[kgr]

Ax   vs   QT9xx
 
I thought it was best to play to the A and then play small to Q or T. But if you think a bit deeper then you'll see that it matters if you play the Q ot the T.
(I think this is interesting for beginners because it should be possible to find this at the table if you saw something like this before).

[Stephen Tu]

Also consider the same combination with the addition of holding the 8, which changes things considerably.

[vuroth]

kgr, on Oct 14 2008, 09:39 AM, said:

Ax   vs   QT9xx
 

Not a problem I could hope to address in my head.

Ok, so here are the following possible layouts:

x KJxxx
xx KJxx
Kx Jxxx
Jx Kxxx
Kxx Jxx
Jxx Kxx
KJx xxx
KJxx xx

I *think* that only 3 cases matter:

Jx Kxxx - Play of the Queen wins 4 tricks.
Kxx Jxx - play of the Ten wins 4 tricks
Jxx Kxx - play of the Queen wins 4 tricks

Rationalizing it, it makes no difference on any of the 3-3 splits.

On a Hx-Hxxx, the queen obviously wins if the jack falls. Otoh, if the Kx is on my left, it actually doesn't matter if I play the Q or the T - either way, I'll win 3, lose 2.

[vuroth]

Stephen Tu, on Oct 14 2008, 11:46 AM, said:

Also consider the same combination with the addition of holding the 8, which changes things considerably.

This evens it out, right? Now it's a true 50/50?

[awm]

vuroth, on Oct 14 2008, 12:23 PM, said:

Stephen Tu, on Oct 14 2008, 11:46 AM, said:

Also consider the same combination with the addition of holding the 8, which changes things considerably.

This evens it out, right? Now it's a true 50/50?

If you play the ace and then low to the queen or ten, whether you have the eight doesn't really matter. You still have the problem that playing to the ten doesn't help you if Jxxx is on your right because you can't pick up the jack. So the lines you describe remain unchanged.

However, ace and low to queen is not the best line if you have the eight.