Tales of Akarana
Tales of Akarana
20 Mar 2020
Just in case! No play this week…or for the next few but that does not stop being able to report a recent hand which occurred. If you take a look at the following deal and bid all the way to 6, you would be feeling quite happy. ... read more here
Tales of Akarana
6 Mar 2020
There is little worse in a bridge score-up than a double game swing against your side. There was more than one hand last night where “the 5 level did belong to the opponents” contrarily to the common saying. At our table on the... read more here
Tales of Akarana
21 Feb 2020
Too Much Information The opposition may find the best way to defend and to play hands but we should not make either any easier than we have to. On the following two boards, the opposition “knew too much” and got it right! We helped... read more here
Tales of Akarana
14 Feb 2020
The “Obvious” Game Your partner opens clubs at the 1 level, showing some number of clubs between 2 and 13 and you hold a pretty flat, uninspiring “majorless” collection, an honour in each suit and a suit which barely... read more here
Tales of Akarana
7 Feb 2020
Bidding with and without support. Welcome back to another year of stories which emanate from the regular sessions at the Akarana Bridge Club in Auckland. There’s usually, well always, something of interest in the play or defence or the... read more here
Tales of Akarana
6 Dec 2019
A Little "Porky". The last night of bridge at... read more here
Tales of Akarana
29 Nov 2019
A Rarely Used Bid. That’s 5NT. The trick is that when we do use it, we know what it means. There is the “please pick a slam, partner,” 5NT which occurred this week in the following sequence:... read more here
Tales of Akarana
22 Nov 2019
It’s all in the bidding. That was pretty much the case this evening. There was little in the play to challenge declarers or defence but plenty of imps on offer with some correct bidding decisions: 1. ♠ 10... read more here
Tales of Akarana
15 Nov 2019
For Successful Finessers Only. If you do not know how to take a successful finesse, then this week’s hand is not for you. Pack up, accept that you will get a minus score, never upgrade any hand again (just because you have a good 5-card... read more here
Tales of Akarana
8 Nov 2019
TRUMP LEADS….WHEN THERE’S NO ALTERNATIVE? The problem was that there was an alternative, a very real one. Three small trumps and a side-suit singleton. That was enough for everyone to avoid a trump lead on the following:... read more here
Tales of Akarana
1 Nov 2019
Right Sided: Right Result. The task for the East-West pairs on Board 26 was to ensure that East got to the declarer seat before their partner. If they did, then all routes should lead to +620. If West did become declarer, then a... read more here
Tales of Akarana
25 Oct 2019
The Night of The Long Suits. They were not all diamond suits but they mostly were…. and the suits were not all bid to the optimum, which was somewhat annoying when this one was…and all I could do was follow suit! What is your plan... read more here
Tales of Akarana
18 Oct 2019
The Power of Aces:Golden. Have you ever doubted it? If you ever thought your aces were worth only 4 high card points, then you were not playing at Akarana this Wednesday night. Firstly, a bidding problem for you. It was for me and I am not sure I... read more here
Tales of Akarana
11 Oct 2019
Little Club Action Welcome back to some of the happenings at the regular Akarana club nights. The club as always did not play... read more here
Tales of Akarana
26 Sep 2019
Following and Breaking the Rules. If the rather dull series of mainly part-score boards from this evening... read more here
Tales of Akarana
6 Sep 2019
Spades over Hearts… and Diamonds, too? It is so good holding the spade suit in the many highly competitive hands our dealing machine conjures up for us. Heart bidders have to find cunning ways to stop their opponents bid one more but at... read more here
Tales of Akarana
30 Aug 2019
Catch me if you can… Not a night of great deeds, a night generally if you could keep your nose out of trouble, you would score better. Trouble awaited round many corners, or bids too far: How high would you bid this interesting... read more here
Tales of Akarana
23 Aug 2019
Golden Week but not Great Diamond Celebrations Akarana will this Saturday be celebrating its 50th anniversary, just a few months late….but then Akarana players have not over the years been too wedded to time issues. This Wednesday evening... read more here
