Interesting 3N

[rogerclee]

KT QJT9x xx KT9x

Q97x Ax AKxxx Qx

 

North deals, IMPs

 

P-1N

2D-2H

3C-3D

3N-P

 

LHO gives it a quick low spade lead and the ten holds, RHO playing the upside down 8.

[jjbrr]

Yeah, this is an interesting hand.

 

I'm sure I'd just clear hearts and hope to guess clubs later, planning to lose 2♠, 1♥, and 1♣.

 

If they win the ♥K and switch to a ♦, I'm probably in a bit of trouble.

 

Ducking is bad because they can switch back to ♠ and now I'll need a favorable layout in ♣ and ♠.

 

Winning is bad because they can keep playing ♦ and now I'll probably have too many losers before I can get to 9 winners.

 

But clearing ♥ gets me closest to 9 tricks, so I'll try that.

[mikeh]

I've delayed responding because this hand, imo, offers no clear line. So much depends on guessing where certain cards lie, and how well the opps defend.

 

So while playing this hand was undoubtedly interesting, I don't think it is a very useful play problem simply because I don't think that there is an identifiable 'best line'.

 

To give you an illustration: there may be a calculable difference between playing A and a heart, to drive out the heart K, on the one hand, and taking an immediate heart hook, hoping to bank 2 quick tricks there and then hope for luck in diamonds/clubs otoh, but I couldn't do the arithmetic in my head, so couldn't do it at the table...maybe others can.

 

Certainly the first line depends, at the very least, on guessing the clubs, and there may be no guess...rho with both the A and the J. And note that the 2nd line may win even when it shouldn't...LHO may duck with Kx(x), if only because he places you with the club A and his partner with the heart A, and thus wants to kill hearts.....maybe he shouldn't, but opps do bad things on defence and if you never play for it, you're missing a good part of the game against most opps.

 

So I still don't know what's best...at the table I'd probably play A and a heart, only because it makes life relatively easy....the other option has so mnay branches that I got a headache thinking about it ;)

[lucelex]

Small club to the queen, if it holds then heart ace, small heart

 

If it loses west can't attack the minors and spades at the same time

 

4/3 spades provide only two tricks for the defense, so the worst case is 5/2 spades and entry with the heart king or the club king but not both.

 

But west holding ajxxx of spades, heart king and the club ace is unlikely and may prompted either a bid or a double.

 

I am playing west not to have both the heart king and the club ace.