[FrancesHinden]

How do you play that suit combination for 3 tricks?

Oh, you want the full hand?

Scoring: XIMP

3♣ P 5♣ all pass

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LHO leads a low diamond. You win with the ace, ruff a diamond and play a trump. RHO wins with the ace and plays the queen of spades to dummy's king. You draw the last trump (LHO had two).

Now what?

[whereagles]

small to the 6 and guess right next round

[Wackojack]

Run 10♥, then finesse (if not covered) and repeat. Looks like this wins with QJ stiff in either hand or QJ9x or QJxxx with LHO. Also wins with 3-3 distributions except QJ9 precisely with RHO. This is still better than just 3-3 or QJ stiff in either.

It also strikes me that a clever RHO with QJ9 might in any case win the finesses with Q and J. No ..... forget that, because assuming RHO led a spade from QJx(x) then she cannot return another spade without giving a trick, so must return a heart. Now with QJ9 say RHO returns the 9 after winning with the Queen then its a tricky decision. Looks like restricted choice so you win and get back to your hand and finesse. So you still lose to QJ9. However RHO might not play you for the 10♠ and feel it safer to return a small spade. The you are home

[qwery_hi]

FrancesHinden, on Jan 2 2009, 04:45 AM, said:

How do you play that suit combination for 3 tricks?

Oh, you want the full hand?

Scoring: XIMP

3♣ P 5♣ all pass

---

LHO leads a low diamond. You win with the ace, ruff a diamond and play a trump. RHO wins with the ace and plays the queen of spades to dummy's king. You draw the last trump (LHO had two).

Now what?

deleted blatantly wrong...

[Fluffy]

see if LHO had another trump, if he does, we can almost rule out that he has stiff ♥Q or ♥J because he would lead singleton.

running the 10 its the only way I See we can improve a 3-3 break, pinning doubleton 9 in East (hopefully not QJ9)

Also Ace, then run the 10 seems to work on that position, will need more time to see wich one is best.

[cherdano]

Just playing AK seems better than anything proposed so far (picks up all 3-3 breaks and six 4-2 breaks, H9 and QJ on either side.
The interesting part is what to do after cashing the ace.

[Fluffy]

Running the 10 picks QJ doubleton on either side, as well as H9 doubleton on either side, so does Ace first and then run the 10 (not running it if the 9 drops in West)

I think A+K only picks QJ9 behind, but running the 10 at some point picks 9x.

But there is also a full hand, and West didn't lead ♥Q, this might make A+K better than running the 10.

[Fluffy]

oh boy, there is a lot more in this hand, of you play the Ace, RHO might play J form QJ9 or J9. Playing the Ace to await consecuences might not be a good idea after all.

[uday]

I don't think this is just about the H suit.

RHO won the club and played the SQ, so he is likely to have the SJ. Overall, you can make if the H break 33 or if whoever has the long H has the SJ.

So I like drawing trump and ducking a H. Then, if they've manage to exit safely, cash the high spade and run clubs, making if H run in the end position ( 3-3 or H-S squeeze ).

[dburn]

Best for three heart tricks in isolation looks to be to pass the ten, then cash the ace, finessing if East drops the nine or the remaining honour on the second round.

But in the context of the hand as a whole, I would be inclined to cash the ace and lead low towards the ten.

[Fluffy]

I thik uday has a good point, squezzing east is a great oportunity, I think it makes better to run the 10 since it keeps comunications open, Ace and low could let him scape with J+Q breaking the comunication for the squeeze if he has ♥QJ9x(x)