WHAT CARD TO PLAY?

[Double !]

This is such a basic question that it embarrasses me to even ask it.

 

The opps are playing in a suit contract, but not at the slam level. Partner has overcalled in a suit, but you have not raised.

Partner leads whichever card you have agreed upon to lead from AKx(xxx) of the suit that partner has overcalled.

You hold Q72 in partner's suit.

Dummy holds some trump support for declarer, and also has two small cards in partner's lead suit.

The situation does not appear at trick 1 to be a cash-out situation.

 

1) What card do you play from Q72 to encourage partner to underlead the other honor?

2) What card do you play just to indicate holding the Queen?

3) What card do you play from xx in partner's suit, hoping for a continuation of the suit because you will be able to over-ruff dummy without the cost of a natural trump trick?

 

In answering, please indicate what form of carding (count, attitude, suit preference, etc.) the partnership is playing.

 

TIA

 

DHL

[zasanya]

A high card from me will be attitude saying I like your lead and you may continue .It may show a dbltn and ability to overruff dummy OR it may show Q.Whether Partner will underlead or continue with other high honor looking for a ruff will depend on what defence options he has.

[skjaeran]

I use UDCA.

With a doubleton in dummy I'd play my lowest card from a doubleton if able to overruff dummy or if I want partner to lead three rounds of the suit anyway.

 

From Q72 I play the 7. I can't give a signal to tell partner I've got the queen and want an underlead. And I can't encourage from Q72, since partner would then continue with K and anohter from AKxxxx, thus giving declarer a ruff and discard.

 

You can't solve all problems here. You need to have agreements that work most of the time.

[temp3600]

From Q72 I play the 7. I can't give a signal to tell partner I've got the queen and want an underlead. And I can't encourage from Q72, since partner would then continue with K and anohter from AKxxxx, thus giving declarer a ruff and discard.

You seem to play that encouragement when partner has led the A from AK means 'please continue with your K'. It's an interesting agreement, but I think the standard meaning is simply 'please continue the same suit'.

Holding Qxx, if I wanted partner to underlead to my Q, I would encourage and hope he works it out. If I discouraged partner would not play me for the Q. (Q7 doubleton is the only exception)

[kenberg]

I have no way to tell partner when I want him to underlead to my Q. I seriously doubt that it can be done. Typically my holding will be Q72 or Q2 or Q7 or 72 or some such, There is only so much information that can be coded into a spot card in such cases. Now what do I actually do? Mostly I agree with Skaeran (a,though the cards will differ since I like std cding). But there may be some variation.

 

Example: Partner has overcalled at the 2 level vulnerable. Probably he has six cards, I play low, he will play me for three, he will cash his other high card and switch. Maybe if he desperately needs me to play through immediately at T3 he will utter a prayer and underlead to my hoped for Q (since he would understand why I didn't play high), but this is not likely.

 

Example: Partner has overcalled at the one level. If it looks like the second trick is going away if not cashed, I play a high spot. I want the trick cashed, and the ruff-sluff danger is less. Not zero, but less.

 

It's possible that the opponents auction has been disclosive enough that partner will understand, after T2, that the hi-lo is from Qxx instead of xx but generally I expect hi-lo to produce a third round continuation of the suit, and a low card at T1 to produce a shift, so I make my best bet. I don't expect any card to produce an underlead.

 

"You can't solve all problems here. You need to have agreements that work most of the time." seems exactly right.

[pclayton]

Playing standard methods you are stuck. A useful agreement that I sometimes play is the lead of the Ace asks for attitude and the lead of the King asks for count.. You can invert this as well. This solves the Qxx dilemma.

 

Playing Obvious Shift, you can frequently back into the correct defense, based on what pard promises or denies.

 

Other times, you just have to reason out the correct continuation.

[jdonn]

Playing standard methods you are stuck. A useful agreement that I sometimes play is the lead of the Ace asks for attitude and the lead of the King asks for count.. You can invert this as well. This solves the Qxx dilemma.

I think this solves nothing against suit contracts since most of the time the opening leader doesn't know which he wants, at least until he sees dummy. Like if you have AKxx you want attitude if dummy has Jxx but count if dummy has Jxxx, I think, although even that is not totally clear. You just don't know which to ask for.

[pclayton]

Playing standard methods you are stuck. A useful agreement that I sometimes play is the lead of the Ace asks for attitude and the lead of the King asks for count.. You can invert this as well. This solves the Qxx dilemma.

I think this solves nothing against suit contracts since most of the time the opening leader doesn't know which he wants, at least until he sees dummy. Like if you have AKxx you want attitude if dummy has Jxx but count if dummy has Jxxx, I think, although even that is not totally clear. You just don't know which to ask for.

Sometimes opening leader has a suit that he needs 3rd hand to shift to. AQxx in another suit would be an example.

[SoTired]

You can't signal, "please underlead" from Q72. But if you held QJ2, then you play the Q, which is the underlead request. (Which is why you do not play the Q from Qx).

 

From Q72, you are forced to play the encouraging 7. Maybe partner will figure it out, but probably not. But there is no underlead signal from Q72 in any signalling system that I have seen.

[Double !]

Playing standard methods you are stuck. A useful agreement that I sometimes play is the lead of the Ace asks for attitude and the lead of the King asks for count.. You can invert this as well. This solves the Qxx dilemma.

Phil:

Thanks for the response. However, do you also lead lower of touching honors?

Because, I have found that lower of touching honors doesn't blend in with coded J/T/9 leads (if J can show Q or could show nothing higher). I, personally, like coded leads.

 

dhl

[pclayton]

Hi Don: I play coded leads in one partnership. I play coded 10-9's in middle game in all of my partnerships. I dont think they are a palooka convention as many make them out to be; they have tradeoffs.

 

Ive never played Rusinow, but many that do. Some people are pretty adamant about playing 2nd highest.