[xx1943]

Hi Billies

Yesterday I misplayed a hand, which I should have made after the penalty double.

Scoring: IMP

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West North East South

 Pass  2♣!   Pass  2♥ Precision
 Pass  Pass  Dbl   3♥
 Dbl   Pass  Pass  Pass
 

SJ S5 S3 S8
ST S6 S2 S9
S4 S7 SQ H2
CT CA C2 C5
D3 DJ DQ DA

Scoring: IMP

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You lost 3 tricks and must hold your trump loser to 1.
How are the hearts distributed? 5/0? 4/1? Is it possible, that East has a single Q or 10?
How do you play now?

Here as hidden hint how I went down. Hope you'll do better.

Spoiler

HJ H3 H5 D4
H4 H6 HA D5
DK D7 D6 D2
CK C3 D9 C7
C4 CJ H8 C9
DT H7 C6 D8
HT C8 SA HK
H9 HQ SK CQ

Nobody made 9 tricks in hearts, but most aren't doubled, so they had no reason to find the winning line.

What you should learn: Be cautious in doubling. Maybe your double enables declarer to win an otherwise unwinnable contract.

Sincerly

Al

[inquiry]

There is an equally important lesson.. having to do with ducking the setting trick... which WEST does here as we will pick it up with the first play hidden above...

Al's play went
HQ - H3 - H5 <<--- this telescoped his two heart tricks into one.

Al's (south) correct play now is diamond King, club king, club ruff, diamond ruff by WEST (forced) and overruff.. and ruff something with 9 for K98 and force WEST to overruff, but then he has to lead from Qx into K8.

Al played a second heart, allowing west a second chance to defeat the contract, which was defeat via WEST winning his two heart tricks after all.

By covering the heart JACK with the QUEEN (to force the ACE), south insures two heart tricks with H-T763 behnid south's K984...

{EDIT - Hidden text unhidden }

This post has been edited by inquiry: 2004-November-23, 18:17

[Laird]

Hi Al
..'be cautious when doubling' ... Agree completely...

I have an unenviable history of doubling opps into games or 5 level doubles for top scores.
Some sneeky player may double you without any of the outstanding trumps, their partner sitting smuggly with the others. Time and again I see my carefully layed plan collapse with my first attempt to remove trump...

How do you really know how to tackle the problem once you have been doubled... where are the oustanding trump cards :-))

Used to be said 'if you cannot put opps down by 2, then don't double for penalties'... but now it seems with the optional double much more competitive?

John

[flytoox]

More important lesson, dont self-raise uncessarly. why not pass 2Hx? west is endplayed there. YOu r waiting with your red card.

[EarlPurple]

There's no way to make this. You can eliminate the minors but you just haven't shortened your trumps enough and it always goes 1 off.

(By the way, I find your way of displaying the play very hard to follow. Much easier to follow is to keep the cards played in the column under the player who played them, with a * next to the card that won the trick, so it's easy to see what is led).

And no, I disagree with your comments, I don't see players doubling enough. And I watch a lot of bridge and see big penalties go by, possible 800s and 1100s, often being substituted for -100 when they bid on.

[xx1943]

EarlPurple, on Nov 23 2004, 11:01 AM, said:

Hi Earl

Quote

There's no way to make this. You can eliminate the minors but you just haven't shortened your trumps enough and it always goes 1 off.

Sry you are wrong. Look at Ben's solution above.
If LHO doesn't cover the heart J (If he does the contract is -1 for sure) you play Diamond K, Club K, Club ruff and K of diamonds leaving

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now lead diamond 10 from your hand and overrruff LHO,lead a club back and insert heart 8 or 9 and LHO is endplayed.

There is another winning line: Finesse the 9 instead of the J of hearts and hope LHo doesn't cover.

Quote

(By the way, I find your way of displaying the play very hard to follow. Much easier to follow is to keep the cards played in the column under the player who played them, with a * next to the card that won the trick, so it's easy to see what is led).

Sry this is the way as Cascades Lin-converter exposes the deal. I use it for convenience.

Quote

(By the way, I find your way of displaying the play very hard to follow. Much easier to follow is to keep the cards played in the column under the player who played them, with a * next to the card that won the trick, so it's easy to see what is led).

Rite you are in BBO many people bid too much and double too rare. I said only be cautious. Sometimes you'll give declarer the hint how to play the hand vy your double.
Btw. The increasing number of artificial doubles( negative, responsive, thrump ...) result in missing many good penalties.


Regards

Al

[EarlPurple]

when I say there is no way to make it, I am assuming that West is defending correctly. Of course he is going to cover the jack.

[EarlPurple]

By the way, Larry Cohen warns against re-opening doubles with a void. Too likely to be left in by partner at the wrong time. So perhaps here it is East's re-opening double which might be faulty (West might leave it in, and there is certainly no way to beat 2♥!).

As it happens, on this hand 2♠ might play reasonably well but there's no way to know that, and it's too likely that it will play poorly.

South should not have bid 3♥. If the 2♥ bid shows what he has, pass.