Gertrude Stein said, "A rose, is a rose, is a rose." One wonders if she played bridge. If so, she'd have to make an exception to her famous rule if she ran across The Three-Suited Situation this hand illustrates. For players able to read the tea leaves, sometimes a rose becomes a Rolls.

The hand shown here bloomed for South as the first board of the final round of the Valley View monthly Swiss of February 2003. The North-South half of our intrepid Gaymsters team bid the three-suited slam; the unimaginative pair at the other table did not.

Three Suited Situation, Defined

Our deck of 52 cards consists of four suits. Charles Goren invented the technique of counting 10 High Card Points in each for a total of 40. In theory, if we were to throw away one of these three suits, leaving a total of 30, all of our math for games, slams and even part scores would have to be reduced by ten points.

Opponents who kindly inform you that they possess all or nearly all of the cards of one suit have done you the service of allowing you to recognize that your side is three-suited. With this, you can promote your hand or demote the usual requirements, whichever way you care to look at it. Games and slams become reachable on a great deal less than usual.

Three-Suited Situation, Applied

Looking at the example hand fully exposed, one might wonder how anyone could miss this twelve trick combination, but mentally previewing what partner holds during a contested auction takes no small amount of imagination. Let's practice doing just that using the theory of the Three-Suited Situation.

South began the proceedings simply enough and West's overcall is no surprise at all.

North's so called "negative double" is also a staple of modern bidding, promising both of the unbid suits (at least 4-4, both being of roughly equal length) and enough high-card strength to make a good bid at the current level — two bids for the price of one. This call helped South mentally fill out part of his own hand, but it wasn't the decider for what suit should be trump. North could still hold any conceivable combination of four or five cards in the majors.

East's preemptive raise gave away the show. South was then able to reason that both he and his partner were short in spades since the enemy had announced ownership of most all of them. With North promising at least eight cards in the minors, and probably holding at most two spade spots, North rates to possess two or three cards in the heart suit. Together, North and East filled in two all important blanks: 1) What trump should be, and 2) that all of North's face cards are in the same suits South owns.

Empowered by the inference that all of North's values are so well fitting, South can ask for key cards *¹ and, hearing two aces, bid six.*²

The Result

Although the auction at the other table was identical up to the 4 level, North's counterpart at the other table didn't get the message, choosing to double 4 rather than push on.

Score:
-300 at the other table (4 down two)
+980 for the slam
Sum: +680 yielding +12 IMPs in a match whose ultimate margin was +17.

This is an excellent example of just how much scoring leverage one can achieve with insights like the Three-Suited Situation.

*¹ In Roman Key Card Blackwood, the trump king is the fifth key card. Five hearts promises two of these key cards and denies holding the trump queen.

*² What are the slam's chances? If you believe that trumps must break 3-2, this happens about 68% of the time. Clubs must break 2-2 or 3-1 or the Jack must be picked up in a 4-0 break, and an opening club lead away from a four-card holding could be ruffed (roughly 97% altogether). Multiply .97 times .68 and you get 66% (rounded). We are told that if a small slam has a 51% or greater chance of making, we should bid it. So clearly this one is not a close call. See The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge for these references.