Baker's Dozen by Foxymoron

 At matchpoints, when you have a good line for 12 tricks, it is tempting to try for a "baker's dozen", or 13. That expression comes from medieval times. What the bakers were doing whenever they sold bread in any quantity, was adding something extra to make sure the total weight wasn't short. The addition was called the 'in-bread' or 'vantage loaf'. When selling in quantity to middlemen or wholesalers they would add an extra loaf or two. When selling single loaves to individuals they would offer a small extra piece of bread. The Worshipful Company of Bakers still exists and reports that this carried on within living memory and that a small 'in-bread' was often given with each loaf.

So, that's the practice, what about the phrase? That goes back to at least 1599, as in this odd quotation from John Cooke's Tu Quoque:

"Mine's a baker's dozen: Master Bubble, tell your money."

Dealer South; Love All

We had two raiders from over the border last night, Julian Pottage and Tony Ratcliff. Not content with Wales leading the Six Nations, they wanted to conquer the bridge clubs of England too and it was a SIMs night as you can tell from the different diagram. But this time Tony Ratcliff could have done better, but he had to decide whether to go for 12 or 13 tricks. He opened 1H on the South hand, playing four-card majors and North splintered with 4C, but South devalued the king of clubs and signed off in 4H.

West led the ten of spades and Tony won and drew trumps in two rounds ending in North and paused to take stock. Should he try for 12 tricks, or should he be greedy and go for 13? In slam, the right line is to play a club to the king and then if that works a diamond can be discarded on the king of clubs; if it doesn't the diamond finesse can be taken.

However, that ship has sailed, and the people in slam are not playing in your field. They are not playing at Grantham or Caterham (the other clubs holding the SIM) either, but in a sub-field of those that reached slam, and you cannot do anything about them. You are only competing with those in game, and I think Tony was right to take the diamond finesse, even though he ended with a bad score.

a) if it works then he has 13 tricks. If it fails he has 11, always assuming they cash the ace of clubs now.

b) if he plays a club to the king he can only make 12 tricks, and this only gains when the king of diamonds is offside and the ace of clubs is onside, about a quarter of the time.

Sometimes virtue has to be its own reward.