[pescetom]

MP

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NS are an experienced pair playing a strong club system, rather conservative.
Your partner is not timid but usually has his bid.
Your lead and expectations?

You didn't like the idea of double, any second thoughts?

[jillybean]

Double?

Lead ♣8
Partner should have the top clubs, I'm cashing A♦ when I get in

[pescetom]

jillybean, on 2023-May-14, 13:02, said:

Double?

I added an option for that too.

[mikeh]

Diamond ace

Planning to give partner ruff. If North is any good he is extremely unlikely to hold two club losers

[DavidKok]

North has a hand that can't open any number of hearts but wants to be at the 5-level facing unknown shape? That's quite the gamble.
I would also not have doubled, who knows what's making. I sure don't. I don't even know what to lead - a low club, or the ace or diamonds. Playing the ace of diamonds to give partner a ruff seems best, which works not just if partner has a singleton but also if the diamonds split 5323 around the table and partner has two small hearts. Hopefully if we have one (or more) club tricks coming our way it is not vital to establish them right away.

[pescetom]

I did say that North was conservative and playing a strong club system, I doubt anyone here would have passed.
I think their 2♥ opening shows hearts plus minor 5-5 and 3♥ would have to be well honoured.

At another table it went 2♦(multi) 2♠ 4♥ 5♣; p p 5♥ p; p p
putting W on a more difficult lead.

[pescetom]

Here is the full board.

MP

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Played at 7 tables, there were 7 different auctions all leading to a 5♥ contract (although one by South, as mentioned above).
Most East chose the clubs lead allowing contract to make (once with a mysterious overtrick).
Only one East chose the ♦A lead which I thought was the clear choice.
I was West in the auction of OP and to my surprise and delight partner led a small spade
His only explanation was that he had little faith in clubs, given the auction.
I still haven't decided if this was genius or just a lucky mistake.

[AL78]

Likely blind luck. If he cashed the diamond ace and saw dummy he might then try and play you for a spade void on account there is no other source of tricks beyond the heart ace.

[pescetom]

AL78, on 2023-May-15, 06:28, said:

Likely blind luck. If he cashed the diamond ace and saw dummy he might then try and play you for a spade void on account there is no other source of tricks beyond the heart ace.

And West would be able to signal a suit preference too, although its superfluous in this case.
East is a promising beginner, so he's allowed to make an unusual mistake; I was just curious if there was some reasoning to picture a spades void that he rightly made and I am missing.

[mikeh]

pescetom, on 2023-May-15, 08:15, said:

And West would be able to signal a suit preference too, although its superfluous in this case.
East is a promising beginner, so he's allowed to make an unusual mistake; I was just curious if there was some reasoning to picture a spades void that he rightly made and I am missing.

I can’t think of any reason to expect a spade void rather than a diamond void.

I can think of several reasons not to choose a spade rather than a diamond.

If west has only one heart, we need him to hold a void for spades to work but a diamond works if he has either a void or a stiff.

The odds of his having a stiff and a void must be far lower than two stiffs

If he has two hearts, we don’t need him to hold a void in the suit we lead..a stiff will do as well.

But if he has two hearts and a doubleton in the suit we choose then leading diamonds may get him a ruff when the suit breaks 3=3 in the opps’s hands. That’s not true in spades

Finally, it’s possible that partner can’t get a ruff but that the opps hands are, to some degree, mirrored.

Say north is 4=6=2=1 and south 3=5=3=2 and north holds the spade Jack. Partner has something like x x xxx KQJxxxxx

(This would be consistent with north passing initially, since some players won’t open 2M with four cards, especially say KJxx, in the other major)

A spade lead gives away the contract. A diamond lead doesn’t


I can’t, on just a few minute’s thought, come up with any similar argument for a spade lead rather than a diamond.

[StevenG]

pescetom, on 2023-May-15, 08:15, said:

And West would be able to signal a suit preference too, although its superfluous in this case.
East is a promising beginner, so he's allowed to make an unusual mistake; I was just curious if there was some reasoning to picture a spades void that he rightly made and I am missing.

He has probably been taught not to lead out Aces (other than from AK), or to underlead an Ace. If he's not leading a club, what other choice has he got?

[pescetom]

StevenG, on 2023-May-15, 10:56, said:

He has probably been taught not to lead out Aces (other than from AK), or to underlead an Ace. If he's not leading a club, what other choice has he got?

Could just be that too. Although he has a knack for thinking outside the box and beyond the limited skills he has been taught since he started to play in September. Last week he surprised me by smoothly unblocking in a situation that many intermediates might get wrong. But then he's twenty years younger than the majority and that makes a difference.

[thepossum]

Ace of diamonds. May not get another chance. I did think about leading a club but no

EDIT I am very simple in my approach. When in doubt an Ace is ok - and not the Ace of trumps in this case - think about it and why it works

If by luck you win your Ace then you think about other leads

[Gilithin]

Personally I would have opened 1♠, which here might give South a problem if they are conservative enough not to venture a 1NT overcall with a singleton.