Suit Combinations

Suit Combinations

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.

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