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How would you play?


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Spade to the ten, inmediately and looking happy if that wins or brings the ace I have 9 tricks (2 spades, 5d, a heart and a club), if that doesn't win then I have a psychological advantage since they won't be able to determine that I can go down attacking spades.
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Your going to have to probably guess clubs right. Maybe there is no Guess (West has AJ or EAST has AJ)... but let's not worry about that. We will assume we have 2 tricks. If we don't have 5, we are probably toast, and to add insult to injury, 4 might make even when diamonds split badly, so we assume good luck in diamonds too, so 2 plus 5, and heart ACE, and we are almost home.

 

The problem is where is the 9th trick comming from. If we duck a heart and are unlucky there, they will get clubs going. If we play on spades, they return a spade and set up multiple tricks there before we can establish our second club winner. To add insult to injury, we may never have an entry to our second club winner.

 

So there are three lines of play, as I see it (all requiring diamonds 3-2), and odds assume this of course

 

Line one, hook the spade TEN at trick two. If this wins, you are likely home, as they will be endplayed into giving you a second spade, a second club, or opening hearts for you. Odds of success, assuming the club lead is from a long suit, are slightly better than 50%.

 

Line two, play heart ACE and a heart (or if king falls, switch immediately to the spade TEN to the queen). Odds here are just slightly worse than 50% that you will win 3 tricks (but if the singleton king falls, two will do you with a the spade switch, making it greater than 50%).

 

Line three, is to play five rounds of diamonds, and see if you can get a feel for what line to play for, but be honest, on the fifth diamond, dummy has to let go either a second heart (blocking that suit) or a spade (killing any value you have in the ten). I don't like what five rounds of diamonds does to dummy and my entry condition, so I will not choose this line.. despite the advantage playing five rounds of diamonds might have on opponents hand.

 

So the odds of low to the spade ten and heart ACE and a heart about the same (heart ACE is slighlty better I think). Is there any plus side to one versus the other?

 

If they are in 4 at the other talbe (likely), they will make if WEST has JT, Kx. KTx, KJx of heart. I assume they will lose two hearts and two black aces anytime WEST has Kxx, Jx, or Tx (hooking by restricted choice when WEST has Kxx is why it the play is less than 50% not taking into account stiff King with East).

 

Since this is imps, you have to ask yourself, do you want to make when they make and go down when they go down? IF so, play on hearts (line 2). Do you want to go for the juggler and try to make when they are going down? IF so, play a spade to the TEN. A spade to the ten has a added benefit. If might allow you to make when 4 is down (WEST has KJTx in hearts for instance and clubs block and diamonds don't split). You might sneak away with 2C, 3D, 2S, and 2H if their suits are blocked.

 

Which line you pick might depend upon the state of the match. If I feel I am ahead, I will play on hearts. If I am behind, I will clearly play spade to the TEN. It also might depend upon your estimate of the relative team stregnths. So if the match is tied, or has a long way to go, if I feel my team is not as good as the opponents, I would tend to play spade the TEN, if I feel we are better than the opponents, I would go for the normal result here and play heart and heart.

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Luis' line is probably best on a technical basis, but I like a confident spade to the King followed by a club back toward the Q. With A - empty in spades, without the K, West is probably ducking the K anyway. If you held KT9x of spades, this is absolutely the best play.

 

And when West later gets in with the A we want to make it difficult for him to find the spade shift. Why cash three rounds of diamonds 1st and give away the show? You must assume diamonds are coming home. I doubt the information you get is better than the data they get to exchange.

 

I'm OK with the 1N opening. 3N is a stretch, but you did well getting to 3N instead of 4.

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Imps, all vul.

 

Q65

Q943

976

KQ9

 

 

KT

A652

AKQ42

T2

 

South declares 3NT (South opened 1NT, North rasied to 3)

 

lead: 6 of clubs to the K and 5. You unblocked the ten.

 

Plan the play.

It would help to know about opponent's lead methods.

If it is 4th best, I place W with A876 and a 3334 distribution.

Therefore, I play to the ace and to the queen (unless the J or 10 drops of course).

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