[benlessard]

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http://bridge.downag...bod=1HP1SP1NP2D

1H-1S
1NT-2D
2S-3Nt
4C-5NT
6C.

1S was a relay, 1nt showed clubs, 2D was GF relay, 2S showed 2524 11-14 or 18-21. 3Nt was to play.4C is showing 4 aces and 18-21.
At this point I can try to set up S or clubs as keycard but decided to bid 5Nt PAS, hoping to play 6C/6H/6S depending on the quality of JT that partner may have.
So my partner had to play 6C and got the T of S lead. How do you play it ? Your playing against very good opps. PS Do you agree with 3NT (other option is to make S as trumps and be forced to at least 4S) How would you play 6Nt ?

[Zelandakh]

I would start by calling the director and asking her/him to look for a missing card...

[HighLow21]

I would play for the rounded suits to be no worse than 4-2. AK♥, low ♥ ruffing with the 8♣. if that loses to the J♣ I would then win the return, ruff a heart, and re-enter hand as safely as possible to draw trumps. This line can also work in some cases where one of the rounded suits breaks 5-1.

Note that RHO may return a spade, so that if the 10♠ lead was a singleton we are lost. But such is life. I don't think we can cater to all possible 5-1 splits among our seven card suits.

[gnasher]

HighLow21, on 2012-February-09, 15:05, said:

I would play for the rounded suits to be no worse than 4-2. AK♥, low ♥ ruffing with the 8♣. if that loses to the J♣ I would then win the return, ruff a heart, and re-enter hand as safely as possible to draw trumps. This line can also work in some cases where one of the rounded suits breaks 5-1.

Note that RHO may return a spade, so that if the 10♠ lead was a singleton we are lost. But such is life. I don't think we can cater to all possible 5-1 splits among our seven card suits.

Even if ♠10 wasn't a singleton, you now have no entry to dummy to cash the third spade after drawing trumps. You will have to guess whether to take a diamond finesse, or to cash two trumps and then the third spade.

Also, suppose that the heart isn't overruffed but someone still has ♥Q. What do we do now?

[HighLow21]

gnasher, on 2012-February-09, 15:56, said:

Even if ♠10 wasn't a singleton, you now have no entry to dummy to cash the third spade after drawing trumps. You will have to guess whether to take a diamond finesse, or to cash two trumps and then the third spade.

Also, suppose that the heart isn't overruffed but someone still has ♥Q. What do we do now?

Ummm... ask the audience? Phone a friend?

No if it's not overruffed then there are 3 winning possibilities:
(1) RHO had a doubleton heart and not the jack of clubs. (If he had it and didn't overruff he's playing a deep game and sees our entry problem.) Return to hand with a spade, ruff the last heart, draw trumps. For entry purposes, take the 2nd ruff with Q♣.
(2) LHO had a doubleton heart which is awesome. we can return to hand a ruff another heart.
(3) Hearts break 3-3 which is also awesome. Now all we need is 4-2 clubs wherever the jack is.

I didn't express this earlier, but to play along these lines it makes sense to win trick 1 in dummy, temporarily blocking the spades but helping with entries. It's actually a pretty important point though.

There's another line which makes a fair amount of sense, too. Play AKQ of spades to start, pitching a heart. If spades not 3-3 (probably LHO ruffing), play for the ruff to have come from the 4-club hand, so that J♣ is now dropping. Win the return (a red suit exit by LHO helps us in that red suit), so assume a trump return. Now 3 rounds of trumps ending in dummy. (In some situations you will stop at 1 or 2 rounds of trumps and switch lines, establishing a major for discards or taking a red suit finesse.) This partial information should tell us the optimal way to finish off the hand.

[nige1]

benlessard asks
"...So my partner had to play 6C and got the T of S lead. How do you play it ? Your playing against very good opps. ) ... How would you play 6Nt ?"

My guesses:
In 6♣, win the ♠T lead with ♠A and attempt tp cross to ♠K (assuming LHO has two ♠). Then finesse ♦Q.
If ♦Q wins, then ♦A, ♥AK ♥ ruff, ♦ruff,. If any of that fails, pause to regroup. But if all that works, then claim on a high cross-ruff.

In 6N, on ♠T lead, start with ♠A ♥K and finesse ♥J. If the finesse wins or ♥ are 3-3, then you have fair squeeze chances.

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[gnasher]

HighLow21, on 2012-February-09, 17:27, said:

Ummm... ask the audience? Phone a friend?

No if it's not overruffed then there are 3 winning possibilities:
(1) RHO had a doubleton heart and not the jack of clubs. (If he had it and didn't overruff he's playing a deep game and sees our entry problem.) Return to hand with a spade, ruff the last heart, draw trumps. For entry purposes, take the 2nd ruff with Q♣.
(2) LHO had a doubleton heart which is awesome. we can return to hand a ruff another heart.
(3) Hearts break 3-3 which is also awesome. Now all we need is 4-2 clubs wherever the jack is.

I didn't express this earlier, but to play along these lines it makes sense to win trick 1 in dummy, temporarily blocking the spades but helping with entries. It's actually a pretty important point though.

In all of these lines you have cut yourself off from dummy's spade winner.

Quote

There's another line which makes a fair amount of sense, too. Play AKQ of spades to start, pitching a heart. If spades not 3-3 (probably LHO ruffing), play for the ruff to have come from the 4-club hand, so that J♣ is now dropping. Win the return (a red suit exit by LHO helps us in that red suit), so assume a trump return. Now 3 rounds of trumps ending in dummy. (In some situations you will stop at 1 or 2 rounds of trumps and switch lines, establishing a major for discards or taking a red suit finesse.) This partial information should tell us the optimal way to finish off the hand.

By that stage you will, I think, need to find ♦Q right, ♥Q right, and hearts 3-3.