DOM Example Game 2

The first game was relatively simple, with most of the play being self evident. In this second game, the play is more complex because some Aces are involved. The deal is:

West could begin with his 9H (to score 9 points; the best possible start). However, he plays 10C to the top left-hand corner (scoring 6 points) with a view to using his Ace and 9H later. East takes a similar view and plays his KS on the other diagonal in Row 2 (scoring 6 points). West now plays his AH to the left of the King to score 20 points from the 21 pip-counts (the Ace counting 11) on the diagonal and on Row 2. The additional pip-counts of 11, from the Ace counting as 1, give no score. East replies in-kind with his AC in the top right-hand corner.

West now has many options. His 4's form good combinations with the Aces and court cards or he could play his 10S below the AH. His best option is probably to play the 9H under the AH, scoring 3 in Row 3, 6 in Col 2 (from pip-counts of 10 and 20) and 20 in the diagonal (from pip-counts of 20 and 30).

East has a difficult decision. He would like to reply with his 9S below the AC or in the bottom right-hand corner. He could equally play a court card above the AH or below the AC. In fact, he prefers not to leave the diagonal to West and plays his KD to the bottom left-hand corner. It scores 2 in Row 4, 4 in Col 1 and 26 on the diagonal (16 for a pip-count of 30, 8 for a pip-count of 40 and 2 for the pair of Kings), giving 32 in all.

West plays 10S under the 10C to score 18 in Col 1 (16 for the pip-count and 2 for the pair) and 10 in Row 2 for a 21 pip-count (the 31 pip-count being of no value). East cannot resist playing his 9S below the AC to score 24 in Row 2 (16+8) and 6 in Col 4 (2+4).

West is running out of steam and plays 4H above the AH, giving 13 points from Row 1 (8+5) and 10 from Col 2 (2+8). East takes the chance to play 6H below the 9H, scoring 24 (4 and 16 respectively for the pip-counts and 4 more for the flush). He prefers to keep his JS for later.

West must now play his 4C to the bottom right-hand corner to score 4 in Row 4, 10 from Col 4 (2+8) and 13 on the diagonal (8+5). East again replies with a 6, placing 6C it above the 4C to score 8 in Row 3 and 20 in Col 4 (4+16).

West must now try to minimise East's chances so he completes the second diagonal with his 8C, scoring 6 on Col 3 and 11 for a pip-count of 33 on the diagonal (no score on Row 3). East's JS will score well in any of the three remaining positions but the best is above the KS, scoring 4 in Col 3 and 17 from Row 1 (5+12 from pip-counts of 25 and 35). By placing it there he gives himself an even chance of making good use of his 2S in row 4.

West plays his 7H below the 10S, scoring 2 for the pair in Col 1 and 20 in Row 3 (16 for the pip-count and 4 for the run). East's 2S now scores 16 in Col 3 to complete the game and to win.

Had West played his last card (7H) to Row 4 and score 2 less, East would have scored only 7 with his 2S and loose the round!

Look at Strategies for DOM

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