A Count Squeeze is an action in the play of the cards that operates on a player, usually the declarer, who does not guard a crucial suit in such a manner as to give the declarer a count of the suit. This action allows the player to drop an honor offside instead of taking a losing finesse.

The following illustration should clarify this action.

	North AQ K
West 43 A		East K 54
	South 7 5 A

During the play South, who is the declarer, has discovered that West has / must hold the Ace of Hearts.

South leads the Ace of Clubs. West discards a Spade. South can now safely discard the King of Hearts from the dummy.

South now leads the seven of Spades. West discards his last Spade.

After counting the number of Spade cards played, South has the information that East holds the last Spade card.

South plays the Ace of Spades from the dummy, knowing that the last card of West is the Ace of Hearts. East loses the King of Spades, making the Queen of Spades in the dummy the winning trick.

If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.