Eight Ever, Nine Never

Before reading this post make sure you know what a finesse is. Click here if you don't.

Grab a deck of cards and play along.

"Eight Ever, Nine Never" is a catchy slogan that people in bridge use to remember whether or not to finesse an opponent for a missing Queen.

Let's look at this holding.

Dummy:
♠AJT62

Declarer:
♠K943

I have nine cards in the ♠ suit and I am missing the Q♠. I don't want to lose any tricks in this suit. What is my best way of doing this?

I order to figure out the best way I should probably go over all my options.

Option 1:

I assume that my LHO has the Q♠.

	Dummy ♠AJT62
LHO ♠Q??		RHO ♠???
	Declarer ♠K943

I start by playing the K♠ from my hand and then playing a low ♠ towards Dummy's J♠.

Option 2:

I assume that my RHO has the Q♠.

	Dummy ♠AJT62
LHO ♠???		RHO ♠Q??
	Declarer ♠K943

I start by playing the A♠ from Dummy and then playing a low ♠ towards my 9♠.

Option 3:

I assume that either opponent has the doubleton Q♠. That means they only have 2 cards in the ♠ suit and one of them is the Q♠.

	Dummy ♠AJT62
LHO ♠Q? or ♠??		RHO ♠?? or ♠Q?
	Declarer ♠K943

It doesn't really matter how I play the suit here. I can start by playing the A♠ from Dummy and then playing a low ♠ towards my K♠ or I can play the K♠ and then a low ♠ towards my A♠.

Hmmm. It's quite a bit easier to decide what to do if you only have one choice. I have three choices. Which is best?

This is where the "Eight Ever, Nine Never" rule helps me remember. Basically this says if I have EIGHT cards in the suit I should EVER (or always) finesse for the Queen. If I have NINE cards in the suit I should NEVER finesse for the Queen. By not finessing that means I play out my high cards and hope the missing Queen drops underneath one of them.

So in this example:
Dummy:
♠AJT62

Declarer:
♠K943

I play the A♠ and K♠ and hope that the Q♠ drops underneath one of them. I don't even care which one because I am pretty easy going when opponents drop their high cards underneath mine.

How about another example?

What is the best way to avoid any losers in this suit?

Dummy:
♠AJ62

Declarer:
♠K943

Again I need to find the Q♠. This time I don't have as many choices.

Option 1

I can assume my LHO has the Q♠.

	Dummy ♠AJ62
LHO ♠Q??		RHO ♠??
	Declarer ♠K943

With this holding I will play the K♠ first and then a low ♠ towards my J♠ in Dummy.

Option 2:

	Dummy ♠AJ62
LHO ♠Q? or ???		RHO ♠??? or Q?
	Declarer ♠K943

Play the A♠ and the K♠ and hope the Q♠ drops underneath one of them.

Before I had an Option that my RHO has the Q♠. That would not help me here unless it is a doubleton Q and I am already taking that one into account.

So what is the best way for me to play this suit?

Remember "Eight Ever, Nine Never"?

Here I have EIGHT cards in the suit. That means it is best for me to always finesse for the Queen. I assume the holding is Option 1.

So in this example:

Dummy:
♠AJ62

Declarer:
♠K943

I play the K♠ and a low ♠ towards the J♠ in Dummy. I hope my LHO has three ♠ to the Q♠.

Question: Does this always work? Will my finesses always win?
Answer: No. That would make life too easy and predictable. Where's the fun in that? It is just your BEST percentage play.

Question: Should I always do this?
Answer: No, of course not. Again that would be too easy. There are quite a few factors to take into account. Sometimes it is safe to let in one opponent but not the other. Then you might finesse the Queen into them. Maybe one opponent bid and you think they should have the Queen to justify their bidding. Sometimes one opponent does something to let you know they have quite a few cards in another suit which means they are probably short in your suit. Maybe you can't finesse because the suit might block. These kinds of complex thinking are probably for a little later on in your bridge career. For this stage always using "Eight Ever, Nine Never" is probably the best way to go.

Test your knowledge:

I strongly urge you to grab a deck of cards and play along when you do these examples. It will really help you learn and a few of these are quite tricky. If you try to play them out you might change your original answer to a better one.

Will you or will you not finesse for the Queen in these examples?

First state if you will finesse for the Queen or play for the Queen to drop under your high cards. Then say what card you will play first and then what card you will play second.

Example 1

Dummy:
♠KJ82

Declarer:
♠A943



Example 2

Dummy:
♠AKJ82

Declarer:
♠T943



Example 3

Dummy:
♠AJ8762

Declarer:
♠K43



Example 4

Dummy:
♠AJ862

Declarer:
♠K43



Example 5

Dummy:
♠JT862

Declarer:
♠AK43



Example 6

Dummy:
♠AJ86

Declarer:
♠K43



Example 7

Dummy:
♠JT862

Declarer:
♠AK743



Example 8

Dummy:
♠AJ8

Declarer:
♠K43



Example 9

Dummy:
♠AJ82

Declarer:
♠KT43



Example 10

Dummy:
♠JT7652

Declarer:
♠AK3



Example 11

Dummy:
♠KJ8

Declarer:
♠A43



Example 12

Dummy:
♠AKJ82

Declarer:
♠743



Example 13

Dummy:
♠97842

Declarer:
♠AKJ63



Example 14

Dummy:
♠JT94

Declarer:
♠AK63



Example 15

Dummy:
♠J542

Declarer:
♠AK63