[kgr]

Scoring: MP

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You had a bidding misunderstanding and arrived in 6♠.
LHO leads a small ♥ and RHO plays the ♥K.
What is the best play here? Opps are no experts.
- Is a squeeze possible?
- I played one trump, ♦A, ♦K and ♦ ruff followed by trumps. But maybe it is better to simply play 4 tumps from the start..maybe opps will discard a ♦ from a 4 card?

[Halo]

I'd play three trumps, three hearts and another trump.

Oppos may discard badly, but there is the legitimate chance that LHO started with four diamonds and a club honour, and is squeezed without the count.

[gnasher]

I'd cash four trumps and one more heart before deciding what to do. This is the position:

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At this point I have to decide what to play for. The possibilities are:

(1) LHO has both club honours or ♣Hx- lead a club to the 10

(2) LHO has a club honour and four diamonds - cash ♥A to squeeze him, as described by Halo

(3) RHO has both club honours - If his remaining cards are:
0-1-3-3 - play ♥A and three rounds of diamonds, ruffing, then a club to the 10
0-2-2-3 - play three rounds of diamonds to strip him of his long heart, then as before
0-0-4-3 - play ♥A to strip him of his long diamond, then as before
If he ever bears ♣KQ, you give up a club whilst you still have control of whatever other suits he has left.

A priori, (1) has the best odds and (2) the worst (I think). They're all very close, however, and the lead affects things. With ♣KQ LHO might have led a club, making (1) less attractive. With only small clubs, LHO might have led a club, making (3) less attractive.

Other considerations: (1) is the easiest to play, requiring no card-reading, and (3) is the hardest. (3) is the most fun.

[kgr]

Thanks for the answers. Interesting.
I played all trumps, but it seems crucial to keep a trump.
I will have to study this a bit more to grasp why keeping that trump is important. (The difficulty remains of course to read the situation)

[cherdano]

Btw, we don't have the ♣8 by any chance?

In the diagram shown by gnasher, I would play a club to the T - maybe RHO won't find the club return when LHO has a club honor and four diamonds.

[gnasher]

cherdano, on Apr 9 2008, 09:53 PM, said:

In the diagram shown by gnasher, I would play a club to the T - maybe RHO won't find the club return when LHO has a club honor and four diamonds.

It might be better to do this at trick two, before they've had a chance to signal with their trumps.

[Fluffy]

4 spades and all hearts will squeeeze West if he has a club honnor and 4 diamonds.

What Halo said actually.

There are also some alternatives cashing only 2 trumps and some red cards for a semi-elimination.