[kfay]

Scoring: MP

1♠-2♥
3♥-3♠
4♣-4♦
6NT

---

Comment on the bidding if you like. My partner's 2♥ bid is odd but definitely not the strangest thing she's ever done. Curiously, in this instance it actually made it quite easy to reach a semi-decent slam even by MP standards. Is this a 3♥ bid for me?

LHO leads a low club, Q, K, A.

You play a low spade out of hand and LHO thinks for a bit and puts on the K, low, and RHO now looks upset and puts on the J after 2 1/2 seconds (read: in tempo but when you're trying to tune in to everything the opps are doing it wasn't instantaneously).

A heart comes back. I got this wrong at the table so went from a top to a bottom. What would you do? The opps are one of the 2 worst pairs you will play during the night.

[Fluffy]

I think I will play ♠Q, and if it doesn't work run ♦J

[helene_t]

2♥ is a very bad bid. When opener raises hearts we don't know if we have a 4-4 fit in hearts, which is preferable to the 5-3 fit in spades.

[Apollo81]

not finessing the ♠9

[gnasher]

Why are so many of the threads in this forum about how to play against bad players?

Regardless of who I'm playing against, I'm not going to be talked into finessing S9, or into making an anti-percentage play in diamonds.

I play a spade to the queen. If West has four spades, I take a diamond finesse against East and hope that they're 3-3 or Qx. If East has four spades, I take a diamond finesse against East and then claim - if he has four diamonds, he'll be squeezed.

[kenrexford]

I don't get the 2♥ call at all. This is especially weird with five diamonds staring at you, pissed off that you dissed them.

[xcurt]

gnasher, on Feb 29 2008, 10:51 AM, said:

If East has four spades, I take a diamond finesse against East and then claim - if he has four diamonds, he'll be squeezed.

Don't claim on a squeeze against the second worst pair in the room. You'll spend the break listening to the director tell them they can't ask you to play it out.

[TimG]

In isolation, isn't correct play in spades to first cash the Ace and then lead towards the Queen, finessing the Nine if RHO played the Jack or Ten under the Ace? Playing low towards the Queen is only slightly inferior, and has the advantage that you will know whether you can take four spade tricks before you have lost two tricks. So, your line allows you to fall back on the diamonds when your spade line does not produce four tricks.

So, I agree with the poster who suggested cashing the Queen and playing on diamonds if needed.

BTW, I don't think this is a restricted choice* situation in spades. If you play low to the Queen, shouldn't LHO play the King from Kx or Kxx while RHO drops the Jack or the Ten? This gives you the losing option of finessing on the second round. If the Queen wins the first trick, you have no choice but to play the Ace next.

* It's probably technically a case of restricted choice, just not one that should alter your line of play.

[Cascade]

I agree 2♥ is bad. People do this thinking they can always correct to spades later but that is not always so.

Sometimes partner will think your correction is a cue-bid.

In the play I combine my chances rather than bank on the ♠ K10xx on my left.

♠ Q

then try to play diamonds without loss - small to the Jack wins when East has Qxx or Qx. If I finesse west I need Qxx.

[655321]

Agree with gnasher.

Never mind the 2♥ bid, I also don't get the 6NT bid. As it happens this is a poor slam, well under 50%, not a semi-decent one.

[Cascade]

655321, on Mar 1 2008, 10:56 AM, said:

Agree with gnasher.

Never mind the 2♥ bid, I also don't get the 6NT bid.  As it happens this is a poor slam, well under 50%, not a semi-decent one.

Possibly they get there because partner thought 3♠ was a cue-bid.

[pclayton]

I can't believe people aren't willing to trust their reads here. These are weak players defending a slam. They will carry their emotions on their sleeve. If RHO showed genuine disgust with the ♠K, then it's clear to me that RHO has the stiff J.

If RHO held ♠JT, the table would be so quiet you could hear a mouse pissing on a cotton ball.

For diamonds to come home I need ♦Qx or ♦Qxx in RHO's hand. Not a very tasty alternative to what seems obvious.

RHO isn't good enough to falsecard from JT8x, but even then I can change tack and rise with the K and play ♦K, ♦J float. I think I keep my squeeze chances this way.

[gnasher]

pclayton, on Mar 3 2008, 05:35 PM, said:

RHO isn't good enough to falsecard from JT8x, but even then I can change tack and rise with the K and play ♦K, ♦J float. I think I keep my squeeze chances this way.

This does indeed keep your squeeze chances, but doesn't do much for your finesse chances. By playing the diamonds this way, you will make 12 tricks without a squeeze when the diamonds are Qxx-xxx, but not when they're xxx-Qxx. You will make 12 tricks with a squeeze when diamonds are Qx-xxxx, but not when they are xx-Qxxx. When they're Qxxx-xx, you can't make it whatever you do.

Does RHO's expression also deny DQ?

[kfay]

RHO has stiff ♠J. LHO has ♦Qx.

[Fluffy]

kfay, on Mar 3 2008, 06:26 PM, said:

RHO has stiff ♠J. LHO has ♦Qx.

did he cover ♦J?