I've been going through a variety of hands on Bridge Master, and am surprised by the recommended line of play in the spade suit for Beginner Hand A20. The main teaching point concerns managing entries to dummy carefully in order to be able to finesse twice, but I am not sure that is necessary. [hv=pc=n&s=saqjt98h2daqj2cak&n=s432h543dkt9cq432]133|200[/hv] The contract is 6♠ by South with no bidding from East/West. West wins his ♥K lead and continues with ♥Q. My initial attempt was to finesse against the ♠K once, and then go for the drop on the second round. But Bridge Master penalises this line of play, instead requiring you to take the finesse on the second round as well. Once the first finesse succeeds and East has played low on the second round, isn't there more "space" for the king to lie in West's hand, and the drop therefore a little more likely to succeed than a second finesse? I am wondering if this is an error in Bridge Master or I am overlooking something... Bluto P.S. Another thought: the situation at this precise point (in the second round of the suit) appears to be analogous to the "Nine never" rule below when holding nine cards with the queen missing. After cashing the ace, the recommended line of play is to hope to drop the queen on the second round, rather than go for the finesse: ♠ 4 3 2 ♠ A K J 10 9
