3NT lead

[Finch]

[hv=d=w&v=n&s=sj942haj64dq53c64]133|100|Scoring: IMP[/hv]

 

Uncontested auction, starting on your left

1♦ - 2♣

2♦ - 2♥

2♠ - 3NT

 

1♦ = in an artifcial 5CM/strong club system (min balanced, or diamonds, or clubs, may not have any diamonds)

2♣ = artificial game force, usually no 5-card major

2♦ = 11-13 balanced (may still have a 5-card minor)

2♥ = major suit enquiry

2♠ = no four card major

 

So LHO has a minimum balanced hand with no major

RHO has a game force with (at least) one four-card major and nothing else he wants to ask about

[JLOGIC]

Spade and I feel fine about it. If RHO has 4 spades a spade is still often fine/good when LHO has a doubleton. If LHO has 3 and RHO has 4 it will be bad though, but maybe RHO has 4 hearts.

[Phil]

Spade too, Might not be so enamored if I didn't have the ♠9.

[Fluffy]

I also lead a spade, seems way safer and agressive enough.

[Free]

♠ is pretty safe, ♥ is too risky in imps.

 

I like a ♥ at MP though.

[MickyB]

♥ is too risky in imps.

 

I like a ♥ at MP though.

Eh? I thought one usually goes for risky leads at IMPs and safe at MPs...

 

Auto spade lead IMO.

[Free]

♥ is too risky in imps.

 

I like a ♥ at MP though.

Eh? I thought one usually goes for risky leads at IMPs and safe at MPs...

 

Auto spade lead IMO.

Well, there's risky to give away a trick, and there's too risky giving the 9th trick away at imps. <_<

[TimG]

What happened to 4th from your longest and strongest?

[mikeh]

While J9xx isn't (nearly) as bad as Jxxx, I hate leading away from Jacks so much that I will stretch to find a reason to lead another suit....and, here, that is hearts.

 

Hearts at least offers an immediate payoff if it is right, altho I'd like to swap the spade 9 for the heart 6. Both suits are dangerous.

 

I think it is very close between the majors.

[andy_h]

Either major, but I have a slight preference for hearts

[JLOGIC]

What happened to 4th from your longest and strongest?

Once people advance from the beginner game, pretty sure that rule goes away!

[Finch]

Justin should be banned from answering too quickly, I'm sure he influences the votes (at least for some people).

 

This hand was an interesting example of why these artificial methods can work well. Every other auction I heard about, including team-mates, started 1C - 1H (spades) - 1S (weak NT).

 

Anyway:

a spade lead gives the ninth trick

a heart lead beats the contract

a diamond costs a tempo and lets the contract make

a club beats it if partner finds the heart switch (not totally obvious)

 

One advantage of playing with screens is that declarer didn't know how much of the long pause before the opening lead was me thinking, and how much was dummy writing down an explanation of the auction, so I thought at some length before leading.

 

There is a mild inference that partner didn't double 2S, but as partner is marked with at most an 8-count or so, and RHO is unlimited and could have spades, he's not going to be doubling on say K10x.

 

I led a heart. I decided that every suit was dangerous, and it wasn't at all obvious that hearts were more dangerous than spades. I also thought the upside from hearts was greater than from spades, as opponents could be up to 30-high, and hearts was the most likely suit where we could be cashing 5 tricks from the off.