In the partnership card game contract bridge, a suit combination is a specific set of cards of a particular suit held in declarer's and dummy's hands. While the ranks of the remaining cards held in the opposing hands can be deduced immediately, their location is uncertain. A suit combination allows for all possible lies of these remaining cards in those hands.
The term is also used for the sequence of plays from the declarer and dummy hands, conditional on intervening plays by the opponents; in other words, declarer's plan or strategy of play given his holdings and his goal for the number of tricks to be taken.
In addition to understanding the possible initial combinations and probabilities for the location of the opponents's cards in a suit, declarer can further inform himself from the bidding, the opening lead and by the play of cards to each trick in establishing, executing and amending his plan.
Read more about Suit Combination: Examples, Representation, Simplified Setting, Deriving Optimum Suit Plays, Exploiting Defensive Errors, Improved Computer Analysis, Goal Setting, Mixed Strategies
Famous quotes containing the words suit and/or combination:
“Selflessness is like waiting in a hospital
In a badly-fitting suit on a cold wet morning.
Selfishness is like listening to good jazz
With drinks for further orders and a huge fire.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“Just as we need to encourage women to test life’s many options, we need to acknowledge real limits of energy and resources. It would be pointless and cruel to prescribe role combination for every woman at each moment of her life. Life has its seasons. There are moments when a woman ought to invest emotionally in many different roles, and other moments when she may need to conserve her psychological energies.”
—Faye J. Crosby (20th century)