A Question of Play...
Hey, another Bridge post. Also, I have a new icon now. Beware! :)
Doubling Bandit came down for Memorial Day, and so he and BestFriend naturally decided to have dim sum. Later we'd meet up with SS for some Bridge action.
During our rather tumultuous session, I picked up the following:
♠ 10 7 5 4 3 ♥ 3 ♦ J ♣ A K 10 8 3 2
The bidding went as follows:
SS DB
BestFriend me
1SPass2H3C
XPass3H4C
4HXFloat
where, once again, Doubling Bandit earns his name. SS's Double was for support (3 cards in partner's major). As for my aggressive bidding, I figured I'd have at most two losers in spades, one each in my singletons, and possibly a trump loser. It was no problem for me to bid 4C since we weren't vulnerable the entire night. ;)
Well, with nothing else inspiring to lead, I decided to start things off with the diamond Jack. At this point, this is the layout:
SS
♠ A Q 9 6 2
♥ K J 5
♦ K Q 8 7 5
♣ -
me
♠ 10 7 5 4 3
♥ 3
♦ J
♣ A K 10 8 3 2
DB
♠ 8
♥ A 8 4
♦ A 10 6 4 2
♣ J 9 5 4
BestFriend
♠ K J
♥ Q 10 9 7 6 2
♦ 9 3
♣ Q 7 6
Luckily, Doubling Bandit, though loose with the red card, is no slouch. BestFriend ducked, and DB put up the Ace anyway. He then fired back a diamond, and I ruffed. With no further inspiration, I decided to test spades, and BestFriend took with the King.
Now, in the actual play, BestFriend drew one round of trump, but eventually lost a trick due to a spade ruff. Since we also take the heart Ace, he was down one doubled vulnerable for -200. He later theorized that drawing no trump could work, but he will have to psychically determine that I have no more trump, and pitch the spade Jack under a winning diamond for it to work. The question is, can he play it better?
Well, the thing to notice is that I ruffed a diamond, so DB starts with 5 diamonds. Since I rebid clubs so high with no support, I rate to have 6 of the buggers, so DB is marked with 4 clubs. The only question is his spade/heart distribution: does he have two or three trump? Once this is determined, BestFriend can come up with a reasonable line.
After trick three, this is the scenario:
SS
♠ A Q 9 6
♥ K J 5
♦ K Q 8
♣ -
me
♠ 10 7 5 4
♥ -
♦ -
♣ A K 10 8 3 2
DB
♠ -
♥ A 8 4
♦ 10 6 4
♣ J 9 5 4
BestFriend
♠ J
♥ Q 10 9 7 6 2
♦ -
♣ Q 7 6
The safest thing to do would be to draw a round of trump to get a read on the situation. Leading out the heart 9 isn't bad here (ducking in dummy), knowing that he will have to deposit his club losers under the winners in dummy, or ruff them. Transport looks tenuous, but there's enough there to do what needs to be done. Once he sees I'm out of trump, BestFriend has a precise count of DB's spades.
If DB takes his Ace immediately, there's nothing he can do to disrupt the contract (for BestFriend can immediately take control, draw remaining trump ending in dummy, and proceed with dummy's winners). The worst DB could do would be to fire back a club, forcing the dummy to ruff, but then BestFriend can then draw with the heart King, ruff a diamond in hand, draw with the heart Jack, and then his spade Jack will serve as the necessary transport back to dummy.
If DB holds, then BestFriend can continue with a low heart towards the King.
Now, if DB takes his Ace and fires back a club, it's the same situation. If he fires back a heart, the trick can end in dummy, but now dummy's winners can cover the closed hand's clubs.
However, if DB holds a second time, he just has the Ace left in hand, but the lead is on the board. BestFriend can continue with two high diamonds, pitching clubs, knowing I have no trump, and then he can continue with the spade Ace. At this point the damage is done -- even if DB trumps, everything he returns dies, since BestFriend can still ruff a club with the remaining heart Jack on the board.
