[inquiry]

Gold Star to Felix, his line would land this difficult doubled game.

But this isn't necessarily an easy hand to play. Even drawing the right conclusion about the location of the club ace and the 4-0 trump split, you have one more hurdle to leap. The deep dark question is how many clubs does EAST hold.

There are two possible hands, if you buy the analysis I suggested earlier. East with...

S-J8xx H-Qxxx D-Ax C-QJx (CJ with either), or with

S-J8xx H-Qxxx D-Axx C-QJ
In the first case, your play works like a charm. In the second scenario, however, you have to set up and take your club and then ruff two diamonds in low in dummy to make (they get a trump promotion if you try the wrong line, say the one Felix expressed that is the one that works).

This is why this hand is almost double dummy. If East is 4-4-2-3 you can not cash EVEN ONE SPADE to see how the trumps are spliting, or you are down. The secret is to ruff the third diamond with an honor and exit a club as Felix correctly played. IF EAST is 4-4-3-2 you may, or maynot, cash one high trump, but what you must due is ruff two diamonds low in dummy and lead towards the club king. This requires three entries to your hand.. Ahh, now you get the picture, you have to ruff your good heart ACE as one of the entries so you can elope with 5 trumps in dummy, 1H, 3H ruffs and a club.

Given West's scant values for the jump to 3D, I think I would play him for 7D, but I would test out clubs, and diamond before ruffing the heart to see if I could get a club.... Something like,

Win HK, ruff heart, club. Win club continution (did EAST drop the CLUB QUEEN?), heart ruff, diamond ruff (DID EAST DROP the diamond ACE). Now I have to decide. Do I ruff the heart ACE and ruff my last diamond low, or do I cash the heart ace and exit a club. In this ENDING east is either...
J8xx H-Q D-x in which right line is heart ruff, diamond ruff
or
J9xx H-Q D-void C-H in which cash heart, exit club does the trick.

Use a combination of spot card played by EAST (D-ACE? CLUB-QUEEN?) and your appreciation of WEST's 3D bid to decide if WEST has 0-4-6-3 or 0-4-7-2... of course playing for the second distribtution gives you a great story to tell...... as anyone can make 10 tricks on the cross ruff in the first case. ;D

Ben

PS.. one kibitizer who will remain annoynomous to protect my identity commented at the time this hand was played that "sometimes you need five trumps for a four trump double"....

[mpefritz]

I would probably play LHO for 0=4=6=3 or 1=3=6=3 or 1=4=6=2. If East started with Ax of diamonds, wouldn't he usually play the DA at trick 1? What shift was he looking for? If LHO started 0=4=7=2, then I pay off and don't look like a star, but it seems like I am playing to more likely distributionS on the "cross ruff" line.

fritz

[Felix]

Quote

There are two possible hands, if you buy the analysis I suggested earlier. East with...

S-J8xx H-Qxxx D-Ax C-QJx (CJ with either), or with

S-J8xx H-Qxxx D-Axx C-QJ
In the first case, your play works like a charm. In the second scenario, however, you have to set up and take your club and then ruff two diamonds in low in dummy to make (they get a trump promotion if you try the wrong line, say the one Felix expressed that is the one that works).

Ben, on the second hand you give i believe my play works too...say the play goes KD, JH to the Ace, King of H, H ruff and club up ducked (an honor falls from E). Now anoher H ruff, D ruff and low club, E playing his other honor, what should west do? if he ducks there's no trump promotion, if he wins my C10 becomes good, anyway 10 tricks. So the only problem hand is when East holds Qx or Jx in clubs (as i stated in my previous post)
Felix

[inquiry]

Quote

Quote

There are two possible hands, if you buy the analysis I suggested earlier. East with...

S-J8xx H-Qxxx D-Ax C-QJx (CJ with either), or with

S-J8xx H-Qxxx D-Axx C-QJ

Ben, on the second hand you give i believe my play works too...say the play goes KD, JH to the Ace, King of H, H ruff and club up ducked (an honor falls from E). Now anoher H ruff, D ruff and low club, E playing his other honor, what should west do? if he ducks there's no trump promotion, if he wins my C10 becomes good, anyway 10 tricks. So the only problem hand is when East holds Qx or Jx in clubs (as i stated in my previous post)
Felix

Hi Felix,

Yes if EAST has specifically the club QJ doubleton, your line will work as well. I meant for the modifier (CLUB JACK with either) listed on hand option one to apply to both hand one or two. That is, while the double allows you place the club queen (if WEST has the CLUB ACE), placing the club jack is too fine a point. If EAST holds C-Qx instead of QJ as shown in the illustration, then your line would indeed fail. But that fact that this line handles Qxx, QJx or QJ with east and fails only against Qx is furhter support for playing this way.

Ben

[Trpltrbl]

Quote

Your partner tables

AKQ76
AK54
8
K98

after your LHO opens 1d, all non. p doubles, RHO redoubles, and you bid 1S. LHO jumps to 3d, p bids 4S, and RHO doubles.

The opening lead is the King of Diamonds and your hand is the mammoth

T952
7
T53
T7653

The opening leads wins, RHO contributing the 4. Plan the play on the Jack of Hearts continuation.

Club Ace has to onside. I need also to be 3 hearts with Cl Ace. SO ruff H at trick 3 and play Club towards the K, after that y x ruff hand to 10 tricks.
Maybe wrong but I play it that way.

Mike ;D

[EarlPurple]

Looking at the hands but at none of the answers, my immediate instinct is to play 2 rounds of hearts throwing a diamond, cash a top trump (West will show out, I presume), ruff a heart, ruff a diamond and lead a heart (I don't think East can well by ruffing in high) to ruff and now a club to the 9, endplaying East even in trumps.

[EarlPurple]

actually my reply can't be right because I'm still one down.

If East started with 3 hearts then he will not be discarding a club on the 4th round of hearts, he will be ruffing in with his SJ and exiting with a trump or a club and I will have to lose 2 club tricks.

[EarlPurple]

ok hearts are 4-4 and West as Ax in clubs and East QJx, so yeah of course I can make it by the line I just said (except that I can't afford to play any rounds of trumps)

if West ducks the first club they take 1 club and 1 trump, if he plays his ace then they take 2 clubs but no trump tricks.

Of course, if this is the lie of the cards then they could have beaten me simply by leading ace and another club.