are really more frustrated at the lost points than at the offender, even if it seems otherwise. So call the Director when you need one, but play as well as you can, without fear that some unknown tournament rule will come out of nowhere and bite, for this is the same game you've learned to enjoy, just in a bigger room with more players than you've ever seen. Have fun!
(Here's another bit of reading material I found recently on my iPad....I often hear people say they don't read the articles in the ACBL Bulletin that are geared for beginners. Then I play against them and they make mistakes beginners are taught not to make. I try to read them all, just to ensure I haven't missed anything.)
Jazz and Bridge
Ten Tips For Newer Players by McBruce
The lights dim and scattered applause is heard as four musicians take their place on stage and begin playing a familiar tune. Then, the bass player and drummer continue in the same vein while the saxophone player and the pianist "trade fours," making up new melodies over the underlying song structure on the fly. The instant creation continues, perhaps even opening up a few bars for the bass player and the drummer to take a quick turn as soloist, and just as listeners begin to believe that the original melody has been irretrievably lost, it is back for a final turn, fitting into what has developed with perfection and beauty.
That's jazz, created in hundreds of different styles in thousands of venues every night. But if you learn to play an instrument well and show up at a jazz club to try it, you'll find that it doesn't quite work. You need more than a familiarity with your instrument to improvise; you need an ear that knows and understands the stucture of the tune, and a brain that constantly creates melodies that work within that framework. If you're not the soloist, your job is equally challenging: you need to provide notes and rhythms that fit not just the tune, but also the underlying style and feel, all without getting in the way of the soloist or the other musicians.
In bridge, we seem to have a lot of amateur improvisers around who don't understand the concepts and rules behind their bidding and defensive systems, or even that of basic declarer play. Understandably, we want to learn by playing, not by watching or reading or analyzing. We rate our decisions on the results rather than on the theory, and are shocked to hear that a rule we've broken dozens of times, often getting a decent result, suddenly backfires into a disastrous result. So here are a few basic concepts that I've seen misunderstood at the table by the eager, but under-informed, bridge soloists:
- Even if you don't play "2/1", a two-over-one response in a new suit is still a strong hand. Responding 1NT and perhaps playing it there is terrifying to a lot of newer players and they avoid bidding it on weak hands, remembering the time when they went down five, watching opponents cash long suits helplessly. Problem is, if you make a 2/1 call with less than ten high card points (more if you are playing 2/1, where these bids are forcing to game), partner will expect you to make at least one more bid and may even double the opponents if they come in. Your partner will understand that a 1NT response to a major may be made on a weak, unbalanced hand without a fit for partner's suit, because passing is wrong and higher bids are worse. If you are left to play 1NT, you won't be alone: other pairs will have similar auctions and 1NT will be a popular spot. One more thing: a 2/1 call (even in standard) is a natural call, promising a real suit. You can't bid 2♦ over a 1♥ opener with some short suit just to force to game.
- Look for the best bid you can make, don't just accept the first one that fits. I watched a player open a 3=3=4=3 14-count with 1♣ recently. Four diamonds and three clubs and 1♣ was the choice, because many of us settle on the first bid that is allowed by the system rather than the best bid. Remember when choosing an opening bid that there are going to be times when the opponents take over the bidding and your opening bid may be the only chance you get; if you have a real choice of equal-length suits to open, pick the one you want led if partner is on opening lead!
- Eight-card fits in major suits are an important goal of bidding. This is why we strive to respond in a four-card major, sometimes bypassing longer diamonds. This is why negative doubles are so useful. But if partner opens and you have a strong hand, there is no need for these detours. If partner opens 1♦ and you have a 15-count with four spades and seven clubs, bid 2♣, not 1♠. You'll have time to uncover a potential spade fit, even if the opponents come in. These bypassing calls are made when the responder may have only one bid and needs to ensure that bid finds a major suit fit if there is one. If you are going to be bidding several times, make forcing bids that describe your distribution naturally.
- Don't be afraid to open 1NT when it is right. The fear of 1NT seems to affect opening bidders as well, with all sorts of excuses offered for players who open one of a suit instead. I have a small doubleton, I have an unstopped suit, I have a five-card major, my spot cards are terrible, and on and on. Trouble is, when you have a balanced 15-17 and you don't open 1NT, you often find that there are no convenient rebids, because your bidding system expected you to open that hand 1NT. Open 1NT when you can. It works better.
