Lead my suit or partner's?

[awm]

You have a hand with five spades and one side entry (the club ace), including a singleton diamond. After two passes, your partner opens with a 3♦ preempt. RHO bids 3NT which ends the auction.

 

How good of a spade suit do you need in order to lead a spade instead of your diamond singleton (partner's suit remember)? If you would ever lead a round suit from the hand given feel free to mention that as well.

 

Please comment if the vulnerability matters -- assume IMP scoring and nobody vulnerable for the purposes of the vote.

 

Assume for the sake of argument that you aren't playing any two-suited opening that shows a weak hand with 5-4 shape. If you'd open some of these hands at the one level, feel free to post and mention that (the last hand in particular I know some people will open without any special agreements).

[Fluffy]

It depends on how agressive RHO is, if its whereagles I'd lead a diamond even with ♠KQJxx.

 

On general I think KQJxx screams spade lead, and KQ10xx is close.

[Apollo81]

I'd lead a spade for sure from KQ10xx or better and would lead a diamond for sure from QJ9xx or worse. For KQxxx and QJ10xx it probably depends on partner's preempting style. I would tend to lead a diamond if I didn't know my partner well. I should qualify this post by saying that I feel that I tend to lead partner's suit more often than average.

[joshs]

weeeeeeeeeeee

 

I will practically always lead diamonds here. Yes partner can have anything here, but usually partner has a very strong suit, and the rest of the time partner has entries, and in 3rd chair partner might even have a min opening hand.

 

With KQTxx a low spade might work out better, but thats just random luck, it will more often give up the game going trick or a key tempo....

 

If partner is vulnerable, I expect partner to always have a good suit....

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

 

if I counted correct the 4th, i.e. I need QJ9xx

or better.

 

But vulnerability matters, if we are red vs. green

I need a lot more, because partners suit will be

better, and there is good chance he has one,

sometimes even two out side entries.

 

With kind regards

Marlowe

[benlessard]

Depending on style I expect 2 diamonds stoppers to be farily frequent. So my choice is with KQxxx hoping for a J♠ or an A♠.

 

If partner is having KQJT diamonds there is a good chance he doesnt have a side entry anyway.

[matmat]

for me it strongly depends on who partner is.