[jillybean]

Your trump suit is AJ42 in dummy and T753 in your hand and you need to bring the suit in with one loser to make your contract. How do you do it?

Please don't just give an answer but explain the thought process and rationale too. Thanks

[georgeac]

http://www.bridgehan...ombinations.htm

[jschafer]

First you need to think about which layouts let you make that 3 tricks. First thinking in terms of splits and only then specific layouts sometimes makes this easier. Here only 3-2 breaks well let you make 3 tricks (you don't have the spots to set up a 4th round top card), the layouts are :
HHx xx
xxx HH
Hx Hxx
HH xxx

Then you need to try and find a line that caters for as many of these as possible and if you have to choose between layouts go for more frequent layouts (eg. Hxx Hx would be more likely than xxx HH).

A first round finesse by playing the Jack caters for the cases when the trumps are 3-2 and both honours onside. If it wins you need to play for HHx xx or HH xxx, both cases will give you 3 tricks easily after successful a finesse. If the finesse loses you can still recover if the remaining honour is doubleton. In that case you play the Ace next (dropping the honour) and drawing the last card in the suit with the Ten next.

[Stephen Tu]

The thought process is the same as for any other suit combo, you try to think what lines will pick up which layouts, then count up the winning combos, then compare lines, keeping in mind that individual 3-2 breaks are more common than individual 4-1 breaks, etc.

With this layout missing critical spots, you can only pick up 3-2 breaks, so it's very easy, just count winning layouts for each line.

So what can work? Banging down the ace can be dismissed fairly quickly, you only pick up KQ doubleton x 2.

Leading toward the T, hooking on way back if RHO pops, banging down ace if it loses to LHO, picks up kx * 3, qx * 3 w/ RHO, KQ with LHO, for 7 combos.

Leading toward T, hooking if it loses to LHO, picks up KQx * 3, KQ w/LHO, much worse if RHO always ducks kx/qx as they should.

Meanwhile simply leading toward the J picks up kx * 3, Qx * 3, KQx * 3 onside, 2x kq doubletons for the clear winner.

[TimG]

georgeac, on 2011-January-21, 02:38, said:

http://www.bridgehan...ombinations.htm

That site appears to give the wrong answer for this case; it says to first lead the Ten and then play low to the Jack.

[ArtK78]

First, is there any indiciation of where the missing spade honors are? If you have no strong indication that both missing spade honors are in the same hand, then you should assume that the spade honors are split.

If you have a strong indication that both spade honors are in front of the AJxx, then lead towards the AJxx, intending to play the J if the opponent does not split his honors.

If you have a strong indication that both spade honors are in back of the AJxx, then you have two choices. (1) Play the player with the KQ of spades to have a doubleton KQ, in which case you play the ♠A and another; or (2) attempt to guess the distribution of the outstanding hands so that you can eliminate all side cards from the hand with the KQx of spades and then play a spade to the J (or low towards the 10). This will force him to lead from his remaining spade honor at trick 12. This last choice is a long shot, and it may not be possible depending on the distribution of declarer and dummy.

Absent a strong indication that one of the opponents has both spade honors, assume that the spade honors are split. To bring in the suit for one loser, the suit must split 3-2. Now it becomes a question of who has the three and who has the two.

If the hand in front of the AJxx has 2 spades, you should lead to the ♠J, losing the trick. Then you drop the remaining spade honor on air and pull trump.

If the hand behind the AJxx has 2 spades, you should lead from the AJxx towards the 10. The hand behind the AJxx has two choices - rise with his honor, in which case you finesse his partner for the remaining honor and pull trump; or duck, in which case you drop his now singleton honor on the second round.

If you have no information about the location of the spade honor or which opponent has more spades, it is best to lead to the AJxx intending to play the J. Of the relevant cases, this wins whenever the hand in front of the AJxx has Kx or Qx or KQ or KQx and loses whenever the hand in front of the AJxx has Kxx or Qxx or xxx.

[Fluffy]

jschafer, on 2011-January-21, 03:18, said:

First you need to think about which layouts let you make that 3 tricks. First thinking in terms of splits and only then specific layouts sometimes makes this easier. Here only 3-2 breaks well let you make 3 tricks (you don't have the spots to set up a 4th round top card), the layouts are :
HHx xx
xxx HH
Hx Hxx
HH xxx

Then you need to try and find a line that caters for as many of these as possible and if you have to choose between layouts go for more frequent layouts (eg. Hxx Hx would be more likely than xxx HH).

A first round finesse by playing the Jack caters for the cases when the trumps are 3-2 and both honours onside. If it wins you need to play for HHx xx or HH xxx, both cases will give you 3 tricks easily after successful a finesse. If the finesse loses you can still recover if the remaining honour is doubleton. In that case you play the Ace next (dropping the honour) and drawing the last card in the suit with the Ten next.

Hxx Hx also lets you make 3 tricks

[kgr]

ArtK78, on 2011-January-21, 09:40, said:

....
If you have no information about the location of the spade honor or which opponent has more spades, it is best to lead to the AJxx intending to play the J. Of the relevant cases, this wins whenever the hand in front of the AJxx has Kx or Qx or KQ or KQx and loses whenever the hand in front of the AJxx has Kxx or Qxx or xxx.

If you have no information, is it always best to play to AJxx?
What is the impact of misdefence? Maybe RHO will play an honor from Hxx if you play small to the T?

[ArtK78]

kgr, on 2011-January-22, 07:11, said:

If you have no information, is it always best to play to AJxx?
What is the impact of misdefence? Maybe RHO will play an honor from Hxx if you play small to the T?

Maybe from Kxx, but not from Qxx.