[pclayton]

Scoring: MP

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Pass, Pass, RHO opens 2♠ and you overcall 3♦. 4♠ on left by a passed hand and pard puts you in 5♦.

LHO leads the ♠Q (standard) and RHO overtakes with the Ace and plays the ♥10. You make the inspired guess of the ♦A which fetches the K from LHO.

Now what?

[whereagles]

I confess I wouldn't bother much about it. Just take a club finesse and cash the ace.

[inquiry]

RHO seems to have AK of spades, so i too think the club king is with WEST. The question is how to play clubs. The secret is probably the heart legnth. East has presumably 6S, 1d. So I play second heart, cross to dummy and ruff a heart.

presumably i have a count on hearts now, maybe not perfect one, Lets assume the queen does not fall. I can cross to dummy again, and ruff the last heart, now I do have a count.

If RHO is 6-3-1-3 as expected, i guess i will just go ahead and play club to jack and then give a club. I can't risk club to the 8 (best chance for 4 club tricks), as i can go down in a great contract if i lose to two clubs to KTx off sides.

If RHO is 6-3-1-4, I play club to the jack, club ACE and hook the club on the way back for an overtrick. If RHO is unlikely 6-4-1-2, I guess i would then lead the club queen from my hand and if it is covered, then later finesse the club eight. BTW, i did unblock a high diamond on the first trick.

[pclayton]

inquiry, on Oct 11 2007, 08:18 AM, said:

RHO seems to have AK of spades, so i too think the club king is with WEST. The question is how to play clubs. The secret is probably the heart legnth. East has presumably 6S, 1d. So I play second heart, cross to dummy and ruff a heart.

presumably i have a count on hearts now, maybe not perfect one, Lets assume the queen does not fall. I can cross to dummy again, and ruff the last heart, now I do have a count.

If RHO is 6-3-1-3 as expected, i guess i will just go ahead and play club to jack and then give a club. I can't risk club to the 8 (best chance for 4 club tricks), as i can go down in a great contract if i lose to two clubs to KTx off sides.

If RHO is 6-3-1-4, I play club to the jack, club ACE and hook the club on the way back for an overtrick. If RHO is unlikely 6-4-1-2, I guess i would then lead the club queen from my hand and if it is covered, then later finesse the club eight.

Ben, you definitely are on the right track, but you've got a blind spot on a couple of your comments.

[matmat]

am i missing something? we're playing for an overtrick, right?

before i touch clubs I'd cash the other top heart, cross over to dummy and ruff a heart high, and, if necessery ruff another heart. that should give me a full count on the red suits with spades likely to be 5-6 or 4-7. I would try to get the club play right from there.

I think in the first case we can only play for = (unless of course we're brave enough to finesse west for KTx(x) in clubs... , but in the second case we can try to pin the club ten in the east... finesse the ♣J on the first round and then, from hand play the ♣Q up

i suppose it is possible that rho is 7411... in which case it may be right to cash the club ace trying to drop the ♣K

[ArtK78]

After the ♦A pulls trump, cash the remaining heart honor. Cross to dummy in trump and ruff a heart. Presumably all follow and the ♥Q does not appear.

Play a club to the 8. If this wins, you will make 12 tricks by repeating the club finesse. If it loses to the K, you have a claim for 11 tricks.

If the club 8 loses to the 10, RHO is endplayed unless he has the ♥Q. If he has the ♥Q and, presumably, the ♠AK, he cannot have the ♣K as well (or, more precisely, it is highly unlikely that he has the ♣K as well). So, if he does exit the ♥Q, play a club to the J and claim.

By this line, you will make 12 tricks when LHO has the king and ten of clubs, and the only time you will go down is if RHO opened 2♠ nonvul against vul in 3rd seat with AKxxxx of spades, QTxx of hearts and KT of clubs - about as unlikely a set of circumstances as can exist.

You can play RHO for Tx of clubs, in which case you play to the ♣J on the first round and then return to your hand to lead the ♣Q. However, if RHO has a doubleton club, it is more likely to be xx than Tx.

By the way, as was pointed out above, if it turns out that RHO has only 2 hearts, then he is likely to be 6-2-1-4 (he could have 5 or 7 spades, but both of these possibilities are very low). In that case, you should play LHO for Kx of clubs and play a club to the J.

[Trumpace]

After ♦A wins, play a club to the Jack. If that loses, claim 11. If that wins, we can now try a rounded suit squeeze against LHO for the 12th.

Am I missing something totally obvious?

[ArtK78]

The squeeze does not produce a 12th trick.

[Trumpace]

Shoot! I counted the ♣J to be the 11th. How silly of me.

[ArtK78]

The ♣J will be the 11th trick if you ruff two hearts in hand. But then you destroy the heart menace in dummy (should it be the Phantom Menace?). So there is no squeeze - at least, none that will produce a twelfth trick.

