DNP Tips
Woohoo, we're getting some tips in the bank. Some were copied from the Superior DNP Ladder Forum and some were contributed from our own message board. Feel free to post yours on the message board and I will add them here. I have included a link to the Superior DNP ladder site, but it doesn't appear to be active any longer.
DNP Spades Tips / Strategies / Tactics by Trollpop -- A great overview of the game with all the basics
Passing DN Damage Control by underdog -- What to do if you have an unmakeable dn
Oops I Looked by underdog -- What to do if you forgot to bid dn
Leading out of a DN in first seat by yesiknowhow2play
Defense Against the Parasite Nil by pterodactyl -- Tactics for covering your pard's dn without covering opponent's nil
What if you have a lay-down dn? by nice_kitty -- Advice on how to pass out of a natural nil
DNP Spades Tips / Strategies / Tactics
Posted by Trollpop
(Gold Member) (Ranked 1 on Superior DNP (Yahoo) Ladder) on June
06, 2000 at 22:25:25:
1. The DNP game is primarily about controlling the bag situation
and controlling the 200 delta that enables the DNP. It takes lots
of math before the bid, after the bid, and during the play when
players make their tactics known by which cards they play. (If
not already obvious from their bid.)
2. One must always be aware of the impact on making and setting
their team's bid(s) and covering or setting opponents' bid(s).
Need to work out all the permutations before deciding on the
tactics for the hand.
3. Watch partner's and opponents' discards for clues on how best
to proceed in the play of the hand.
4. Early in the game, I am quite willing to bid risky nils. If
they make, fine; if not, sets us up for a DNP.
5. One tactic to create the 200 delta so your team can DNP is to
bid nil planning on going set and taking enough bags to clear
your bags.
6. Another tactic to create the 200 delta so your team can DNP is
to have the second partner to bid (especially if the last to bid)
bid in the double digits so that they bag the opponents (while
taking no bags themselves) and the bid is just enough to be 200
and change behind.
7. In my opinion, this is the only Yahoo Spade variation where
player strategies and tactics can overcome a biased dealer. I
only wish Yahoo didn't have the -200 floor that rewards the
aggressive bidders. Many games among top players have both teams
hanging around -200 for a while. LOL
8. Usually, I expect the first teammate to bid to bid somewhat
normally and let the second teammate to bid make the creative
bids to try to control the 200 delta.
9. When DNP is enabled for our team, I expect the first teammate
eligible to bid, goes ahead and bids the DN. This allows the
covering teammate to bid after the pass and after seeing one or
both of the opponents' bids. This will provide the most
information with which to make the best bid.
10. The DNP coverer should always calculate whether any resonably
high bid, (and going set) while still covering the DN, would
enable the DNP for the next hand as well.
If opponents are doing this to you, you may have to deliberately
go set to get back within the 200 delta.
11. Be very, very cautious of bidding nils (to make) if you have
a spade 10 or higher and the opponents have bid DNP. Since the
DNP bidder usually passes high spades, the DNP coverer has an
idea on the top spade left in the DNP bidder's hand. This allows
the DNP coverer to lead medium and successively lower spades to
easily set a risky nil (one with a middle or higher spade).
12. Once my team gets to 5 bags, I tend to underbid to clear the
bag situation. I like to be in control of my bags rather than
having a threat hanging over my head and my opponents able to
take advantage of my baggy situation.
13. Bags can be very important, especially in the end game, so
don't always be quick to duck the bags.
14. Be careful of bidding Kings against a DNP bid. With the
passing, it is likely that the DNP coverer is void in some suit,
or at most has a singleton.
15. Don't pass a low card back to the DNP bidder in a suit he/she
passed to you. Rather send low cards in the other side suit(s).
16. Enjoy the game and realize that everyone is spending a lot of
energy trying to figure out all the permutations of making or
setting bids, so relax about any lags.
17. To help encourage people to join this ladder, I usually allow
people to table talk about a hand after it is over. If anyone
objects to that, and I don't put any pressure on them, then we
play without the table talk. I also welcome people to kibitz,
again ensuring it is OK with all the players. IMO, this is a way
to help promote the DNP game and to grow this Superior DNP
(Yahoo) ladder.
18. As I am a ladder op at Yahoo Spades, much of my time is spent
performing ladder op functions and spending time in the mail room
answering complaints and general questions about Case's Spades
(Yahoo) Ladder. Accordingly, when I am ranked number 1 on this
ladder and cannot play 1-2 DNP games per night, I will be asking
for voluntary rank reduction to keep from denying players the
opportunities for shots at number 1.
19. Best time to catch me for a DNP match is from 10-12 PM EDT
most nights.
20. I challenge the other DNP players to post their DNP
strategies and tips in this message forum. The goal is to mentor
others so that they rapidly increase their skill at DNP and enjoy
this ladder.
21. I encourage everyone to seek out Bugshu (aka
Yoda_The_Jedi_Master), Jump_Ugly, Golden_Retrievers, Wildhog72,
or myself as a DNP partner. All these I've mentioned are known
for loving the DNP game, for having somewhat advanced
understandings of the DNP game, and a demonstrated willingness to
take the time to mentor others at DNP.
Pleasant Spading,
Hal
aka Trollpop
Ladder Op for Case's Spades (Yahoo) Ladder
(Just one of the guys on this ladder, but a proud lover of the
DNP spades variation game.)