- As opener, plan your rebid before choosing which suit to open. Try to imagine the most awkward non-jump response that partner might make, and figure out what your rebid will be in that case. If it seems wrong, try a different opening option if there is one. Common pitfalls to avoid here: rebidding 1NT with a singleton in partner's suit (the first time partner sees this is the last time they will play you for two-card minimum support and make normal rebids with their six-card suits), rebidding poor five-card suits (sometimes it is better to open a four-card 1♦ with five weak clubs to avoid rebid problems), and making a reverse without the values or the distribution indicated. This last is poorly understood, so:
- Understand what partner will expect from a reverse. Rebidding in a higher suit than the one you opened shows 1) more cards (NEVER the same number) in the opened suit than the rebid suit, so the reverse confirms at least 5-4, and 2) a clear minimum opener even after you remove an ace, so at least 16 points. Both are important, you cannot improvise a reverse with any 17-point hand without the correct distribution, nor can you decide that this reverse mumbo-jumbo is too complicated and you'll make one with 14 — because partner has to go to the three-level to prefer your first suit, so you better have what a reverse promises. With a 5-5 hand and around 17 points, you open the higher suit and jump rebid the lower suit: reversing with this hand says your first suit is longer than your second.
- Opening lead choices start with the question "which suit should I lead?" Only when the auction does not indicate a specific suit as the lead, does it matter what cards you have in specific suits. If partner bids a suit, or indicates a suit with a takeout double, that gives you a reason to lead it, even if you have a holding in that suit awkward for leading, one where leading it may give up a trick, like KJxx or Q9xx. Without such an indication, this type of suit is dangerous and avoidable.
- Suit contracts are about losers, and avoiding them! When you play notrump, you are looking to count winners and develop enough extra tricks to make your contract. In a suit, usually you are trying to limit your losers to the maximum allowed, and your strategy should be geared towards potential losers. If you are able to discard from your hand or dummy on a long suit, choose the suit for the discard that lowers the number of potential losers you have in that suit. From K73 opposite Q5 and (in another suit) QT4 opposite J6, a discard of the three "reduces" your losers in that suit from one to one, but discarding the 6 from the second suit actually does reduce your losers in that suit from two to one.
- Know the combinations that form stoppers and how to play them when the opponents attack them. A common one everyone should know is Qxx opposite Jxx. If the opponents lead this suit and you play an honour from dummy, you could lose the whole suit if the next player wins, continues the suit, and the remaining high honour as well as the ten are on your left. If you duck and wait to see what RHO plays, you will always get a trick in the suit: either this trick if RHO plays low, or a later one if he plays a high honour, leaving you with Qx opposite Jx.
- Be on the lookout for what doesn't happen as well as what does happen. If declarer doesn't pull trumps early, there's a reason for that. If dummy has KQJT9xx in a suit and declarer is not concerned with knocking out partner's ace, maybe partner doesn't have it. If declarer jumped to slam in a Blackwood auction without asking for kings, maybe kings are not needed. If responder transfers and then rebids 3NT and declarer promptly converts to the transfer suit, declarer does not have three small or a doubleton in trumps, for that would make the decision harder. If the auction clearly indicates a diamond lead and partner doesn't lead one, partner may be concerned about leading away from a suit headed by a single honour: help out by leading that suit when you get in, secure in the knowledge that partner will have a high honour. If partner has a chance to return your suit when it is obvious to do so, but doesn't, you can pout and have smoke come out of your ears in frustration, or you can assume that partner is void, work out what that means for the rest of the hand, and perhaps come up with the defense that beats the contract.
Learning basics like this is like practicing boring old scales and other technical passages on your instrument. Not nearly as fun as playing real tunes, but a run-through of the basics makes playing a lot more fun as your decisions are well-informed by good rudimentary knowledge. Jazz improvisation may seem like it has no rules, but there is structure that underlies it all. Learn the structure underlying bridge and your playing will improve to new levels. When something goes wrong, find out where you and your backup band (or in bridge, your partner) differed on the underlying stucture to create the error, and fix it for next time, rather than shrugging it off until it happens again.