Tales of Akarana
16 Aug 2019
“MAKING UP THE NUMBERS?” Who were? Why, the North-South pairs, of course. They were there to defend, occasionally to have slam aspirations, to make a nuisance of themselves in a series of high- level competitive boards but generally,... read more here
Tales of Akarana
9 Aug 2019
SHAPELESS and SHAPELY. Sometimes it is what is staring before our eyes. At other times, we have to imagine what it is our opponents might be bidding so aggressively on. In the context of the above, two problems for you: ... read more here
Tales of Akarana
3 Aug 2019
A Timely Duck. 23 high-card points between the two hands, a holey longish 5 card “coming home suit” and a fair knowledge that a key finesse is going to fail (it does). It all sounds like 3NT is going to run into some degree of... read more here
Tales of Akarana
2 Aug 2019
A Timely Duck 23 high-card points between the two hands, a holey longish 5 card “coming home suit” and a fair knowledge that a key finesse is going to fail (it does). It all sounds like 3NT is going to run into some degree of... read more here
Tales of Akarana
26 Jul 2019
If you do not succeed at first, finesse and finesse again! They are our last resort. We would take any reasonable line that means we do not have to take a finesse. Most of us would struggle to remember the last successful one in a key situation.... read more here
Tales of Akarana
19 Jul 2019
TWO BIDS TO SUCCESS. Some bidding sequences can be very drawn out and can take many minutes to conduct. Others are very succinct….and I do not just mean ones like 1NT – 3NT. This particular sequence following involves a bid which... read more here
Tales of Akarana
5 Jul 2019
Opportunities Lost Or are they? Do we bid too much at the wrong times even at a lowish level? Are we too afraid to penalise at too low a level? How many of those questions apply to you? (Sorry, I promise not to ask any more questions!) I lie!... read more here
Tales of Akarana
28 Jun 2019
Good Bidding…. Not Good Luck. Luck plays its part in a hand of bridge. The best of contracts can succumb to a bad break while some with a much lesser chance of success come home thanks to some good fortune. However, when many pairs miss... read more here
Tales of Akarana
14 Jun 2019
Difficult to bid: Difficult to defeat. The high card points were evenly split on Board 4. In fact, even though North-South had the majority, it was East-West who were more likely to record a making game. However, the first problem for East-West... read more here
Tales of Akarana
7 Jun 2019
NO TRUMPS, NO HOLDS, NO WORRIES….. There are two good things that can happen when you have not got a hold in a suit and you contract for a no-trump contract. Firstly, your partner, who is on your side may help you out with a useful card or... read more here
Tales of Akarana
31 May 2019
Strange Singletons. Those "pure" folk who rarely risk the slam zone with less than a combined 30 count may have prospered this week at Akarana, though not entirely. There were a number of lower point count combinations where a slam looked most... read more here
Tales of Akarana
24 May 2019
All routes lead to…. A case, perhaps of what might have been. Sometimes, unfortunately, our own system works against us! So, two questions for you. First question. We give you the score and you tell us the contract. No warm up... read more here
Tales of Akarana
10 May 2019
FOUR MIGHTY HANDS What have the following four hands got in common other than they all appeared at Akarana this week and they, one... read more here
Tales of Akarana
3 May 2019
A SECOND CHANCE It was a night oozing with slam possibilities. They were generally making if you bid them though two of the more appealing contracts, both on the same deal, were likely to fail. Most found their way to 6 on these North-South... read more here
Tales of Akarana
26 Apr 2019
What a Difference a Lead Makes. That is not a revolutionary statement. Combine a poor choice of lead with an excellent piece of declarer play and you have a 12-imp swing. So, we had better give you the lead problem and see whether you are able to... read more here
Tales of Akarana
19 Apr 2019
PUNISH THEM! Who are “they”? Maybe you know some of them. Maybe you are one yourself! “They” just do not know their place! “They” have been given multitudinous “pass cards” (if you use written... read more here
