[Phil]

I've been pretty happy with my game lately. However, I do confess to getting tired sometimes and blowing a hand occasionally. This I'll blame on fatigue after a long day.

Here's the last hand of last night.

While I misplayed it, I think it is interesting nonetheless.

Swiss Teams - and your team is lying in 3rd 6 VPs behind of 1st and 5 behind 2nd. You are having a pretty good set, but you probably need a blitz or near blitz to win.

1C - p - p - 1H
1S - 2S - p - 4H

---

LHO lead the ♦A, ♦10.

Plan the play for the 1st few tricks.

[karlson]

I'm going to win the K and play three rounds of clubs (pitch a spade, ruff), then a heart up to the Q. I like my chances as long as trumps are not 3-2 (3 with lefty, seems unlikely) or 0-5.

[Apollo81]

If either (or both) opponent signals even count, I think I'll cash ♦Q instead of leading towards ♥Q on trick 6. I can still make it if LHO was 4225 by ducking a heart, and if he's 4324, he just might misdefend.

[karlson]

Actually, it occurs to me that we're both going down if righty is 2-2 in the reds without the ♥A. I don't really see what to do about this yet.

[Fluffy]

I also play ♦Q at trick 6, but I expet LHO to be 4126, not balanced.

[quiddity]

Fluffy, on Jul 7 2009, 05:24 PM, said:

I also play ♦Q at trick 6, but I expet LHO to be 4126, not balanced.

LHO led the doubleton DA holding a singleton HA?
In any case the lead is a bit bizarre - does he really think his partner will get in to give him a ruff? But I think LHO is either 4225 or 4324 with the HA. The question is how to get the diamond ruff. If he has A7, we need to draw two rounds with the K and Q before getting the ruff with dummy's small heart - but if he has 3 that's not going to work.

[quiddity]

How about: duck a club at trick 2. Win the spade return and ruff a diamond (covering whatever trump LHO plays). Cash the C-AK for spade discards and lead the 4th club. If RHO follows, then LHO was 4324. Ruff and lead the HK. If RHO shows out, then LHO was 4225. Ruff as cheaply as possible and play a low heart to drop the ace.

[quiddity]

Oops, LHO just ruffs in with the ace and cashes two spade tricks.
Ok, play CA, CK (spade discard), club (spade discard). Win the spade return, ruff a diamond, and ruff the last club, playing as described in the previous post.

[quiddity]

I just realized RHO might win the third club and lead a trump through, and I won't know what to do. Ugh, I'm butchering this problem. :-(

One last try:
CA,
CK discarding a spade,
C-ruff,
cash SA,
D-ruff (assume we have to overruff with the Q, else no problem),
lead the last club.

If RHO ruffs, LHO must be 4225. Overruff and lead a low heart.

If RHO pitches a spade, we can pitch our last spade too. LHO wins and forces with a spade. Ruff in hand and play DQ (it does LHO no good to ruff this), then low heart.

If RHO follows, LHO must be 4324. Ruff and lead a high heart.

Did this hand really come up at the table? It's quite beautiful. The early SA cash is crucial too, I think, for otherwise RHO can pitch a spade on the fourth club, LHO returns a club and RHO pitches the second spade! Goodbye SA.

[quiddity]

Nope, the early SA cash is fatal.. LHO ruffs the DQ and I get endplayed in trump.
CA, CK, C-ruff, D-ruff, club. If RHO pitches a spade we can ruff and drop LHO's trump ace. We still have a trump in dummy to handle a force.
Have I covered all the possible ways to screw this hand up?

[karlson]

I'm not sure quiddity. Your line will also fail if righty started with ♥Axxx, for instance, no?

I'm also not sure if I understand what it is that you're trying to cater to by leading a fourth round of clubs early. Going back to your first post

Quote

If he has A7, we need to draw two rounds with the K and Q before getting the ruff with dummy's small heart - but if he has 3 that's not going to work.

This isn't really true, if he has ♥Ax you can overruff once, and force him to ruff air the second time.

It seems you're trying to get a full count on the hand, but I think you've made it much more difficult than necessary.

[quiddity]

karlson, on Jul 8 2009, 12:25 AM, said:

I'm not sure quiddity. Your line will also fail if righty started with ♥Axxx, for instance, no?

I'm also not sure if I understand what it is that you're trying to cater to by leading a fourth round of clubs early. Going back to your first post

Quote

If he has A7, we need to draw two rounds with the K and Q before getting the ruff with dummy's small heart - but if he has 3 that's not going to work.

This isn't really true, if he has ♥Ax you can overruff once, and force him to ruff air the second time.

It seems you're trying to get a full count on the hand, but I think you've made it much more difficult than necessary.

It does fail if RHO has Axxx of hearts, but since he failed to respond over 1C that holding seems unlikely. I would tend to respond with any ace there. Also, the shortness lead from LHO suggests a trump control.

