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ANSWER - Hand Of The Week - 01/19/03
Upon examination of the score, North/South need some sort of miracle to stay alive. Down 89 points with their opponents sitting at the 482 mark and having the advantage of last bid, it is time to get desperate. North/South must either go nil and out bid their opponents, or find a way to set them.
South takes a look at his cards and frowns. All hope seems lost. He has a weak hand, an almost impossible nil and tough opponents to contend with. With five lowly Spades and Q63C he can pull three tricks if he's lucky. Making a nil is pretty much out of the question, so what can South do to try and make a difference here?
East/West are not going to overbid with 482 points, control of the game, and low bags. South must try and trap them by forcing them to overbid for a shot at a set. South's best bid in this situation, the bluff nil. By bidding nil, East/West will hopefully be forced to raise their bids to outbid South's nil. North will not know if his partner's nil is real or not, but if East/West outbid him, he'll have no choice but to play for the set. Now with North/South both trying to set East/West, and East/West bidding high, the plan may just work.
For those of you that are learning, sometimes you need to think outside the box to get the winning edge. A nil set is costly, but when you play to win, you have to do anything in your power to keep the game alive, even if it is sacrificing yourself. If it doesn't work then there is no shame involved. A loss is a loss whether 500 to 499 or 500 to -199, so keep hope alive and never give up on a game.
Here's how the hand played out in case you are wondering. South bid Nil. West bid 4. North bid 5. East bid 3 for the win. South captured three tricks and his partner took four, setting East/West. North/South lost two hands later, however, they skillfully kept the game alive and left a chance for a win.
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