Halo

4H

Would those who pass, still pass without the Ace of hearts? If you are confident partner has this contract off in his own hand, and your ace is the -300 card, then I can understand a pass at this vulnerability.

Partner wants me to bid and I'm just going to blunder on into 4S.

I guess for me AQxx,x,Ax,AQxxxx is quite possible. There are lots of similar hands, but there is no certainty of choosing the best game. However the penalty against 4H is likely to be small, or even nonexistent in the most extreme cases. I would try 4S.

With one or two defensive tricks and seven or eight offensive the hand looks like a preempt to me. This is IMPs and I would bid 4C at the vulnerability.

4H

Preemptive. Lots of other ways to play other hands.

I wasn't here when the forum voted for pattern in this auction. That would not have been my vote. Control seems better to me.

I think it matters to me who bid 4S, but it doesn't change partner's hand. Partner has a lot of the reasonably available defence.

1C Can't see passing this out in the circumstances described. Even with a regular partner passing is a little boring at a club night, though probably correct.

Reluctantly pass. I'll assume that partner placed me with a balanced opener.

5S Ask partner to look at where his values are. Partner may not have the Ace of diamonds.

Lol, I have no idea what this post said before, but seeing this made my day ;) Simple things as they say jdonn. I decided that after all playing for clubs Kx involves fewer assumptions despite the downside of leading from a long low suit into declarer's holding. I find that considering different views with an open mind is a quite a good idea.

Deleted!

Declarer opened 1♠ and rebid 2♥, and your example to justify your lead is a 20 count with three hearts, and even then I don't see how a club lead is setting him. Come on Halo. Well, I might bid 2H with that hand, and how weak do you think declarer is for his 3NT bid (if he is not just boringly going several off whatever we play.) But OK we make the hand: AKQxx, AKJx, x, K9x and not unreasonably give dummy the diamond KQ and a small doubleton spade. Do you not feel in danger after a heart lead jdonn?

This may or may not be difficult, but it seems clear I must cash the ace of hearts and return a spade at trick three. (Begins to be reminiscent of the first chapter of 'Adventures...'. Now if the defence take their spades, South will be on lead and looks thrown in for a ninth trick and squeezed for a tenth. But what if North switches to club after spade AK? East wins the ace and it looks as though South will be squeezed out of his spade winner going into a three card ending, where he will hold Qx hearts and King of clubs. Again declarer has ten tricks. Could of course be more wrinkles to it.

OK But you would regard something like: AKQxx, AKJ,x,K9xx as out of the question for declarer?

But since you don't say so, which part do you disagree with? Or more specifically, can you give either an exact layout or a general situation in which a club is the winning lead, other than when declarer does not have the king (in which case I fully admit, he got me)? I disagreed with the proposition that holding AQJT in a suit and leading against 3NT, it is a mistake to lead the suit because if partner can take two tricks, and lead the suit twice that will work better.

What does 2S over 1S show for you guys?

Are you assuming that if partner bids 3NT you are never allowed to move on?

I don't see much wrong with the 3NT bid. Wouldn't make me disagree with partner.

I completely disagree with jdonn's analysis. IMO the player on lead against 3NT needs to take advantage of the lead, and more especially at IMPs. I am not sitting on this club suit on the basis that partner will give me four club tricks. I think a singleton lead says I'm just messing around - just because someone is a great player doesn't mean they always do great things.

Shows spades - has the opponent really got spades?

Seems that I can afford to lose a club a heart and a spade. So after East ducks and I win the nine of clubs, I can ruff another spade, cash the ace of hearts and finesse clubs again. I don't see how the defence get more than three tricks.

I would just always lead Ace of hearts on this auction and live with the consequences. I think ten of diamonds is very attractive, but I can't live with the idea that an ace lead would take it down, while I have two aces.