Doubling Bandit came down for Memorial Day, and so he and BestFriend naturally decided to have dim sum. Later we'd meet up with SS for some Bridge action.
During our rather tumultuous session, I picked up the following:
♠ 10 7 5 4 3 ♥ 3 ♦ J ♣ A K 10 8 3 2
The bidding went as follows:
SS DB
BestFriend me
1SPass2H3C
XPass3H4C
4HXFloat
where, once again, Doubling Bandit earns his name. SS's Double was for support (3 cards in partner's major). As for my aggressive bidding, I figured I'd have at most two losers in spades, one each in my singletons, and possibly a trump loser. It was no problem for me to bid 4C since we weren't vulnerable the entire night. ;)
Well, with nothing else inspiring to lead, I decided to start things off with the diamond Jack. At this point, this is the layout:
SS
♠ A Q 9 6 2
♥ K J 5
♦ K Q 8 7 5
♣ -
me
♠ 10 7 5 4 3
♥ 3
♦ J
♣ A K 10 8 3 2
DB
♠ 8
♥ A 8 4
♦ A 10 6 4 2
♣ J 9 5 4
BestFriend
♠ K J
♥ Q 10 9 7 6 2
♦ 9 3
♣ Q 7 6
Luckily, Doubling Bandit, though loose with the red card, is no slouch. BestFriend ducked, and DB put up the Ace anyway. He then fired back a diamond, and I ruffed. With no further inspiration, I decided to test spades, and BestFriend took with the King.
Now, in the actual play, BestFriend drew one round of trump, but eventually lost a trick due to a spade ruff. Since we also take the heart Ace, he was down one doubled vulnerable for -200. He later theorized that drawing no trump could work, but he will have to psychically determine that I have no more trump, and pitch the spade Jack under a winning diamond for it to work. The question is, can he play it better?
Well, the thing to notice is that I ruffed a diamond, so DB starts with 5 diamonds. Since I rebid clubs so high with no support, I rate to have 6 of the buggers, so DB is marked with 4 clubs. The only question is his spade/heart distribution: does he have two or three trump? Once this is determined, BestFriend can come up with a reasonable line.
After trick three, this is the scenario:
SS
♠ A Q 9 6
♥ K J 5
♦ K Q 8
♣ -
me
♠ 10 7 5 4
♥ -
♦ -
♣ A K 10 8 3 2
DB
♠ -
♥ A 8 4
♦ 10 6 4
♣ J 9 5 4
BestFriend
♠ J
♥ Q 10 9 7 6 2
♦ -
♣ Q 7 6
The safest thing to do would be to draw a round of trump to get a read on the situation. Leading out the heart 9 isn't bad here (ducking in dummy), knowing that he will have to deposit his club losers under the winners in dummy, or ruff them. Transport looks tenuous, but there's enough there to do what needs to be done. Once he sees I'm out of trump, BestFriend has a precise count of DB's spades.
If DB takes his Ace immediately, there's nothing he can do to disrupt the contract (for BestFriend can immediately take control, draw remaining trump ending in dummy, and proceed with dummy's winners). The worst DB could do would be to fire back a club, forcing the dummy to ruff, but then BestFriend can then draw with the heart King, ruff a diamond in hand, draw with the heart Jack, and then his spade Jack will serve as the necessary transport back to dummy.
If DB holds, then BestFriend can continue with a low heart towards the King.
Now, if DB takes his Ace and fires back a club, it's the same situation. If he fires back a heart, the trick can end in dummy, but now dummy's winners can cover the closed hand's clubs.
However, if DB holds a second time, he just has the Ace left in hand, but the lead is on the board. BestFriend can continue with two high diamonds, pitching clubs, knowing I have no trump, and then he can continue with the spade Ace. At this point the damage is done -- even if DB trumps, everything he returns dies, since BestFriend can still ruff a club with the remaining heart Jack on the board.