Coup
In contract bridge, coup is a generic name for various techniques in play, denoting a specific pattern in the lie and the play of cards.
There are various types of coup which can be effected.
Pure Coups
There are many coups where the opponents can do little about:
The original coup was referred to as the Bath Coup, whereby a player holding the Ace, Jack and small card(s) plays small against the lead of a King-Queen sequence, so as to get two tricks (if the suit is continued) or gain tempo.
- Crocodile coup
The Crocodile coup is a technique used by the defense. It is executed by overtaking your partner's winner, when he or she is about to be endplayed.
- Deschapelles coup
The act of sacrificing a card that would ordinarily be an eventual winner (such as an offside King) to establish an entry into partner's hand. The Deschapelles Coup is used more often on defense than offense.
The Devil's coup is the act of stopping defenders getting a trump trick from Qx opposite Jxx - surely the work of the Devil?
The act of ruffing through the player who has bigger trump(s), so that the trump is taken either by ruffing or by making it master trump if the other player ruffs.
- Galileo coup
The Galileo coup is so named because Galileo Galilei is usually credited with the invention of the telescope; this coup arises when the contract is in a suit in which the declaring side is missing both the Ace and King; if successful, the defenders end up being forced to play the Ace and King of trumps to the same trick, thus "telescoping" their two trump tricks into one.
- Grand coup
A Trump coup where the cards ruffed in order to execute a trump reduction are winners.
- Merrimac coup
The Merrimac coup is the act of sacrificing an honour (usually a King) in order to remove an entry from an opponent's hand.
The forcing of an opponent to choose between establishing one or more extra tricks in the suit led and losing the opportunity to win a trick in the suit led.
The Scissors coup is so named because it cuts communications between defenders, most commonly by discarding a key card from either the declarer's own hand or dummy. This enables declarer to prevent the defenders transferring the lead; usually for a defensive ruff.
The Trump coup happens in the end-game when declarer needs to finesse in trumps but doesn't have one to lead up. It is often assotiated with a Trump Reduction.
- Vienna coup
The Vienna coup is the act of cashing an ace opposite the queen (or, more generically, an immediate winner opposite a menace) in order to enable a squeeze to work on either opponent.
Deceptive Coups
Some coups rely on the opponents making a mistake.
- Grosvenor gambit
The act of deliberately misplaying a hand in order to induce a mistake by an opponent which results in either the same or a superior result. Even when the gambit does not yield a material gain, it usually induces a big psychological impact on the opponents who were offered a trick for free but couldn't have believed it were possible.
- Idiot coup
The act of only losing one trick when missing AKx of trumps. Declarer leads through one of the defenders hoping they will play the king from Kx which then falls under their partner's stiff ace. Obviously going up with the king is foolish as with the ace declarer has a legitimate line escape a loser (play the ace and hope for stiff king or take a finesse), hence the name.
Illegal Coups
There are also a number of insidious and illegal coups which should only be tried out against friends in social bridge:
- Alcatraz coup
The Alcatraz coup is performed by purposely revoking when declarer is uncertain which defender to finesse. After the trick is over, declarer knows which defender to finesse, "notices" and corrects his misplay, and finesses the correct defender. Note: performing an Alcatraz coup is explicitly against the rules of bridge, and can get you kicked out of tournaments.
- Superglue coup
Another dishonest (and quite subtle) coup; the Superglue Coup is where a defender pulls out two cards together (as if they were superglued together). Declarer sees the cards and assumes they are adjacent in rank in the defender's hand. For example if declarer is missing KT3 and one defender pulls the K and 3 out together declarer can assume that the defender does not have the T! If declarer alters his line based on this information and loses to the T in the defender's hand then he has fallen victim to the Superglue Coup!
