Instructional hand from last night

[pclayton]

[hv=n=sxxhaxdjt9xcaqxxx&s=sjxxhkjt8xdakxxxc]133|200|[/hv]

 

LHO.....Pard.....RHO.....Me

2♣...Pass.....2♦.....2♥

2♠...Pass.....Pass....3♦

All Pass

 

2♣ is Precision: 11-15; at least 5 clubs. 2♦ asked for a 4 card major.

 

Matchpoints. Opening lead: 9♣ (promising the 10)

 

You finesse. It wins and you pitch a spade.

 

The first thing you must do is fight your irritation that you have really underbid this. 3N, 5♦ and even 4♥ all look excellent.

 

After you take a deep breath and count to 10, how do you proceed. Are there any questions you should ask your opponents?

[pclayton]

Anyone?

[pbleighton]

"Are there any questions you should ask your opponents?"

 

Who lied? ;)

 

They have 17 points between them, looks like responder made a "tactical bid".

 

It would be nice to know how often their 2C bid has only 5 - do they open (224)5s 1NT and/or (34)15s 2D.

 

Play the CA, pitching a spade. Play a D to the A. If the Q doesn't fall and no one shows out, then a H to the A, then run the DJ as W has at least 9 cards in 2 suits (feel better about this if 2C is rarely 5). One more round of trumps if necessary, dropping East's Q. Cash the HK, and ruff a heart. Ruff a club, and play the HJ. You lose the HQ and a spade.

 

It's after midnight. How bad did I mess this up? :P

 

Peter

[pclayton]

They have 17 points between them, looks like responder made a "tactical bid".

 

It would be nice to know how often their 2C bid has only 5 - do they open (224)5s 1NT and/or (34)15s 2D.

The first question I asked the 2♣ opener was if the 2♦ bidder promised any values, or if 2♦ just tried to get the partnership to a good 4-4 major suit fit. Given that we have the majority of the deck, the answer was a yes.

 

You got the 2nd one right; if they open 2♦ with 4315's? Its a down the middle precision pair, so the answer is also yes.

 

Armed with this you cash the A♣ pitching another spade. The hand is now virtually an open book. But you need one more piece of the puzzle; what is it?

[Double !]

what happens if I lead a 3rd club from board at trick 3? (pitching a spade if rho shows out.)

[mgoetze]

The first thing you must do is fight your irritation that you have really underbid this. 3N, 5♦ and even 4♥ all look excellent.

 

Well, partner does have 11 more points than he promised... maybe he could have bid something after I competed to the 3 level all by myself?

[cherdano]

I suppose the 9 also denies the Jack, and RHO wasn't clever enough to drop the Jack under the Queen? In that case, I can cash the Ace, and if the Jack still does not appear, I know that clubs split 5-3. Then LHO has at least 2 diamonds, so it is clear to try to drop the ♦Q instead of finessing. But if RHO drops the jack, LHO could as well be 4=1=1=7. The book isn't open to me yet.

[pclayton]

Some of the ideas about RHO's tendencies of dropping the Jack are interesting, but the hand is more basic than that.

 

Just ruff a 3rd club; RHO can't harm you. RHO does follow with the Jack. So: LHO is 4-?-?-5; which must be 4=2=2=5 or 4=1=3=5 (although many precision pairs would open this 1♦ because of the marginal club suit).

 

So, you play the AK♦ dropping the Queen.

 

PART II

 

What questions should you now be asking yourself?

 

(No one has touched on these issues yet, by the way).

[Guest Jlall]

I suppose you want me to predict what the field will do, etc etc etc. That all seems silly to me, i would just cash the AK of hearts. LHO might not have opened wtih AQxx xx Qx KT9xx anyways. I gained a trick on the lead, and im not going to jeopardize it all by "matchpoint considerations" of how 3N will do or how heart partscores will do etc.

[cherdano]

Just ruff a 3rd club; RHO can't harm you.

Well, if RHO ruffed my club ace with the 8 from ♦ 8x, he certainly has done harm.

RHO does follow with the Jack. So: LHO is 4-?-?-5; which must be 4=2=2=5 or 4=1=3=5 (although many precision pairs would open this 1♦ because of the marginal club suit).

 

So, you play the AK♦ dropping the Queen.

 

PART II

 

What questions should you now be asking yourself?

 

(No one has touched on these issues yet, by the way).

I think there is a point for the finesse in hearts. Wiith AQxx Qx Qx KT9xx, 1NT seems a better opening bid, assuming they play 13-15 NT. So I would ask RHO if they would are allowed to open 1NT with 4=2=2=5.

[Guest Jlall]

If they ruff in with 8x you can just pitch a spade

[cherdano]

If they ruff in with 8x you can just pitch a spade

For 11 tricks, yes. But if I had pulled trumps before the 2nd round of clubs, I would have made 12 or 13 tricks.

[pclayton]

I'm not suggesting that you try to ruff a club if the Jack falls on your right; of course the uppercut would be unfriendly. You are very close to making all of the tricks. 11 are certain with the lead and you'd need some bad luck not to make 12.

 

Lets take about 30 seconds and think about what happens at other tables. 1♣ on left, 1♥ on right if we have the hand figured right. Your hand probably makes a 2♦ overcall. Pard makes some move to game. Its possible in a real good field that you can find 3N or 5♦. But a lot will end up in diamond partials.

 

AFter you bang down the AK♦'s the queen falls on your left.

 

The other question that you need to ask yourself is why did LHO lead a club? Most surely, the spades are AQxx on left and Kxxx on right. So LHO looks like AQxx, ?x, Qx, KTxxx; just enough. Very unlikely LHO has: KTxx, Qx, Qx, KT9xx. RHO is: Kxxx, ?xxx, xx, Jxx. Don't you think RHO needs the Q♥?

 

If you ruff out the hearts, you get a 8 out of 12. If you hook the heart, you get to pitch both spades off the board and make +190, which is a cold top (oddly no one go to game).