[Echognome]

Scoring: IMP

P - (P) - 1♣(1) - (1♥)
1NT (2) - (P) - 3NT - All Pass

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(1) 16+ any shape
(2) Balanced, 9+, GF

You get the expected ♥ lead (looks like smallest of 3). Plan the play.

[655321]

Lots of work to do here, and lots of possibilities.

Don't think it matters if I duck trick 1 or not, but I win the ♥A and play a low ♠ from dummy. Sometimes East goes up with the King. If he ducks, and I can't pick him for the King I probably put in the 10 from hand.

Starting with ♠ only because if East has the ♠K it is a potential entry for his hearts.
I don't think the fact that East overcalled a strong club is an indication that he will have most of the missing HCP.

What happens next depends on what happened to trick 2; perhaps I already have no play for the contract

P.S. For play hands, I prefer to see spot cards instead of x's with an occasional relevant 8 or 9 - I feel I am being prodded to play a suit with a spot

[Echognome]

655321, on Jan 14 2008, 01:28 AM, said:

Lots of work to do here, and lots of possibilities.

Don't think it matters if I duck trick 1 or not, but I win the ♥A and play a low ♠ from dummy. Sometimes East goes up with the King. If he ducks, and I can't pick him for the King I probably put in the 10 from hand.

Starting with ♠ only because if East has the ♠K it is a potential entry for his hearts.
I don't think the fact that East overcalled a strong club is an indication that he will have most of the missing HCP.

What happens next depends on what happened to trick 2; perhaps I already have no play for the contract

P.S. For play hands, I prefer to see spot cards instead of x's with an occasional relevant 8 or 9 - I feel I am being prodded to play a suit with a spot

<laugh>

I could have put all the spots as x's. They were all really low.

I don't put any significance on the ♠8 and actually don't see how it's relevant on the actual hand. Sorry.

[Fluffy]

♠8 might come to play on some rare layouts such as KJ tight at the right.

I duck first round of hearts since any switch is wellcome, and then try ♣A + another club.

[gnasher]

Duck the first heart, in case they're 2-6. People sometimes lead low from Hx in partner's suit in this sort of situation. I'm aware that I'm giving up some endplay chances by doing this, but being a simple soul I prefer finesses anyway.

Win the second heart and play a club to the queen; if that loses and they return a heart, run C10 (which has to work) and cash CA.

If I have only two club tricks, play DK, diamond finesse, DA. If someone has a diamond guard, play for them to have SK as well. I will have a complete count, so they won't be able to fool me by baring SK.

If I have three club tricks, play DA, DK, club winner, diamond.

If CQ wins, play two more rounds of clubs, win the heart continuation, and proceed as above.

If East plays CK on the first round, play clubs from the top and proceed as above.

[whereagles]

Take ♥A and play a club to the 10.

If this wins or fetches the K, I'm in good shape.

If it loses to the J, I'll need a little luck in diamonds, so I take 2nd heart, cash 4 rounds of diams and put RHO in hand with a heart.

Dunno if this is the best, but I might just try it at table.

[gnasher]

whereagles, on Jan 14 2008, 12:41 PM, said:

Take ♥A and play a club to the 10.

If it loses to the J, I'll need a little luck in diamonds, so I take 2nd heart, cash 4 rounds of diams and put RHO in hand with a heart.

This might work against weak defenders, who will save you from yourself by preventing your leading from the wrong hand at trick eight.

Strong defenders, however, will accept the lead out of turn and cash their hearts, leaving you to wonder what to discard on the last heart in this position:

  A8
  -
  -
  Ax

  Qx
  -
  -
  Q9

[whereagles]

you see too far ahead.. lol

I had missed the entry situation, but, since if I lose to the ♣J I'd need diamonds 3-3 anyway, I could always recover by playing 3 rounds of diamonds ending in hand (J,A,K) and then play the last heart. As the last diamond would be left untouched, this would save me from the defensive squeeze too

[gnasher]

whereagles, on Jan 14 2008, 02:27 PM, said:

I had missed the entry situation, but, since if I lose to the ♣J I'd need diamonds 3-3 anyway, I could always recover by playing 3 rounds of diamonds ending in hand (J,A,K) and then play the last heart. As the last diamond would be left untouched, this would save me from the defensive squeeze too

Er, no it wouldn't. Dummy is squeezed when East cashes the last heart in this position:

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If you intend (after losing to CJ) to play East for HQJ10xx, Dxxx and both black kings, your original plan of cashing four diamond tricks was fine. On the fourth round of diamonds East has to bare one of his kings to avoid being endplayed, so you simply cash the black aces and make a trick in whichever suit he unguarded.

That was what I meant about the opponents saving you from yourself by refusing to allow you to lead from the wrong hand - if they force you to play from dummy and the layout you were hoping for exists, you can't go wrong.

[whereagles]

gnasher, on Jan 14 2008, 03:26 PM, said:

If you intend (after losing to CJ) to play East for HQJ10xx, Dxxx and both black kings, your original plan of cashing four diamond tricks was fine.  On the fourth round of diamonds East has to bare one of his kings to avoid being endplayed, so you simply cash the black aces and make a trick in whichever suit he unguarded.

hum.. yeah, exactly... I knew my intuitive line was right all along

[jchiu]

Does right mean 'doesn't do more than two tricks worse than the best line' nowadays?

[whereagles]

jchiu, on Jan 17 2008, 04:15 PM, said:

Does right mean 'doesn't do more than two tricks worse than the best line' nowadays?

It means it's better than yours, which currently makes 0 tricks.

[Echognome]

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This is how the full hand turned out to be.

I held up a heart and when in with the ♥A, I went after clubs. When those failed to yield three tricks, I was actually down 2 (I needed to rely on diamonds to bring me home).

If I had gone after spades and guessed correctly, then I could have made. On the fourth spade, East is strip squeezed.