The Two-Suited Guard Squeeze: Structure
The two-suited guard squeeze is quite strict in what must be present for it to occur. (Put another way, it probably doesn't occur that often.)
Structure of the Extended Menace Suit
Because you are willing to give up a trick in the guard suit, you can also be willing to give up a trick in the single-threat suit (clubs in this example). That makes it an extended menace squeeze. There is no point in having a regular menace, and in fact the squeeze will not work that way.
For communication purposes, you need two winners in the extended menace suit, one in each hand. That leaves usually something like Axxx opposite Kx, or possibly Axxx opposite Kxx. (So the extended menace suit probably has not been played.)
Structure of the Guard Suit
There is not much room for variation in the guard suit either. You have to have the top card in the guard suit. That's a property of any extended menace squeeze. Without that winner, the extended menace is no menace at all, because the opponents can cash their winner in the guard suit when they get in.
Furthermore, the winner in the guard suit has to be in the hand with the extended menace. Otherwise, the extended menace is no menace at all, because there is, usually no entry to it.
The guard threat has to be in the opposite hand -- there is no room for it in the hand with the extended menace.
If there are two winners in the guard suit, then you have too much threat: AKx opposite 10xxx means that both players can't guard the suit. For exactly the same reason, the guard suit cannot have been played before the squeeze is run.
As for the traditional guard squeeze, Lefty can have multiple honors. So this works fine as the guard suit
Axx
QJ10 Kxx
9xx
But usually the 9 will not be a big enough threat, and the queen is too big (to require the squeeze). So that leave basically (1) Ax opposite Jxx, or (2) Ax opposite 10xx and hoping that two honors are in the hand protecting the extended menace.
Next: The Free Suit
|