BRIDGE STORIES by LEE HAZEN, told to Thomas H. Wolf; From CoMers Magazine, December 1946
Small things often Influence the outcome of major tournaments. A bottle of Coke was a big factor in the winning of the National Match-Point Team-of-Four Championship at Atlantic City, New Jersey,
A Finesse or a Prayer?
It happened in a hand on which I had to guess whether to finesse for the king of trumps or to play my ace and hope for the king to fall. There were only three trumps out and I had no way to guess how they were split .The percentage favors a finesse, but percentages are not infallible.
I fed a low trump from the dummy, and the player on my right played low. I patised for a moment to see whether I had overlooked any sign which might give me a key to this move. The opponent of my left, waiting to play, hailed a passing waiter.
“Will you get me a Coke, please?” he asked.
Then and there I knew that he had the missing king. No man orders a drink in the middle of a crucial hand unless he is trying to be too chalant. I played my ace and the king dropped. Our team won the tournament by one-quarter of a match point.
Hesitation during the play of a hand is perfectly ethical so long as you don’t overdo it. On the other hand, hesitation during the bidding is considered extremely bad form. It obviously reveals that the question has some tricky value or that there is a problem in it. This problem can be readily and accurately guessed by an expert partner.
There is a classic bridge story involving Charlie Goren, one of the country’s top players. In a local tournament several years ago Goren drew as his partner a somewhat inexpert old lady.
Charlie dealt and bid one club. The opponent on his left overcalled with one spade. The old lady hesitated and finally passed. Goren then bid two clubs, -which was promptly overcalled with two spades. This time the old lady paused even longer before passing.
Goren finally got the contract for three clubs. When the old lady’s hand went down, it contained little trick value. “My,” remarked Goren. That second hesitation certainly was an overbid.”