Tales of Akarana
12 Apr 2019
When entries are at a Premium. We do not always get the dummy of our dreams, do we? One in particular this week was both a trump and an entry short on requirements! Sometimes, the opposition will come to our rescue but that is not... read more here
Tales of Akarana
5 Apr 2019
Game Values: Part-Score Played! So, you open a weak 12-14 1NT with a standardish mid-range 13. Your partner has an unbalanced 12 count with a 5- card major opposite opener’s doubleton. 25 high between the two hands. You would normally be in... read more here
Tales of Akarana
29 Mar 2019
LIVING IN A NEGATIVE FREE-LESS WORLD Can we survive? There are those who love this method of bidding who say we cannot! Theirs is the best way, the only way. Let’s look. We are, of course, talking about bidding after the opposition... read more here
Tales of Akarana
22 Mar 2019
How High Would You Go? ..in clubs, that is. Who needs the “boss” suit, when you have clubs…and plenty of them! If you were North-South this week, there were some interesting decisions. The first one came about when your... read more here
Tales of Akarana
15 Mar 2019
BID ‘EM UP AND SQUEEZE ‘EM Well, that’s what you are supposed to do in Teams, is it not? A little disciplined over-bidding can bring in a decent return of imps in the “in” column. Mark Hangartner scooped a... read more here
Tales of Akarana
8 Mar 2019
Have you ever doubled a slam with a 4333 Yarborough? Have you ever wanted to? Declarer thus misplaces the defence’s cards! Read on. A different kind of question for you this week. We are going to give you two hands, the bidding and the... read more here
Tales of Akarana
1 Mar 2019
The Club Suit is not always short. How many clubs do you need to hold in your hand before you get to be declarer in a club contract? We always seem to look elsewhere though the suit did get a little look -in this week. A32 2 AQ4... read more here
Tales of Akarana
22 Feb 2019
WHERE THE REAL ACTION WAS. Not on the Gold Coast, of course. Take a trip to the Akarana Bridge Club where “the cinderellas” did battle, victory in the end going to the team of Owen Camp (he came back especially from Broadbeach for... read more here
Tales of Akarana
8 Feb 2019
A Hand to Declare…But where? Welcome back after the break to some more stories from the Akarana Bridge Club. Akarana closes during December but had a small Rubber Bridge event during January. This week, it was back to normal…and as... read more here
Tales of Akarana
7 Dec 2018
TWICE IN A NIGHT …. BUT ONCE A YEAR. What is “Total Diversity?” You learn a lot when you play an evening’s bridge and it is not all about how you can bid, play and defend any particular hand. There are some things... read more here
Tales of Akarana 8
30 Nov 2018
PATHWAY TO DISASTER. Maybe you know many such ways to get a bad score at the bridge table? One is certainly making a weak hand as declarer and the strong hand as dummy. It gives free licence to imaginative defenders to underlead aces to give... read more here
Tales of Akarana 7
23 Nov 2018
The five level’s for the opposition….but the 4 level? One board at Akarana demonstrated that the famous saying of the 5-level belonging to the opposition does generally hold true, while another challenged whether the same might hold... read more here
Tales of Akarana 6
16 Nov 2018
“ Two suits” “MICHAELS WEEK”. It was in the Open New Zealand trial last week-end when Michaels Ware and Whibley won the head to head match, to be followed by... read more here
Tales of Akarana 5
9 Nov 2018
DESPERATE MEASURES Whether you are a declarer or a defender, when the chips are down, you do not want to go down without a fight. The odds may seem against you but there may just be a chance. Can you take it? Firstly, you are in the driving seat... read more here
Tales of Akarana 4
2 Nov 2018
MISFITTING “MAYHEM” It seems a good philosophy that when your and your partner’s cards fit well together that you can bid relatively aggressively though when they do not, stay as low as you can….and best do not bid at... read more here
Tales of Akarana 3
26 Oct 2018
The Lure of the Vulnerable Game. It’s Teams. We’re vulnerable. We have enough high card points to make game a possibility. Should we therefore go for gold? It seems many of us tried at the wrong time on this evening. So, a couple of... read more here
