[Mbodell]

Playing 4th best, standard honors and standard J,T,9 leads you hear the auction unopposed starting on your left (all white at teams):

1♣-1♥
1♠-1nt
3nt

and there convention card shows a ticked frequently bypass 4+ diamonds. You are on lead with:

♠J987 ♥AJ983 ♦42 ♣98

Your choice?

[Cascade]

Mbodell, on 2011-December-03, 21:16, said:

Playing 4th best, standard honors and standard J,T,9 leads you hear the auction unopposed starting on your left (all white at teams):

1♣-1♥
1♠-1nt
3nt

and there convention card shows a ticked frequently bypass 4+ diamonds. You are on lead with:

♠J987 ♥AJ983 ♦42 ♣98

Your choice?

♥3

[jmcw]

Cascade, on 2011-December-03, 22:39, said:

♥3

Playing 4th best!, you lead your 5th...any particular reason?.

I lead the ♥8, but wonder if the J could be right.

[Cascade]

jmcw, on 2011-December-03, 23:52, said:

Playing 4th best!, you lead your 5th...any particular reason?.

I lead the ♥8, but wonder if the J could be right.

They bid hearts. The ♥8 maybe important later in the suit. The ♥3 won't. Partner rates to be short in this suit but I am hoping for a couple of good cards - I don't want to waste those on my eight.

[S2000magic]

♥8 (or ♥9).

(The only lead to set them was the ♦2, wasn't it?)

[phil_20686]

Its a strange hand - did partner really not manage to overcall 1C?

That basically rules him out of having a decent diamond suit in a weakish hand. A heart risks giving away not only a cheap trick, but also the valuable piece of information that the hearts are very badly positioned.

I would lead a spade here. The Pips make me feel like I am not likely to be giving too much away here. With the hearts and the clubs breaking badly I see no reason to be aggressive. Nor do I wish to lead a diamond to crush his holding there. A spade looks like a nice balance between eventually setting up a 4th round spade winner, and also being quite passive.

[whereagles]

Any lead can work out fine or wrong, except perhaps a diamond (pard no overcall). I'll try a heart though.

[Mbodell]

Result: I tried a spade on this hand (♠7) and opponents made. At the other table a diamond was lead and when N got in they twice could lead hearts through. This was the hand:

---

[Cascade]

Lots of partners will bid 1♦ with that hand.

[phil_20686]

Mbodell, on 2011-December-04, 22:00, said:

Result: I tried a spade on this hand (♠7) and opponents made. At the other table a diamond was lead and when N got in they twice could lead hearts through. This was the hand:

---

Remind partner that next time it would be good if he had the hand he had bid.

[Free]

Lots of Wests will open 1♠ like normal people, or at least try to find the ♠ fit...

[gszes]

Mbodell, on 2011-December-03, 21:16, said:

Playing 4th best, standard honors and standard J,T,9 leads you hear the auction unopposed starting on your left (all white at teams):

1♣-1♥
1♠-1nt
3nt

and there convention card shows a ticked frequently bypass 4+ diamonds. You are on lead with:

♠J987 ♥AJ983 ♦42 ♣98

Your choice?

H3 I am leading the heart suit because I strongly suspect LHO is strong and
unbalanced and most likely short in hearts. I am leading LOW because it gives
my side the best possible chance to pick up extra heart tricks. 4th best is
what we do under normal circumstances here we are leading into at least a 4
card suit and leading the 8 can all too easily cost our side an extra trick
so we dont do that. Dont worry about deceiving anyone everyone will strongly
suspect you have long hearts to lead one with 4+ on your right:)))))))))))))

[Yu18772]

From bidding I would expect LHO to put down a strongish hand with running ♣, 4 spades only and something semi-useful in ♦. I think that whatever I lead they have 7-8 tricks from the top, unless I find entery to partner and fast. ♠ seem to offer the best chance for such entry and to be very unlikely to give away an extra trick. If I lead ♥ or ♦ it will save declarer any guess he may need to make, so I would lead a ♠.

About the bidding-
1♣????-Pass??-1♥-Pass
1♠???

[Onedown]

Mbodell, on 2011-December-03, 21:16, said:

Playing 4th best, standard honors and standard J,T,9 leads you hear the auction unopposed starting on your left (all white at teams):

1♣-1♥
1♠-1nt
3nt

and there convention card shows a ticked frequently bypass 4+ diamonds. You are on lead with:

♠J987 ♥AJ983 ♦42 ♣98

Your choice?

As far as leads go, I lead a ♦, it is simply restricted choice. I do not touch ♥, ♠ or ♣, based on the auction.

What interests me more is the 1♣ opener? What system were the opps playing to open 1 Club? If 2/1 or Saycish, it is a full distortion. Wouldn't I want to know if we had a ♠fit before anything else???
Once he opens a ♠, his rebid is easy, if no immediate ♠ raise, jump to 3♣ over 1NT or bid 3 ♣ over any 2/1 response as a high level reverse.

This kind of hand does point out a flaw in 2/1 vs SAYC. If say with 15, then over any 2/1 I
am forced to bid 3 ♣, and partner is at a guess at my hand strength.

If I have this shape and not good enough for a high level reverse, I like to have an agreement to open a ♣when 5-5 and not suit heavy in ♠ or if 4-5 and the spade suit is solid open 1♣and rebid 1♠. If ♠suit is mediocre then I rebid 1NT, but do not deny 4♠....But that is my system.

[wank]

lol at all the people whining about the 1 club opener. it's old fashioned but it's a perfectly reasonable style to open 1 club on strong black 5-5s as it helps for slam-bidding. of course, having done so, not looking for a 5-3 spade fit is stupid.

[sathyab]

Mbodell, on 2011-December-04, 22:00, said:

Result: I tried a spade on this hand (♠7) and opponents made. At the other table a diamond was lead and when N got in they twice could lead hearts through. This was the hand:

---

With a ♥ lead he can make it in theory, by playing partner for Ax of ♠s. But when declarer wins the first trick cheaply in his hand, he has a choice of taking the ♦ finesse which would appear to be better odds than catching RHO specifically with Ax of ♠s.