11-06-2012, 01:26 PM
This happens often enough.
Declarer goes about cashing some side suit aces. In the process, dummy signals a locked suit. Declarer crosses to him in the locked suit. Dummy goes about his business, cashing any side aces outside the locked suit (and quite possibly trump aces), then exits with a trump.
The risk is this: dummy is saying, he's got several extra tricks in that side suit *as long as they don't get ruffed.* His play is saying, partner, please get all the trumps out, THEN come back to my hand. Let's specify that declarer cashed just the one
in the signal suit. If dummy started with 
(and used the to signal), he's only got 1 additional trick. If declarer can draw trump quickly, then cross over, he loses last trick. The extra trick, via the , is pretty much a wash. It's likely his better option will be to play the other 2 side suits, and give the defenders the tricks they have coming anyway.
So that suggests the minimum he can have, is something like
...and it can easily be longer.
So, declarer's desire should be to strip the trump suit as quickly as possible, while retaining cards in the locked suit to cross later. The defense can't help him by playing trump, even though the declaring side is (very likely) out of aces aside from the trump suit and the locked suit. The defense must attack declarer's entries in the locked suit, by playing that suit until he's forced to ruff.
Declarer goes about cashing some side suit aces. In the process, dummy signals a locked suit. Declarer crosses to him in the locked suit. Dummy goes about his business, cashing any side aces outside the locked suit (and quite possibly trump aces), then exits with a trump.
The risk is this: dummy is saying, he's got several extra tricks in that side suit *as long as they don't get ruffed.* His play is saying, partner, please get all the trumps out, THEN come back to my hand. Let's specify that declarer cashed just the one
in the signal suit. If dummy started with (and used the to signal), he's only got 1 additional trick. If declarer can draw trump quickly, then cross over, he loses last trick. The extra trick, via the , is pretty much a wash. It's likely his better option will be to play the other 2 side suits, and give the defenders the tricks they have coming anyway.So that suggests the minimum he can have, is something like
...and it can easily be longer.So, declarer's desire should be to strip the trump suit as quickly as possible, while retaining cards in the locked suit to cross later. The defense can't help him by playing trump, even though the declaring side is (very likely) out of aces aside from the trump suit and the locked suit. The defense must attack declarer's entries in the locked suit, by playing that suit until he's forced to ruff.