Simple Hand - not for me

[wynsten]

[hv=pc=n&s=sk953hk743d95c875&n=s74haq82da7caqj93&d=n&v=b&b=13&a=1cp1h1s2hpp3d4hppp]266|200[/hv]

I was South. West lead ♦K and I ducked. He switched to ♣10 and I finessed, losing to K. A club return was ruffed and ♠A cashed. Down 1.

Was I unlucky, or is there a better line of play?

 

Full hand

 

[hv=pc=n&s=sk953hk743d95c875&w=sajt82h96dkqjt4ct&n=s74haq82da7caqj93&e=sq6hjt5d8632ck642&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=1cp1h1s2hpp3d4hppp&

p=dkdad6d5hah5h3h6hqhth4h9h8hjhks2c5ctcac2d7d8d9]399|300[/hv]

 

 

[MrAce]

If you place W with at least 5-5 in spades and diamonds for his bid, you can make I believe. What does ducking ♦ achieve? If club finesse is on you will make most of the time, even if E has 4 trumps which will place W with Kx club. If club finesse is off, which is very likely, then your only chance is to early endplay W by cashing 3 trumps and hoping that E can not take the 2nd dia trick. Of course I see 4 hands in spoiler, not sure if I would be in such a focus at the table.

[MrAce]

Nevermind, if W has Kx club and stiff heart you may need to play clubs rather than ♦ after 3 rounds of hearts,

[Fluffy]

This one is very tough, playing for west to have KQJ10 sounds a bit specific, although not impossible. I would also expect west to lead a club directly with singleton, so I would put all my eggs on ♣Kx onside.

[wynsten]

Actually I made two mistakes on this hand. After ducking a diamond I can no longer handle a 1-4 heart split (East will ruff 4th club and return a spade) so I must assume ♣10 is singleton and play for the long-shot endplay which works when West has ♦KQJ10!

 

MrAce is correct that diamond duck was pointless. I should rise with ♦A and play three rounds of trumps ending in hand. When trumps prove to be 2-3, I know West has at most a singleton club, and should try the endplay which luckily works. If trumps are 1-4 then I can hope for doubleton ♣K onside, pitching diamond on 4th club as East ruffs.

[beatrix45]

Why did your partner bid only 2♥? Did partner think you were a bad dummy player with the 2♥ bid and then revise his/her opinion a moment later with the 4♥ bid.

 

Your line of play seems OK. You have too many losers if the ♣ hook is off since failure to see a ♠ lead or continuation marks the ♠ ace as being offside. Ducking the ♦ was OK since RHO is the dangerous hand. The longshot endplay (which works) is very low percentage, to put it mildly.

[PhilKing]

MrAce is correct that diamond duck was pointless. I should rise with ♦A and play three rounds of trumps ending in hand. When trumps prove to be 2-3, I know West has at most a singleton club, and should try the endplay which luckily works. If trumps are 1-4 then I can hope for doubleton ♣K onside, pitching diamond on 4th club as East ruffs.

 

It's a phantom endplay. West simply exits with a diamond. Sure, you can discard a spade from dummy and ruff in hand, but you have nothing resembling ten tricks.

[gnasher]

It's a phantom endplay. West simply exits with a diamond. Sure, you can discard a spade from dummy and ruff in hand, but you have nothing resembling ten tricks.

 

With ♣10 singleton as in the spoiler, don't I have five hearts, one diamond and four clubs?

[PhilKing]

With ♣10 singleton as in the spoiler, don't I have five hearts, one diamond and four clubs?

 

Missed the ten.

[wynsten]

Why did your partner bid only 2♥? Did partner think you were a bad dummy player with the 2♥ bid and then revise his/her opinion a moment later with the 4♥ bid.

 

Your line of play seems OK. You have too many losers if the ♣ hook is off since failure to see a ♠ lead or continuation marks the ♠ ace as being offside. Ducking the ♦ was OK since RHO is the dangerous hand. The longshot endplay (which works) is very low percentage, to put it mildly.

All four players were "advanced" which on BBO is synonymous with "not very strong". That explains my partner's bidding. And West's failure to lead his singleton at trick 1. By the way, if he HAD led his singleton ♣10, what is the best line of play?

 

You're right that East is a dangerous hand; that was my thinking too when I ducked the diamond. But we're wrong and MrAce is right. There is no way West can gain the lead so no point in snipping their communications. And West is a dangerous hand too (he can lead clubs and make me decide how to tackle them before I get a count on the hand). So I should rise with ♦A and find out how hearts split; then make the right play in clubs as I explained above. Yes the endplay is a longshot but when you have eliminated the impossible you're stuck with the improbable.

[whereagles]

After seeing the spoiler the endplay line makes a lot of sense... Not so easy to figure it all out before, though :)

[beatrix45]

All four players were "advanced" which on BBO is synonymous with "not very strong". That explains my partner's bidding. And West's failure to lead his singleton at trick 1. By the way, if he HAD led his singleton ♣10, what is the best line of play?

 

You're right that East is a dangerous hand; that was my thinking too when I ducked the diamond. But we're wrong and MrAce is right. There is no way West can gain the lead so no point in snipping their communications. And West is a dangerous hand too (he can lead clubs and make me decide how to tackle them before I get a count on the hand). So I should rise with ♦A and find out how hearts split; then make the right play in clubs as I explained above. Yes the endplay is a longshot but when you have eliminated the impossible you're stuck with the improbable.

U and MrAce R correct about ducking the ♦. Leading a stiff ♣ with a small doubleton trump as opposed to a ♦ from KQJ or KQ10 on this auction where partner is marked with zilch deserves an error charge, imo.