Signalling issue

[Trick13]

[hv=pc=n&s=s75hakjt7dj873c74&w=s6432h92daqt2c983&d=e&v=0&b=14&a=1s2h3sdppp]266|200[/hv]

Rubber bridge.

 

♥K lead (asks for reverse count). This shows the Ace. Partner plays the ♥6 presumably odd from three.

Switch to ♣7 to partner's ♣J taken by declarer's ♣A.

♠K lead taken by partner's Ace.

Now comes ♣K and ♣Q from partner.

 

I see that I can over-ruff dummy on the next ♣ lead so I discourage ♥.

 

This doesn't work out too well. Partner continues a ♣, ruffed high discarding a ♥. Heart ruff, draw trumps and declarer comes home in diamonds.

 

What went wrong?

[FelicityR]

Don't give partner the opportunity to go wrong. Ruff his ♣Q and play the ♥A. Contract down.

[Winstonm]

Although the contract should go down, partner's double at rubber bridge is silly. The play is simple enough, as Felicity stated, ruff and cash the heart.

[dokoko]

Seems partner and you both got what you deserved. You both were too greedy.

 

Partner shouldn't double as he can't beat it when one of dummy's hearts is exchanged with one of your minor cards (you are likely to hold 6-7 hearts when overcalling light).

 

You cannot win by scoring ♠7 instead of ♥K, so make sure your partner can't go wrong.

 

From partner's point of view the situation is clear:

 

- if ♥A can be cashed you would have ruffed ♣Q or (lacking a trump) encouraged a heart continuation.

- otherwise he has to try for a trump promotion by leading a club even if declarer is out of clubs.

 

There might be a case for not ruffing ♣Q, but encouraging hearts - playing for two down if declarer has KQJxx/xxx/K/Axxx (partner can cash ♥Q and then give you a club ruff).

[ggwhiz]

In too many situations like this I'm supposed to tell partner what to lead and I don't know. Never played that way and doesn't the fact that I got a count signal and then discouraged hearts tell north that declarer is out of them?

 

My partnership would simply give a remainder count signal in hearts. Unless your partner had Qx or Jx of spades the last club play is a clear error anyway but might be necessary or a down 2 chance if declarer still had another club.

[Trick13]

So, after the match (luckily this hand did not determine the result) it was suggested the guiding principle should be 'don't try for two off until you have ensured one off', or as more simply put above, 'don't be greedy'. I am not sure that is a winning plan long term. The winning margin is often less than 200 points - scoring was total points after 30 hands.

 

Back to the signalling. Discouraging in hearts says what, 'I can see a better defence than continuing hearts'? Only partner knows declarer is out of clubs, the scenario hadn't occurred to me. If I had 7 hearts and the ♠Q then I could have discarded the ♥Ace (he says after two days post mortem).

 

So I think in theory partner ought to have got this right, but I was greedy.

 

So is the takeaway 'a signal is just a suggestion, and you can ignore if you have information partner does not have', or 'don't be greedy', or both.

 

[ggwhiz]

So is the takeaway 'a signal is just a suggestion, and you can ignore if you have information partner does not have', or 'don't be greedy', or both.

 

I thought it was between telling (or suggesting) what partner should do vs. showing what you have and let them work it out.

[miamijd]

Partner should have defended a bit differently. You have to cash your two clubs and two hearts and THEN lead another club, and it's not all that hard for him to work out what to do.

 

You didn't mark partner's X as responsive (which is pretty standard), so I will assume it was for penalty. In that case, you know partner has to have a spade trick for his double, and that trick is likely the Ace, as he's in front of declarer. So with AK of hearts and a stiff club, why would you lead the heart King? You wouldn't. You'd either lead your stiff club to get a ruff, or more likely you'd lead the Ah, not the K, and then shift to the club, so that partner (thinking you don't have the King) would return a club, not a heart, when he won his trump trick. Partner knows this just as well as you do.

 

So partner should be able to work out that your club switch was from a doubleton (hopefully, not a tripleton), not a stiff. Once he's worked that out, it's easy-peasy. When partner gets in with the Ace of trump, he should lead back a heart (he's shown three, so you won't lead a third heart hoping for an overruff). Now you lead your other club, allowing him to cash the KQ of clubs and lead a fourth round of clubs for a potential trump promotion if you have Jx of spades (or Txx if partner has a stiff Ace -- not likely).

 

Cheers,

mike

[Trick13]

...

So partner should be able to work out that your club switch was from a doubleton (hopefully, not a tripleton), not a stiff. Once he's worked that out, it's easy-peasy. When partner gets in with the Ace of trump, he should lead back a heart (he's shown three, so you won't lead a third heart hoping for an overruff). Now you lead your other club, allowing him to cash the KQ of clubs and lead a fourth round of clubs for a potential trump promotion if you have Jx of spades (or Txx if partner has a stiff Ace -- not likely).

 

Cheers,

mike

 

Nice!