Posted by underdog_o3 (Ranked 2 on Superior DNP (Yahoo) Ladder) on June 13, 2000 at 11:04:02:
what happens if u engineer a nice dn, u have no bags, opps are bag heavy, and u click dn and find that magic hand u have been looking for. a natural 8 bid. what do u do? first consideration is u have to let your pard know that u are set. so u pass at least one low card. (never pass even one low card from a makable nil, because of the confusion it will cause) u could pass an A,2 doubleton, but a 2,3 doubleton would be unmistakable. or 2 low cards in different suits. your pard will know u are set, and will either pass u high spades, or will pass you a doubleton of his own, voiding himself in a suit. u could both easily end up with a void. with this kind of holding, u can frequently set the opponents bid, whether it is a nil, or otherwise. your pard will be expected to create an advantageous bid. either low, to bag out, or high, to make without too many bags, or high, to get set. if near the -200 barrier, he will prob bid 13. if not at the -200 barrier, is more difficult to bid right. it is not a disaster to get set on a double nil if u can set the opponents and not pick up a load of bags. this is just one more reason the dn should be bid by the first eligible bidder.
Posted by underdog_o3 (Ranked 2 on Superior DNP (Yahoo) Ladder) on June 13, 2000 at 17:28:03:
you were eligible to bid dn, but u clicked show instead of dn. what to do now? if u are lucky, you have a powerful hand, and u have again proved that it is better to be lucky than good. but what if u are looking at a 3 or 4 bid. i would add 2 or 3, and bid 5 or 6, depending on the situation. pard still has a fair chance with a dn, and u are bidding the tricks he will pass u. if pard does not bid dn, he should decrease his bid by the same amount. if i have a 1 or 2 bid, i would bid it. too high a likelihood pard will not be able to make a dn. if pard sees a 1 or 2 bid, he will prob not dn, unless his RHO bids very high. if i have a good nil, i would bid it. pard will be able to overbid, and easily avoid bags, while adjusting the score for a dn next hand
Leading out of a DN in first seat
posted by
yesiknowhow2play on 2001-05-25 06:47:00
When you are first seat and are DN, lead the highest card out of
your safest suit that you know your pard can cover. Example: You
are dealt the K Q 4 hearts. You pass your high spade and the K
hearts to your p. Your p passes back to you in diamonds and
clubs. Since a nil in first seat generally leads out the safest
suit, in this situation you lead the Q hearts to your p, NOT the
4 hearts. This affords your pard many more options for play of
his hand. He will cover your Q hearts with the K that you passed
him(if he wants you to make your dn), and since you have
indicated safety in hearts, he has a very good idea of where you
are safe now in EVERY suit in your hand. He can choose to cover
you while bagging opps, cover you while setting opps, or set you
while bagging out or bagging opps or setting opps ... you get the
picture. This lead is especially important on a setting hand, as
a high lead from your dn may fool a LHO holding the A hearts into
throwing under in hopes of setting your dn (then holding that A
hearts just a little too long because he didn't want to lead it
into your dn ... and wham bam, your pard trumps it), OR your LHO
could play his A hearts knowing that it is highly likely that
your pard can cover you ... and in that case, you have used your
queen to force out the A and have bestowed upon your pard the
boss card in hearts, should he be looking for a set, or depending
on other hearts (or lack thereof) in his hand, he may choose to
toss the K hearts under the A to bag opponents.
Correctly leading
from a dn in first seat can:
1) communicate to your pard the one last piece of information he
needs to know about your hand ... which is where you are safe in
EVERY suit, and
2) give your pard even more control over the table, usually by
allowing him to choose the card/suit that is the 2nd lead on the
hand; and
2) cost the opposing team a trick that ultimately could lead to
their downfall.
Defense Against the Parasite Nil by pterodactyl
the thorniest problem we encounter with our method of dnp is the parasite nil. some games, the opponents bid a nil every time u dn. therefore, setting that nil is a high priority. if you have a suit which has ample low cards, your pard needs to know this. if u have the 2, 5, 6, J, K, and your pard passed the 5, the lead of the 6 is very informative. he still knows u have the 5, and can lead low confidently. if u have the singleton 8, and you passed the K, u can lead that 8, and pard knows u have no remaining card higher than the 7. on the other hand, if u have the Q,x,x,x, after passing the K,and lead the Q, pard still does not know what is safe, and must lead high . in setting a parasite nil, though, the most important information is the dn's spade situation. this is why it is critical to pass a spade, particularly if the highest spade is a low spade. starting with a singleton spade 2, for instance, i will take considerable risk in the other suits to pass that 2 spade. if the opps do bid nil, pard may waste spades cutting high, and may lead low. it is also a warning to pard that the spades are breaking very badly, and pard must bid conservatively, or risk getting set. one other thing.......if pard passes u a 4, and u have several cards including the 6,4, and opp leads a low card, u should play that 4. entirely too often, pard will have only the 5(that is why he passed the 4), and if u play that 6, u are set. this goes for your lead too. never lead a nonconsecutive card higher than what was passed in a suit u didnt pass. but always lead a consecutive card that is different from the one passed, so that pard knows u still have the card he passed. when u finally do play that low one, if there are any remaining high cards in that suit, pard better assume u have them
What if you have a lay-down dn? posted by nice_kitty_22 on
2001-06-05 15:34:51
You are first eligible to bid dn, and you have the nil of your
dreams. Highest card you have in any suit is a 9, and you have 2
spades, the 2 and 3. Make sure you pass one of the spades!! If
you pass 2 cards that are non-spades, even though they are your
highest, your p could misinterpret your pass and pass you back
high. A spade pass from a dn, even if it is the 2, always means
you have a makeable dn. This is especially true if you and pard
are 1st and 3rd seat, pard may have a big hand and think that RHO
has a natural nil, when in fact you are the one who has it.