And sure, you can make LHO play his ace on air if you KNOW he started with A7 and not AT7. But how can you know that without playing a 4th round of clubs?

[bid_em_up]

deleted

[se12sam]

How about simply leading a ♥x from dummy at trick 3 and playing ♥K?

We need to ruff only one diamond in dummy; a play of trumps at trick 3 does not destroy that line of play. My problem with playing off either black suit at trick 3 is that I can be forced in the same suit later when opponents win in trumps.

[Phil]

The opponents weren't good. However, there are some legitimate inferences you can take already.

1. LHO didn't have another attractive lead like ♠KQJx or possibly ♣QJTx(x) (although I know a lot of club players who would bang down ♦Ax before ♣QJT).

2. Once we put a ♠ or possibly a club card over in RHO, RHO does not have the ♥A.

3. LHO probably doesn't have the ♥A singleton. Even my worst opponents don't lead ♦Ax in this case.

4. What is LHO bidding on? We have 22 combined, so the opponents have 18. RHO is inferred to hold the ♠K/Q, so LHO doesn't have a 4324 15-17. The possibilities are a 4225 or a 4324 14. Yes this unlikely, but you have to factor this in, especially against club players that are NV.

Cashing the ♣AK now for the spade pitch is 100% correct I think. At the table I toyed with pitching my other spade loser on the 3rd club, but this seems to complicate the play with no visible benefits. So I ruffed a club and RHO followed, so the unlikely 4126 was now an impossibility.

For those leading the ♦Q at T5, this leads to immediate defeat when LHO has any Ace-3rd of hearts. They will get an uppercut or be able to draw dummy's trump. While its not likely, I think its a careless play.

For Karlson, a heart to Queen also fails when LHO is 4324. Also, LHO can't have ♥Axxx already.

Cashing the ♠A early makes no sense. It establishes an entry for RHO who might be able to uppercut.

At the table, I made what I am convinced is the right play, and I'm sorry if it isn't more fancy. I simply tried to ruff a diamond in dummy.

LHO uppercut with the 10 and I overuffed with the ♥Q.

I now sloppily lead a heart to the J and went down when LHO was, in fact 4225. I would have made if LHO was 4324.

After the ♥Q wins, there is a much better play at T6. Do you see it?

[mikeh]

I was going to post before I saw Phil's last, and haven't thought much about what he wrote..so I may be out to lunch....but....

What does LHO have? As phil noted, we can safely place LHO with the heart A... otherwise he has a spade lead, not a diamond. Also, he has to have at least Ax in trump.

If he was 4=3=2=4 on most hands he has a 1N opening bid, but he might (and in my view should) open 1♣ and rebid 1♠ with, say, KJxx Ax Ax QJxxx. Further, with a lesser hand with 4=3=2=4, bidding 1♠ seems a bit much when his partner has passed his 1♣ opening bid. I mean... KJxx Axx Ax Qxxx is at best a borderline 1♠, whereas KJxx Axx Ax QJxx is everyone's 1N.

So I think that LHO is in fact 4=2=2=5.

In which case, how can it be wrong to win the diamond K and lead the heart Q?

LHO has no answer...if he ducks, we play another heart...win any return... if a spade, in hand and cross in clubs to pitch a spade, then ruff a club, cash the diamond, ruff the diamond and claim our 10 tricks. If he wins, we can win his return, pull one more round of trump and then ruff a diamond in dummy,

Or we could win the diamond K, lead a heart to hand...if LHO wins, we win the return, cash the heart Q, and manoeuver to ruff our 4th diamond. If he ducks, well, he's welcome to his stiff heart A anytime thereafter.

In fact, I would be confident enough of this read that unless I had a lot of time available, I would embark on this line rather than try to cater to 4=3=2=4.

[Phil]

Mike, I think there are a multitude of ways to cater to Ax of hearts, but I think you have to work a little harder to cater to the unlikely Axx.

They are weak opponents, and they do strange things. Heck, LHO may have even miscounted his hand.

[quiddity]

Phil, on Jul 8 2009, 10:31 AM, said:

After the ♥Q wins, there is a much better play at T6. Do you see it?

My previous suggestion of a 4th club wasn't correct?

[Phil]

quiddity, on Jul 8 2009, 01:14 PM, said:

Phil, on Jul 8 2009, 10:31 AM, said:

After the ♥Q wins, there is a much better play at T6. Do you see it?

My previous suggestion of a 4th club wasn't correct?

No you get credit. I just had to unbury the nugget from your other posts

[mikeh]

Yes, the play of the 4th club assures the contract against 4=3=2=4 and 4=2=2=5, altho the play is not without interest when LHO is in fact 4=2=2=5 and rho pitches a spade on the 4th round of clubs.