[jillybean]

Dealer: North Vul: EW Scoring: IMP

♠ KJ987642 ♥ 2 ♦ A ♣ J97

West North East South

 -     Pass  1♦    1♠
 Pass  1NT   Pass  ?
   


Your bid now please, or would you have bid 4♠ right away?

[Winstonm]

I admit at this vul with passed partner that I would have bid 4S immediately - this closely approximates the strength of the hand after which I can subside knowing partner has somewhat of an image of my hand type.

Winston

[Robert]

Hi everyone

I would not have bid 4S the first time. A broken suit even with eight trumps is not

a textbook example of a 4S overcall.

At my second turn after partner showed some decent values, 4S seems a fair

gamble.

What is the range for the 1NT reply? I play 9-11 by a passed hand. My overcall

range starts at 8+ opposite an unpassed partner and falls considerably opposite a

passed partner.

If dummy hits with void spades and diamond cards, I will offer my apology to

partner.

Wasn't it Goren who said, "If you are not going for a large penalty every once in a while, you are not bidding enough."

Regards,
Robert

[P_Marlowe]

2S.

Having decided not to bid 4S,
I got lucky, now I will try to
preserve my plus score.

Marlowe

[jillybean]

Scoring: IMP

---

West North East South

 -     Pass  1♦    1♠
 Pass  1NT   Pass  4♠
 Pass  Pass  Pass  



Now how do you play it? I messed it up.

West leads ♦5

[P_Marlowe]

jillybean2, on Dec 18 2005, 01:53 PM, said:

Scoring: IMP

---

West North East South

- Pass 1♦ 1♠
Pass 1NT Pass 4♠
Pass Pass Pass



Now how do you play it? I messed it up.

West leads ♦5

Spoiler

- Finesse in Hearts (you will have a discard for your clubs)
- Finesse in Spades against the Queen

[Winstonm]

Cross to the heart A and lead a spade. If the 10 appears from East put in the Jack.

East's possible spade holdings that matter are: AQ10, Q10, A10. Playing the King is only right 1 in 3. Even if I lose to the singleton Q, I still have the outside shot that East was dealt the KQ doubleton in clubs or a singleton club honor without the heart King.

Winston

[Limey_p]

Winston is right just considering the spade suit on its own. But the lack of e-w bidding is curious, making it less likely that either player is void in spades. This implies that a spade to the king may be the better play.

Anyone for playing spades from hand, then play out all the spades, hoping for an elimination position with east holding both club honors?

AP

[Kalvan14]

As far as the original question, I would have bid 4♠ immediately.
As a matter of fact, it was better to bid it on the second round, since we got some indications from both passes:

• LHO has 4 or 5 hearts, and likely 5 or 6 hcp. OTOH he passed, and this should tend to deny a singleton spade
  
• the lead appears to be from a diamond honor
  
• RHO did not double 1N (as he might have done with 15 HCP and a singleton spade)
  
• RHO hand might likely be: AQ Kxx Kxxxx Qxx or AQ xxx Kxxxxx KQx [neither of these hands would be would anything over pard's 1N]
  
• LHO would have T Jxxxx Qxx KTxx or T KJxxx Qxx Txxx

I do believe that LHO would act with a chicane in spades.
Club honors cannot be doubleton in E hand.

A finesse in hearts is free. If it holds, play spade. Otherwise ruff ♦, back to dummy with ♣A, discard on ♥A and lead spades [playing K over T].

The alternative play would be to try for an end play on E, leading spade from hand at trick 2 (now it is a toss of the coin: K♠ caters for a singleton Q, small for a singleton A). But the end-game will not work unless both clubs honors (or at least HT) are in E hand, together with the ♥K

[Winstonm]

Obviously the key to this hand is getting the spade suit right. The only holdings where this is a guess are AQ10, Q10, and A10.

Constructing balanced hands with what appears to be a diamond honor with LHO we have:

A10, Kxx(x)? K109xx, Kxx Add the Club Q and it's a 1N opener.
Would LHO bid with Q, Jxxx, Qxx, Qxxx?

Q10, Kxx?, K109xx, KQx Ace of spades instead of Q and 1N.
Would LHO bid with A, Jxxx, Qxx, xxxx?

AQ10, Kx? K109xx, Qxx Club K makes it 1N.
Would LHO bid with void, Jxxxx, Qxx, Kxxx?

What about unbalanced hands?

A10, Kx, K109xx, Kxxx
Would LHO bid with Q, Jxxxx, Qxx, Qxxx?

Actually, the only thing that makes sense in this auction is for LHO to have a weak hand with hearts and RHO to have a good but not great hand.

A10, Kxxx, Q109xx, KQ
Leaving LHO with: Q, Jxxx, Kxx, xxxxx

Q10, KJx, KQ10xx, Kxx
LHO then holds: A, xxxxx, xxx, Qxxx.

AQ10, KJxx, K109xx, K
LHO has: void, xxxx, Qxx, Qxxxxx.

As LHO is marked with at least 4 hearts and an assumed diamond honor, anytime he holds a spade card he may well have made a negative double. The one hand totally consistent with the bidding is the last one and in this case I'll need to use both my dummy entries to finesse spades. If LHO has made a conservative pass with the singleton spade Q, I'll have to hope for A10, Kxxx, Q109xx, KQ, which is not totally unlikely if LHO produces the spade Q.

Winston