Bob McBroom is offering an advanced class on Simple Squeezes, here is what
he says:
This class is for Intermediate players who wish to move into the Advanced
level, as well as Advanced players who either never learned about squeezes
or need a review. Disclaimer- I am by no means an Expert bridge player but
this is a topic I know something about.
Basically, a squeeze is when one (or both) of your opponents is/are forced
to part with a winner such that you make an extra trick, sometimes more.
Although there are many kinds of squeezes, including squeezes by a defender
against the declarer, we will focus on so called simple squeezes (which are
unfortunately not that simple, which is why this is an advanced technique).
If squeezes are difficult to execute, why would we want to learn them? If
you think about it, any time you can make one more trick than your same
direction opponents is very valuable at matchpoints, and making an extra
trick at imps is often the difference between making your contract and
going down.
The typical bridge player will execute a squeeze on occasion and both they
and their opponents won’t even realize it. Declarer thinks their
opponent(s) made a mistake and threw away the wrong card, and the
opponents think that as well. Of course, sometimes the opponent will throw
away the wrong card when they weren’t actually forced to, called a “pseudo
squeeze”, but what we would like to do is cause this to happen because we
made it happen. Anyone who recognizes and deliberately executes a
successful squeeze feels a joy that is almost unsurpassed by any other
feeling at the bridge table (except maybe intelligently bidding a grand
slam no one else is getting to – I certainly like that!). Many of us have
recognized and successfully pulled off throw-ins at the end of the hand, so
you know that feeling. This is even better, trust me.
Anyway, this class will consist of a lecture with example hands and a
session on the learning tool Sharkbridge to practice some hands yourself.
You do not need any software to attend this class, but familiarity with
Zoom would help. Unfortunately Sharkbridge doesn’t work on Android phones,
but works on iphones, ipads, and of course Windows and Mac computers. The
class will last about two hours, and I am thinking Wednesday evening at
6:15pm. The cost of the class is $5.
If you are interested please reply to Bob, rbmcbroom(a)gmail.com
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