[hatchett]

♠JT53
♥AQ53
♦76
♣KT3


♠42
♥KJ
♦KQJ3
♣AJ962


Love all

play Weak NT you bid uncontested 1♣ - 1♥ - 1NT - 3NT
you get a low diamond lead to the 8 and Q. Opening leader seems to have 4 or 5.

[HeartA]

I would run C immediately. Even if it lost to East, you would still likely get D continuation given the holdings of majors in dummy.

[Free]

Other...

[FrancesHinden]

As it's hardly impossible that clubs are 4-1, I shall play a club to the king and a low club back to the 9.
i) If everyone follows and the 9 holds I have 9 tricks and can guess whether to run winners or play a diamond at once for the best chance for 10.
ii) If LHO blows I also have 9 tricks (5 clubs, 3 hearts, 1 diamond)
iii) If LHO wins and they don't cash out I will be OK as long as they don't play a third club back at once. And I really don't think anyone will find this in practice, so I don't think it's a risk.

Second choice is an immediate club to the 10.

[hatchett]

Quote

As it's hardly impossible that clubs are 4-1, I shall play a club to the king and a low club back to the 9.


iii) If LHO wins and they don't cash out I will be OK as long as they don't play a third club back at once. And I really don't think anyone will find this in practice, so I don't think it's a risk.

A heart back would also leave you blocked up.

[FrancesHinden]

Oh yes. I'm not having a very good day today.
I'll go back to a club to the 10 at trick 2.

[mikeh]

The problem with the immediate ♣ play through LHO (I would never run the J... I'd play low to the 10... unless my LHO was so weak that I thought I could work out where the Q was by leading the Jack) is that it is mildly anti-percentage in the suit and it relies, if it loses, on rho being robotic.

LHO may be able to give a readable smith/reverse smith echo, but most don't play that and it might not be readable anyway. But, regardless, using the rule of 11 (assuming a 4th best lead) allows rho to know that playing on ♦ is probably futile.. and probably not neccessary right away.

LHO, if he wins an early ♦ return, may go wrong, hoping that RHO controls the ♥ suit, but RHO knows, at trick 2, that any ♥ finesse is working. So RHO (who probably already knows that we are likely 2=2=4=5... well, he would against me, since I open 1♦ with 4=4 in the minors... what do you know? I've finally found a hand on which opening 1♣ with 4=4 might gain an edge ) can and should think about switching to ♠.

Ok, maybe I am giving the opps too much credit.

I'd play a ♣ to the 10 against 90% of the opponents against whom I play. I'd play a ♣ to the K and run the 10 against top defenders. I think that this line is the highest percentage line against really strong defence by a small margin, but the psychological line is the best against most defenders, by margins inversely proportional to the skill of the defenders.

[bid_em_up]

I lead a spade to the 10 at trick 2.

[luke warm]

other for me too.. i'm probably making a mistake, but i'd unblock the hearts then finesse the ♣10

[Codo]

I will led a spade too. The clubs don´t run away, but maybe I don´t need them or get more informations before I have to attack them.
If nothing special happens, I will unblock in Heart play to the King of Club, cash Hearts and finesse in Club.

[jdeegan]

[jdeegan]

I'm off four top tricks, so I can be down one right away if I misguess clubs. I lead the ♦ Q to get up to eight tricks - 2♦, 4♥ and 2♣. I am risking the chance that spades are Kxx opposite AQ9x, AND they find the right defense. But, remember, nobody overcalled spades. Assuming I survive this threat (or LHO ducks the ♦Q), my idea is to get max info before guessing the ♣Q. Who knows, maybe I will find a squeeze/end play?

[willow23]

Well ..quite a pickle we have here..

Would win with the K♦ and finesse the 10♣...chances are ♠ honors are split...and may get ♦ return...



All or nothing