An endplay (also throw-in), in bridge and similar games, is a tactical play where a defender is put on lead at a strategic moment, and then has to make a play that loses one or more tricks. Most commonly the losing play either constitutes a free finesse, or else it gives declarer a ruff and discard. In a case where declarer has no entries to dummy (or to his own hand), the defender may also be endplayed into leading a suit which can be won in that hand.
| ♠ | A 9 8 5 3 2 |
| ♥ | K J 5 4 |
| ♦ | 4 |
| ♣ | K 4 |
N | |
| ♠ | K 7 6 4 |
| ♥ | A 10 9 |
| ♦ | A 8 7 |
| ♣ | A Q 9 |
For example, South is declarer in 6♠ and West leads the diamond king. If the adverse spades are divided 2-1, there are 12 certain tricks (six spade tricks, two hearts, one diamond and three clubs) and the possibility of a 13th by correctly guessing the two-way finesse (or dropping the queen) in hearts. But if the spades are 3-0, declarer will need an endplay to avoid the heart guess.
He should start by winning the diamond ace and ruffing a diamond in dummy, then cash the spade ace and spade king. If this reveals a 3-0 trump split, he now ruffs another diamond in dummy. If this is not overruffed, the contract is now assured.
Declarer's now plays the king, ace, and queen of clubs, discarding a heart from dummy to reach the end position shown below:
| ♠ | 9 8 |
| ♥ | K J 5 |
| ♦ | — |
| ♣ | — |
N | |
| ♠ | 7 6 |
| ♥ | A 10 9 |
| ♦ | — |
| ♣ | — |
Declarer exits with a spade, and whoever wins is endplayed. If the defender leads a heart, North-South must make three heart tricks; if a club or diamond, declarer will ruff in one hand and discard a heart from the other, making an extra trump trick. Or if the defender has fewer than three clubs and chooses to ruff before the above position is reached, he is likewise endplayed, having to lead a heart or a diamond.
A strip squeeze is a particular kind of squeeze that is based on endplaying the squeezed defender.
In contract bridge and similar games, a finesse is a type of card play technique which will enable a player to win an additional trick or tricks should there be a favorable position of one or more cards in the hands of the opponents.
In the card game of contract bridge, to hold up means to play low to a trick led by the opponents, losing it intentionally in order to sever their communication. The primary purpose is to give as many tricks to opponents as needed to exhaust all the cards in the suit from one of their hands. If that hand regains the lead, it will not be able to put the partner on lead to cash its tricks. Hold up is one of basic techniques in play.
In trick-taking games, to ruff means to play a trump card to a trick. According to the rules of most games, a player must have no cards left in the suit led in order to ruff. Since the other players are constrained to follow suit if they can, even a low trump can win a trick. In some games, like Pinochle and Preferans, the player who cannot follow suit is required to ruff. In others, like Bridge and Whist, he may instead discard. Normally, ruffing will win a trick. But it is also possible that a subsequent player will overruff. This is not always a bad thing—see uppercut below.
An entry, in trick-taking card games such as bridge, is a means of gaining the lead in a particular hand, i.e. winning the trick in that hand. Gaining the lead when some other player led to the previous trick is referred to as entering one's hand; a card that wins a trick to which another player made the lead is therefore known as an entry card.
In contract bridge, coup is a generic name for various techniques in play, denoting a specific pattern in the lie and the play of cards; it is a special play maneuver by declarer.
A strip squeeze is a declarer technique at contract bridge combining elements of squeeze and endplay.
In contract bridge, the trump squeeze is a variant of the simple squeeze in which one threat is a suit that if unguarded can be established by ruffing.
Pseudo-squeeze is a type of deceptive play in contract bridge. The declarer goes through the motions of executing a genuine squeeze where none exists, in the hope that a defender misreads the actual position and misdefends. The pseudo-squeeze simply gives the defender able to recognize the possibility of a squeezed position a chance to go wrong.
Morton's fork is a coup in contract bridge that forces an opponent to choose between:
A compound squeeze is a type of play in the game of contract bridge. In this squeeze one opponent is squeezed such that some form of other squeeze emerges involving either or both players. Usually this term is used to reference a pentagonal squeeze. In this form of squeeze both players guard two suits, and one player guards a third suit. On the play of a card the player guarding three suits must give up one of the shared guards . Now each opponent singly guards one suit, and there is a third suit that is jointly guarded. This means that a double squeeze matrix exists. Note that there are pseudo compound squeezes, where the triply squeezed opponent can select the 'correct' shared suit, such that the entry situation precludes the proper functioning of the double squeeze.
A winkle squeeze is a rare squeeze/endplay in contract bridge in which a trick is offered to the defenders but whichever wins the trick is then endplayed. Often one defender would be forced to offer a finesse or ruff and discard while the other could overtake and thereby promote a trick in that suit for declarer. The winkle squeeze was named and analyzed by Terence Reese in Master Play in Contract Bridge.
The trump coup is a contract bridge coup used when the hand on lead has no trumps remaining, while the next hand in rotation has only trumps, including a high one that would have been onside for a direct finesse if a trump could have been led. The play involves forcing that hand to ruff, only to be overruffed. A similar motive is met in coup en passant, where indirect finesse is used instead of direct.
Coup en passant is a type of coup in contract bridge where trump trick(s) are "stolen" by trying to ruff a card after the player who has the master trump(s).
These terms are used in contract bridge, using duplicate or rubber scoring. Some of them are also used in whist, bid whist, the obsolete game auction bridge, and other trick-taking games. This glossary supplements the Glossary of card game terms.
Trump promotion is a technique in contract bridge where the defenders create an otherwise non-existing trump trick for themselves. The most common type of trump promotion occurs when one defender plays a side suit through, in which both the declarer's hand and the other defender are void:
Backwash squeeze is a rare squeeze which involves squeezing an opponent which lies behind declarer's menace. A variation of this, known as the "Sydney Squeeze" or "Seres Squeeze", was discovered in play at a rubber bridge game in Sydney, Australia in 1965, by the Australian great Tim Seres; it was later attested by famous bridge theorist Géza Ottlik in an article in The Bridge World in 1974, as well as in his famous book Adventures in Card Play, co-authored with Hugh Kelsey.
In the card game of bridge, tempo is the timing advantage of being on lead, thus being first to initiate one's play strategy to develop tricks for one's side. Tempo also refers to the speed of play and more generally the rhythm of play over several tricks.
A forcing defense in contract bridge aims to force declarer to repeatedly ruff the defenders' leads. If this can be done often enough, declarer eventually runs out of trumps and may lose control of the hand. A forcing defense is therefore applicable only to contracts played in a trump suit.
An entry squeeze is a move inn contract bridge
A knockout squeeze is a squeeze in three suits, one of which is the trump suit. The defender's trump holding is needed to prevent declarer from making a successful play involving trumps, including one as prosaic as ruffing a loser. Because the knockout squeeze does not threaten to promote declarer's trumps to winners it is termed a non-material squeeze. Other non-material squeezes include entry squeezes, single-suit squeezes and winkles.