To prepare for a robotics competition, I studied the mechanics of robots by watching videos of a tv-show called "Battle Bots." I was ready to build the meanest, killingest robot any of the judges had ever seen.

I showed up and the task was to assemble a robot that could carry water from one side of the room to another. Each entrant got a supply box: tangled cords, wheels, and various parts that did not look up to the task of killing anything (other than my enthusiasm). My robot fell apart.

Afterwards, I complained to my dad about how impossible the task was, and he unpityingly said, "Everyone had the same problem as you."

Thanks, Dad.

The beauty of duplicate bridge is that everyone has the same problem as you. If you have bad hands, you know the people in your seat have bad hands. If a suit splits poorly against you, you know it splits poorly for everyone.

Discovering a bad split can mean that you are going to go down. The key, particularly if you play duplicate bridge, is to go down fewer than everyone else.

Take a look at this deal:

Vul:None Dlr: S	A764 A9 J1098 Q64
Lead: J
	K1095 K108 KQ72 A2

We arrive in a normal 4 after opening 1NT (partner used Stayman). The J is led and we try the Q. East covers with the K.

What next?

We count our losers: one club, one heart, one diamond, and one spade if we count from our hand. If we count from dummy's perspective: two clubs, one diamond and one spade.

There isn't a big rush to get rid of our heart or club loser by ruffing, as we can always do that later. We can draw two rounds of trump before knocking out the ace of diamonds and ruffing a heart or club.

Should we duck this trick? In the abstract it's not a bad idea. It would sever communication between the opponents.

In practice, we don't want to see East win and put a singleton diamond on the table. So we win the first trick and should get about drawing trump. The safest way is a spade to the ace and then a spade to the 10. This will pick up 3-2 splits and also 4-1 with East.

You play a spade to the ace and another spade. On the second spade play, East shows out. Panic!

Take a breath. It looks like we're going down: one club loser, one diamond, and two spades (plus a heart to deal with). The immediate question is: should we win this trick or duck? This is the key play and if we're too disappointed to think, we won't find the right one.

Winning the ace is a panicked move. If you win the trick, and try a diamond. West might win the ace of diamonds and draw all of your trump. East might win the ace, cross in a club, and the same thing happens. Better is to duck this to West. West cannot continue with spades (you wouldn't lose two spade tricks). West plays the 9. It wins and West continues with the 10.

You ruff in hand. Now, you can't afford to draw trump for the same reason as before: doing so could allow West to draw your remaining trump if West has the A. Now is the time to play diamonds. What if West ruffs a diamond eventually? That's fine! West is entitled to one more trump trick, whether it is a ruff or a natural trick later.

The full deal:

Vul:None Dlr: S	A764 A9 J1098 Q64
QJ82 J43 63 J1097		3 Q652 A54 K853
	K1095 K108 KQ72 A2

On this layout, West wins the A and can now safely play a trump, forcing our K. We keep playing our winners, though. West can ruff or take the final trick with the good spade. Down one is good bridge.

Looking at the full deal, notice how dangerous it would have been to play the king of spades at trick three.

When you discover a bad split, even if it will doom your contract, keep in mind that everyone is facing the same problem. Take a breath and refocus yourself on the problem at hand.