[ArtK78]

Playing with a good pick-up partner in an ACBL matchpoint pair game on BBO, you pick up:

Scoring: MP

2♦* - (3♣) - ?

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2♦ was weak. You have not discussed your weak 2 style (if that is relevant).

[Fluffy]

I think I will pass and double if LHO tries anything else.

[whereagles]

3♦. It's our board, but game is unlikely.

[pclayton]

It's too early to double. I'll compete to 3♦.

What happens next?

[jdonn]

3♦ seems right, should make and I can double most higher things.

[ArtK78]

Would anyone consider a bid of 3♥ instead of 3♦? That was the bid chosen by my partner.

[gnasher]

ArtK78, on Apr 2 2008, 05:33 PM, said:

Would anyone consider a bid of 3♥ instead of 3♦? That was the bid chosen by my partner.

I wouldn't. Who told you he was a good player?

[ArtK78]

Scoring: MP

2♦-(3♣)-3♥-(P)
3♠-(P)-4♠-All Pass

---

This was the first time I played with this partner, who is a consistent winner in the ACBL BBO games. I assumed that his 3♥ bid was forcing, so I had to find a bid over it. I chose 3♠, leaving him with the option of bidding 3NT if his hand was appropriate. He gave this a lot of though and eventually raised to 4♠. I almost brought the contract in, but when neither major suit split, I could not handle it. Here is the full hand:

Scoring: MP

---

The defense started with Ace and another club. I won the K in dummy and played a spade to the 9, losing to the Ace. The defense erred at this point, playing a diamond into me. I played low from dummy, winning the 9 with the Q. I played a heart to dummy and a spade to the 10, and the ♠K, discovering the bad break. Now I needed hearts to split, and they also did not split. Down one for a single digit percentage score.

[han]

3♦ looks like an excellent MP spot (and so does 3C doubled btw).

[bid_em_up]

ArtK78, on Apr 2 2008, 11:52 AM, said:

The defense erred at this point, playing a diamond into me.  I played low from dummy, winning the 9 with the Q.  I played a heart to dummy

GIB says the contract is makeable at this point. (It became makeable once they returned the diamond into the AQ).

Quote

and a spade to the 10,

and you hand it back to them here.

[ArtK78]

Would you mind pointing out to me the winning line?

[mikeh]

ArtK78, on Apr 2 2008, 02:20 PM, said:

Would you mind pointing out to me the winning line?

I didn't use GIB, but at the point of a spade to the 9, how about, instead, the diamond Ace and ruff a diamond low. Say West overruffs.. what can he return?

If he returns a club, ruff in dummy, draw trump and claim.. and any other return merely surrenders earlier.

So he doesn't overruff... now take the spade hook and begin running the diamonds, not drawing a 3rd round of trump until after he ruffs in.

Of course, it is 'far from clear' that this is the best single-dummy play.. but it is not unreasonable on the auction and the (weird) defence to date

[awm]

ArtK78, on Apr 2 2008, 02:20 PM, said:

Would you mind pointing out to me the winning line?

Win diamond queen, diamond ace, ruff a diamond. If west overruffs and returns heart or spade you can draw trump ending in hand and run diamonds. If he overruffs and returns club you ruff in dummy with the queen, repeat spade hook to draw trump ending in hand and run diamonds.

If west discards heart then spade to ten (pulling east's last trump) and run the hearts. Eventually west ruffs, you overruff and start running diamonds... west ruffs in and plays club but you ruff with dummy's last trump and finish off the hearts.

If west discards club, then spade to ten and run the diamonds. Eventually west ruffs in, but he must return a trump or a heart. You win either and play spade to king (drawing his last trump) and cash the remaining diamonds.

[bid_em_up]

ArtK78, on Apr 2 2008, 02:20 PM, said:

Would you mind pointing out to me the winning line?

What they said.

And btw, you actually got 24.04%, not a single digit percentage, if thats any consolation.

[ArtK78]

It was single digit the last time I looked.

Maybe we won the event.



Yes, that line certainly works. But at the table, I wouldn't be too surprised if you tried to cash the DA to see it go ruff on your left. Whether that is necessarily a bad thing is not clear, but establishing diamonds did not seem to be the percentage play to me.

[jdonn]

Jlall, on Apr 2 2008, 05:33 PM, said:

I would crack them off or pass depending on who my partner was. Since you hadn't really discussed preempting style I would X.

You are doing very well lately on problems you answer after the full hand comes out