Pub Crawl Play Problem

[han]

Patton, white against red.

 

AQ8x

AQx

AQ97x

x

 

1097xxxx

10xxx

x

Q

 

You end up as declarer after this auction:

 

p - 1D - p - 1H

2S - 3C - 4S - p

p - 5C - Dbl - p

5S - all pass

 

That wasn't very well bid at all, but let's play the hand before we apologize to partner. LHO leads the ace of clubs and shifts to the singleton heart 7.

 

We go up with the ace and play the ace of spades, both king and jack dropping. It is hard to imagine RHO not raising with 6 clubs, which means that LHO should be 1-1-5-6 and he has opened his shorter suit. Do we have any chance of making this?

[Cyberyeti]

I think it can be done, but it's a long shot.

 

 

You need to decide whether RHO has 8x/xx or J8/108/J10 or K8/K10/KJ. Since LHO has no more hearts, the idea is to get rid of all your hearts, one under the ace, one on the ace/queen of diamonds, one on a losing diamond, and the 4th either on the ruff/discard or the extra diamond trick you endplay LHO into giving you.

 

Your options are diamond to the 9 if KJ10 are onside, and if he splits, follow with ace and another to pick up 8x/xx offside. Diamond to the Q, then A then 9 to pick up any 2 of J/10/8 offside, or ace of diamonds, ruff a diamond cross in spades and 9 of diamonds to cope with K8/K10/KJ. If LHO has SJ, I'll definitely play him for DK and 8x/xx is twice as likely as two of J/10/8 so diamond to the 9. Probably the same if he produced the SK, but RHO is scraping the barrel a bit for a response if that's the case given that he only as HKJ, SJ and at most one of the minor suit jacks.

 

[bucky]

Who has stiff ♠K? LHO or RHO?

[kayin801]

 

With K, x, J10xxx, AKxxxx LHO might have opted to open 1♣ (or a preemptive minor 2 suited bid if available) based on suit disparity, so I want to play lefty for the diamond K. Otherwise agree with Cyberyeti. It becomes a sort of cross/doublecross situation then with lefty holding KJ10xx or not. If he will ALWAYS split from KJ10xx then we have to play the Q when he plays low, but if he will sometimes play low from it then its more tricky. On the other hand he's forced to play low from KJ8xx or K108xx, otherwise A and a ruff sees us home when Jx or 10x falls. So I think that favors us going up with the Q whenever lefty plays low.

 

 

Good hand.