[jillybean]

Who should play the hearts?

---

[mikeh]

It’s actually quite complicated but, in the end, it’s north who must have screwed up. Let me guess…he didn’t ruff diamonds early enough…a classic bad player mistake.

[Cyberyeti]

 mikeh, on 2023-June-09, 10:09, said:

It’s actually quite complicated but, in the end, it’s north who must have screwed up. Let me guess…he didn’t ruff diamonds early enough…a classic bad player mistake.

Need to click thru the play, he never got the chance to ruff.

Not sure if S could find a better discard to indicate a heart card to cash.

[mikeh]

For whatever reason, when I replied, the play ended with south leading his third club


The way the play actually went, it was insane for north not to lead a heart when in with the spade Jack…his partner bid 2H! I don’t care what he signalled.

[Cyberyeti]

 mikeh, on 2023-June-09, 13:02, said:

For whatever reason, when I replied, the play ended with south leading his third club


The way the play actually went, it was insane for north not to lead a heart when in with the spade Jack…his partner bid 2H! I don’t care what he signalled.

This hand is easy, but in abstract, you have AQ976 which you have to discard from as the other suits could be disastrous.

If spades are trumps, which card do you discard if you want a club, a diamond or a heart ?

[mikeh]

 Cyberyeti, on 2023-June-09, 14:30, said:

This hand is easy, but in abstract, you have AQ976 which you have to discard from as the other suits could be disastrous.

If spades are trumps, which card do you discard if you want a club, a diamond or a heart ?

There is or ought to be no hand wherein one can answer that without context. Tell me my hand, dummy, the bidding and the play to the decision point and I’ll tell you my signal, I don’t understand how that game can be played on any other basis,beyond stating the obvious, such as do we play udca/standard/ud attitude and std count/ oddd/even/ lavinthal/ obvious switch/suit preference in trump/suit preference in following suit, etc. I’ve played all of them at one time or another, and it’s not even an exhaustive list.

So I won’t/can’t answer in abstract anymore than I can tell you how an auction would go by being told I have 13 hcp and some spades, lol. Tell me hand and how the other players bid, and I’ll have an answer for you (for at least the next round).

[johnu]

 Cyberyeti, on 2023-June-09, 11:06, said:

Not sure if S could find a better discard to indicate a heart card to cash.

South could pitch the ♥A to show that he has the ♥A. That is the only 100% clear signal for North.

[Cyberyeti]

 johnu, on 2023-June-09, 17:27, said:

South could pitch the ♥A to show that he has the ♥A. That is the only 100% clear signal for North.

Maybe for this N, but when would you pitch the Q for example if you didn't have the ace

[johnu]

 Cyberyeti, on 2023-June-10, 01:53, said:

Maybe for this N, but when would you pitch the Q for example if you didn't have the ace

That would probably really confuse this North.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

was there any reason given not to play a heart after winning the first trick
with the Ace of clubs?

Obviously after you are in with the jack of spades you can still play a heart,
but the obvious time to score the Ace of hearts in the given deal is at trick 2

With kind regards
Marlowe

PS: I had worse moments like this myself, my reg. p asked this year: "Why do you do this
only when we play together?" I agreed, that it was a black out / short circuit.

[jillybean]

 P_Marlowe, on 2023-June-14, 09:06, said:

Hi,

was there any reason given not to play a heart after winning the first trick
with the Ace of clubs?

Obviously after you are in with the jack of spades you can still play a heart,
but the obvious time to score the Ace of hearts in the given deal is at trick 2

With kind regards
Marlowe

PS: I had worse moments like this myself, my reg. p asked this year: "Why do you do this
only when we play together?" I agreed, that it was a black out / short circuit.

Do I want to play the Ace with the KJ3 in dummy? In hindsight yes, but is it good play?

[P_Marlowe]

 jillybean, on 2023-June-14, 10:28, said:

Do I want to play the Ace with the KJ3 in dummy? In hindsight yes, but is it good play?

Ok, the first question is, why did North not raise 2H to 3H?
He has a fit, 6 points and a ruffing feature.
Was X a penalty double? Or just pass with a w2 in hearts, bid on with w2 in spade?
If not a penalty double, which West does not really have, but maybe West thinks otherwise,
I think North should raise.

Due to the raise South knowes, that N/S get at best 1H trick, the 2H bid told E/W the story,
where to look for the missing heart honor.
And ducking may mean, East scores his (possible) single heart.

Without the raise, there is a case for ducking the first heart, if you cant read the heart length (*).
South has a sure trump entry, if North has has heart shortage, and spade break 3-2, you get a
heart ruff.
A heart Single is possible with North, but ducking is still ok, unless you give East 7-4 in
the majors.

(*) You have certainly agreed on leads, but do you have discussed, what to play, when you switch to
a new suit, or return the suit?

[AL78]

 P_Marlowe, on 2023-June-14, 11:20, said:

Ok, the first question is, why did North not raise 2H to 3H?

I wouldn't with a flat ten loser hand and only three small hearts.

[jillybean]

I would raise with the North hand but partner is much more conservative than I am.

2♦ is multi, X shows values 14+

[P_Marlowe]

 jillybean, on 2023-June-14, 18:14, said:

I would raise with the North hand but partner is much more conservative than I am.

2♦ is multi, X shows values 14+

In the context of a value showing double I understand Pass by North, but I dont
understand 2S, the suit is not existing, values out side, and you still dont pass,
but to each his own.

[jillybean]

 P_Marlowe, on 2023-June-14, 23:25, said:

In the context of a value showing double I understand Pass by North, but I dont
understand 2S, the suit is not existing, values out side, and you still dont pass,
but to each his own.

East's hand is not a Multi (weak spade) hand for me

[P_Marlowe]

 jillybean, on 2023-June-14, 23:36, said:

East's hand is not a Multi (weak spade) hand for me

I agree, but I am getting old, although it is unclear, if I ever was young enough to open this
one as a w2, if I remember correctly, memory fails with age.
The comment was directed at: West makes a value showing X, most likely with trump tricks in
the opponents suit.
When will East pass, if he refuses to pass with the given hand?
Surely he wont pass, when all his values are in spade, he wont pass, with min, and he
could hold at most 9/10 HCP for the w2 (?), but with a 6 carder and 10HCP he may just open 1S or not.

We have a style discussion somewhere.

I would also have assumed, that 2S is a min hand, and the West hand is min for the bid.

But as already said, to each his own.

[DavidKok]

For what it's worth I play 2♦-(2M)-X as 'pass or correct', as if responder had bid 2M instead (though responder is expected to have a different type of hand for the double, but the continuations are the same).