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How to guard against bad breaks


Gerben47

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E/-

 

AKx

xx

8xx

A987x

 

Q

AKQT9x

AT9x

xx

 

The bidding:

pass - 1* - 1 - dbl**

pass - 4 - pass - pass

pass***

 

* Magic Diamond: 13 - 16 unbalanced or 15 - 17 balanced.

** Negative double (majors or GF)

*** After asking about the double and some thinking

 

Opening lead: King of Clubs. Plan the play.

 

Gerben

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dont get the negative doble on 3-2 in maj:))

 

and what are we playing? imps or mp?test ur play?

 

in test ur play, imp i think i whould duck fisrt use ace 2 time and ruff a club whit the 9 if both follows clubs are good so i draw tromf,maby loos 1 hart,if he overruff whit jack i take return and play 3 times spades to ruff, traw tromf and play dimond to 8 west is endplayed,

 

at mp i guess ill just draw tromf play ace,king of spades and trow club,dimond to 10 and and hope suits brake nice:))

 

 

kenneth

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It's a team match (IMPs), which is about the same as test your play since you really want to make this because they got a different lead at the other table.

 

And you didn't make your contract. I will show the complete hand when more people have responded.

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take A, small to the Ace, Q (overtake) and A (discard a ), finesse J.

 

-------------------------------------------

Hi gerben!

 

------

My line will be same as free. Unlike him I will explain why :) :

E is probably singleton , but passed. Where are ? If E had 6 of them, he will probably bid , so he had 5, while W had 4. Remain 4 cards in +. I don't believe that W lead from singleton K(he was after probably strong opener), so he have at least KQ (probably KQJ because no lead) and max 2. I will ask opps what they mark on lead after E give his card in . If they mark count in I will make this game on 52 cards :) .

 

 

--------------------------------------------------

Misho

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What's the spot cards for hearts in dummy exactly?

 

I win the club play to the high heart to see if they are splitting 5-0. If not, play spade to dummy, high spade pitching the club loser, then play a heart to the nine, ducking. If that stands up, exit a diamond to dummy and play it from within hand.

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keylime: The bigger one is the 6, I remember that, I don't remember the small one, so let's just call it AKQT94 opposite 63 if you like.

 

So the consensus so far is take the A (discouraging signal by RHO - sorry you didn't get a count signal, and he didn't unblock anything either), then the A (both opponents follow small to that).

 

Misho's question, where are the ? is a good one. I guess that RHO perhaps had the wrong hand to bid his s.

 

He might have just the major suit Jacks. He might have "4 cards in the other major", I think this player will not ever open a preempt with that. And last but not least, he might be the kind of player that worries about bidding a J9-high suit.

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Ok.. i will take a shot at this, it will not be easy. First clue, no double of 1, so i don't believe WEST has singleton . And they don't have much in the way of hcp.. so I believe WEST has KQ of both minors...also, since EAST has at most a singleton , i don't think EAST has stiff club.

 

After the club king wins.. they have to continue club, or I come to 3, 5, 1 and 1. So now I win the ACE and now, very cleverly, lead a a ,

 

Now let's imagine EAST discards his , I will ruff with the nine of (and i want my heart x to be the equivalent to the 2... Now I have WEST in a potential - squeeze.... ok.. imagine this line. After T wins, I cash the A. If WEST shows out.. (5-0 split), I continue one high then the 9. East wins... returns a forced major. I win, cash Q or Q (which ever major he didn't return), and then lead my 2. East wins, with all spades left, must return a ... dummy wins two and squeeze WEST in minors in this ending...[hv=n=sakhd8c9&w=sxhdkqcj&e=sjxxxhdc&s=shdat92c]399|300|EAST thrown in with heart and must return a spade.. second spade crushes WEST if left hand is 4-0-5-4[/hv]

 

Note this becomes a level five master solver hand if EAST can unblock in 's.

 

Ok, this line takes care fo 5-0 heart split....what if EAST has only four ? Then the same line works, only easier... if 3-3 after ruff, pull four round of trumps, pleny of tricks... If West has four clubs... the ruff.. cash A.. and go similar line.. using 2 for endplay (after cashing Q....fun...

 

Ben

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Well it seems I am in good company...

[hv=n=sakxh63d8xxca987x&w=sth85dkqjxxckqjtx&e=sj9xxxxxxhj72dxcx&s=sqhakqt94dat9xcxx]399|300|[/hv]

 

I didn't guess this distribution either! There are some ways to cash AK first and still guard for some 4-1 breaks, but I doubt I should take such a route.

 

Gerben

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Duck two clubs, ruff the third, cash AKQ. If East has jack fourth, cash Q and A and give East his J.

If West switches spade at trick 3, play small spade from dummy hoping that East hasn't the 2 or will discard it on your ace.

If West switches diamond at trick 3 and East ruffs, you need clubs 3-3 (and still don't know whether to finesse the J or play for the drop).

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Well it seems I am in good company...

 

 

I didn't guess this distribution either! There are some ways to cash AK first and still guard for some 4-1 breaks, but I doubt I should take such a route.

 

Gerben

Another victim of playing Magic Diamond... At all the other tables, surely south opens 1, WEST makes unusual 2NT and you KNOW how to play the hand. Even a precision 1 opener will get a two suited overcall of some sort.

