[hackenbush]

Scoring: IMP

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W N E S
P 1C P 1H
X 2H P 3H
P 4H AP

Lead ♣T

You win as RHO plays ♣6 UDCA. If you work on spades, defenders knock out the other high club, and RHO wins the 2nd spade to play a 3rd club through. Can you make it?

[maggieb]

I can't handle 1-4 hearts or ♦K offside, so the relevant shapes for LHO are 4252 or 4342. I can make whenever LHO is 4243 or 4252 with ♥Jx. (There is another line to make it with ♥Jxx on the right, but it is clearly inferior).

Ruff high, ruff a spade, go back to my hand and play two rounds of trumps. If LHO drops the ♥J (when he is 4252), I draw trumps and endplay him with his last spade.

If he follows low (when he is 4342), then I ruff my last spade and ruff a club in my hand. Now LHO has to play to this trick with ♥J ♦Kxx and can't take more than his one heart.

(Maybe it's not worth noting, but LHO cannot profitably pitch a spade on the club return).

[hackenbush]

Also it should be noted that ♠J is superior on trick 2, giving RHO a chance to err holding only one of ♠AKQ and no T.