[awm]

My plan would be:

(1) Cash the ♥AK. If RHO drops the queen then I will play him for 6-2-1-4 and continue club to jack and club ace.
(2) Assuming both follow to ♥AK, diamond to dummy and ruff a heart. If RHO shows out, then again I will play him for 6-2-1-4 and continue club to jack and club ace.
(3) If RHO has followed to three rounds of hearts, then I'll assume he's 6-3-1-3 or 6-4-1-2. In either case I lead ♣Q from hand now. If RHO wins king, then I was never making the overtrick anyway. So suppose LHO covers with the king and I win ace.
(4) Return to hand by ruffing the last heart and play club to the eight.

[mikeh]

awm, on Oct 11 2007, 02:55 PM, said:

My plan would be:

(1) Cash the ♥AK. If RHO drops the queen then I will play him for 6-2-1-4 and continue club to jack and club ace.
(2) Assuming both follow to ♥AK, diamond to dummy and ruff a heart. If RHO shows out, then again I will play him for 6-2-1-4 and continue club to jack and club ace.
(3) If RHO has followed to three rounds of hearts, then I'll assume he's 6-3-1-3 or 6-4-1-2. In either case I lead ♣Q from hand now. If RHO wins king, then I was never making the overtrick anyway. So suppose LHO covers with the king and I win ace.
(4) Return to hand by ruffing the last heart and play club to the eight.

ditto

[ArtK78]

mikeh, on Oct 11 2007, 03:11 PM, said:

awm, on Oct 11 2007, 02:55 PM, said:

My plan would be:

(1) Cash the ♥AK. If RHO drops the queen then I will play him for 6-2-1-4 and continue club to jack and club ace.
(2) Assuming both follow to ♥AK, diamond to dummy and ruff a heart. If RHO shows out, then again I will play him for 6-2-1-4 and continue club to jack and club ace.
(3) If RHO has followed to three rounds of hearts, then I'll assume he's 6-3-1-3 or 6-4-1-2. In either case I lead ♣Q from hand now. If RHO wins king, then I was never making the overtrick anyway. So suppose LHO covers with the king and I win ace.
(4) Return to hand by ruffing the last heart and play club to the eight.

ditto

I see this as equivalent to my line, except for the lead of the ♣Q instead of a small club.

Is there any advantage to leading the ♣Q?

[mikeh]

ArtK78, on Oct 11 2007, 04:32 PM, said:

mikeh, on Oct 11 2007, 03:11 PM, said:

awm, on Oct 11 2007, 02:55 PM, said:

My plan would be:

(1) Cash the ♥AK. If RHO drops the queen then I will play him for 6-2-1-4 and continue club to jack and club ace.
(2) Assuming both follow to ♥AK, diamond to dummy and ruff a heart. If RHO shows out, then again I will play him for 6-2-1-4 and continue club to jack and club ace.
(3) If RHO has followed to three rounds of hearts, then I'll assume he's 6-3-1-3 or 6-4-1-2. In either case I lead ♣Q from hand now. If RHO wins king, then I was never making the overtrick anyway. So suppose LHO covers with the king and I win ace.
(4) Return to hand by ruffing the last heart and play club to the eight.

ditto

I see this as equivalent to my line, except for the lead of the ♣Q instead of a small club.

Is there any advantage to leading the ♣Q?

You pick up K10x(x) onside by leading the Q. Low to the J wins only against Kx (it breaks even against K10). If we count RHO to have 3 or 2 clubs, the Q is the clear choice.

[pclayton]

ArtK78, on Oct 11 2007, 01:32 PM, said:

mikeh, on Oct 11 2007, 03:11 PM, said:

awm, on Oct 11 2007, 02:55 PM, said:

My plan would be:

(1) Cash the ♥AK. If RHO drops the queen then I will play him for 6-2-1-4 and continue club to jack and club ace.
(2) Assuming both follow to ♥AK, diamond to dummy and ruff a heart. If RHO shows out, then again I will play him for 6-2-1-4 and continue club to jack and club ace.
(3) If RHO has followed to three rounds of hearts, then I'll assume he's 6-3-1-3 or 6-4-1-2. In either case I lead ♣Q from hand now. If RHO wins king, then I was never making the overtrick anyway. So suppose LHO covers with the king and I win ace.
(4) Return to hand by ruffing the last heart and play club to the eight.

ditto

I see this as equivalent to my line, except for the lead of the ♣Q instead of a small club.

Is there any advantage to leading the ♣Q?

On the off chance that RHO has a 6412 and opened a VERY heavy weak 2 on Akxxxx QTxx x KT leading to the 8 without fully eliminating hearts gives you a nasty guess for contract. I think running the queen is a sure tricks line to make.

Frankly, even though RHO will frequently be endplayed when you play a club to the 8, you will put a cold contract in jeopardy by doing so when theres no reason to.

Most of you have the right idea. Strip rho's hearts to get a count on the hand. If it looks like RHO has 4 clubs, try to drop the Kx onside. If clubs are 33 or the length is on the left, double hook.

Important note for the BI's: when you have an overload of trumps try to put them to use and get a good count on the hand.

[Fluffy]

What Ben said, but better run ♣Q when clubs 3-3. Oh, and unblock a diamond under the ace.