 

But to Misho, as you know, I am always fighting windmill dragons. Any pedestrain can win , play three round of trumps and win 2, 6, 1, 1 for ten tricks.... If posed as a problem there is the rub. Do you REALLY play rightee for TWO singletons and a likely 9 card suit he never bid? Besides my play to protect against 5-0 trump split, is to me, a thing of beauty, well worth a moments study. First, you have to prepare by RUFFING with an unecessarily high trump to keep the low trump as an exit card. Secind, you have to carefully exit , with your middle trump (keeping high and low), the play your high trump and EXIT with your low, carefully "pickled" (preserved) small heart this SACRIFICES at trump trick, which get back immeidately via a force stepping stone to dummy where you can then cash the last SPADE to EXECUTE a minos suit squeeze against the other player was just too cute a line to pass up.

 

So while, sure, just cashing all your winners and go home works... but hey, thriple trump suit unblcok, sacrafice a trump suit, stepping stone, and squeeze was just to brilliant for me not to post. Sure I guessed it not the "right" line since the hearts were descibed as "x", if low heart exit is necessary, spots would have been given...

 

In my imagined distribution (also works ieht 4-1 splits, etc) East can spoil your fun of this neat ending if he saves his stif , because now the first throw in with trumps will allow him to return a breaking up the squeeze aspect of the ending by killing your entry. However, you now have a mundane trump coup avaialbe, cash two top s, find bad news, cash your , cross to dummy in cash second and ruff third with you trump two. Now you exit in and wait to make two trump tricks with QT doubleton left. All that works, but it is just not as much fun as the other ending. .. come, join me in fighting windmills and finding such endings... not very practical but a heck of a lot of fun.....

 

Ben

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Something is up witht his hand, assuming a lousy trump break. I will take trump finesse, on first round, after winning Ace of clubs. Wonder why no lead. But if finesse works,I think many would get. So something funny up with hand. Am sure missing many .

Ok, I am done thinking. I just play like I would at table. But depends on different things so I give up. Too many possibilties. I can come up with right answer now, but next time it will be wrong. I can handle 5-0 trump break onside. As long as we get the 4 side tricks.

 

Mike :D

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Hi Ben I have a question for you.

I'v seen your play lines on many hands and you oviously know your squeses and use them alot on the forum questions hand, sometimes it seems very complex, i wonder if you use so many sqeeze on the table too.

 

And one reauest to anyone who read this, i notice that Luis didnt post for a while, if you know him pls ask him to posts again, I learn alot from his posts.

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Hi Ben I have a question for you.

I'v seen your play lines on many hands and you oviously know your squeses and use them alot on the forum questions hand, sometimes it seems very complex, i wonder if you use so many sqeeze on the table too.

 

And one reauest to anyone who read this, i notice that Luis didnt post for a while, if you know him pls ask him to posts again, he learn alot from his posts.

Before I found the forum, I spent a lot and lot of time studying squeezes. Trying to figure out, for myself what logical squence go through when trying to decide what kind of squeeze you need play for by examining the four blue conditions. I came up with a detailed appoarch that I call "defect identification". This is what is the "defect" that prevents you from using a simple squeeze. From that very basic premise, I wrote a "book" (well of course, unpublished and unfinished) describing how to do it, and usiing my own hands and hands I found by examing hand records on line. The exercise of writing it all down and trynig to explain in words was a great way to learn the material... much better than reading something someone else wrote. But a lot of that was because I had to find the hands and analyze them myself. as well as find right sequence of "Defects" to make the lessons obvious.

 

As to what to do at the table? I find a fair number of squeezes during play. Maybe one or one and half every session. But I think about them virtually every hand, and look for wayst to break them up on defense. It was great fun to pull a very simply one off against Misho yesterday, but sadly (for me), he and his partner go the better of me anyway. I have found guard and compound squeezes, one clash squeeze, lots and lots of simple and double and trump squeezes, about a dozen entry squeezes, and one backwash squeeze at the table. I have overlooked others, alas finding them upon reviewing the hands.

 

I would never have found the squeeze I came up with here at the table, at least not in a timed event, but this deals with a real bad BREAK (5-0 trumps), and makes on other hands where trumps split more mundanely, of course, with Stiff CLUB ruffing your ACE, that is too much to overcome. Which play is better? Well I would say the one that works at the table, but if I was going to present this hand, the winning line would be mine :-). Just playing down the middle is hardly challenging.

 

MAybe someone else knows about luis.

 

Ben

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  • 2 weeks later...

My line was to win CA, play 2 rounds of trumps and when they break I make easily.

 

But if they are 4-1 with East having 4, I now cross to S-AK throwing my club and take a spade ruff with my small trump, then play ace and another diamond. If West forces me then I will end up making all my trumps, otherwise he'll set up 2nd diamond trick, which East may be able to ruff but that would only be with his "natural" trump trick.

 

Works with East 7-4-1-1 and West 2-1-5-5 as well as the actual hand.

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Now done a bit of analysis on it and there's no 100% line.

 

Against a 5-0 break you can do either of the following:

 

- Win CA, SA and SK throwing a club and ruff a spade in hand with the 9 or 10, then play ace and another diamond. Either you make all your trumps (by ruffing something with the 3 then exiting with your last diamond holding just AKQ10 left), or East gives you a ruff and discard (or ruff and overruff) so you can win in dummy with the 4 (why you kept the 3) and take your finesse then.

 

- Take a finesse to the 9 or 10 immediately.

 

But either of these plays would lose if West had a stiff Jack

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