[Jinksy]

---

1N was 11-14.

(hands rotated for convenience. 2C would have been majors, all other overcalls nat)

Leads are 2nds and 4ths.

What's your lead? How close is it?

(NB This is on here because I thought it an interesting question, not because what I thought was the right lead worked out worse than another)

Scoring is IMPs (teams).

ETA - given the system available, would you have preferred 2H or P? How close is it?

[JaffaCakes]

Isn't it West to lead having overcalled 2H?

[whereagles]

To beat 1NT you need a substantial of tricks. Going passive probably isn't going to help here, so heart rates to be best.

[dboxley]

Too bad I didn't have the tools to bid with this hand. 4th best heart

[dboxley]

Too bad I didn't have the tools to bid with this hand. 4th best heart

[billw55]

Several things would have to happen to get five heart tricks instead of four anyway, so I will just lead them and get it rolling.

[dake50]

Find partner with D:KJx or some near.
Get back in with a heart through declarer's HK to cash Diamonds.

[the_clown]

I strongly agree with the initial pass. Vul vs Not your actions against weak NT should be very sound. I lead a diamond, second choice is spade.

[akhare]

A boring low ♥ for me. Second choice is A♥ (asking for attitude), but it might backfire as well, given the lack of entries to my hand (say partner has Kx and they break 3-3).

This hand isn't even close to an overcall vs. weak NT (at any vulnerability for that matter).

[Jinksy]

Surprised by all the H leaders. I don't have the book to hand, but IIRC Bird and Anthis' Winning NT Contract leads covered broken-honour-five card suits and found them surprisingly poor against 1N (they claim that it's because if the contract is off on the strength of the suit, you often need to win all five tricks in it, so P has to broach it).

On that grounds, I opted for a low D, with a S my second choice. (no lead got anywhere near setting the contract. P showed up with a S stack, but unsurprisingly had no outside entry to cash it. D lead threw them an overtrick)

[Onedown]

 Jinksy, on 2014-January-28, 07:50, said:

---

1N was 11-14.

(hands rotated for convenience. 2C would have been majors, all other overcalls nat)

Leads are 2nds and 4ths.

What's your lead? How close is it?

(NB This is on here because I thought it an interesting question, not because what I thought was the right lead worked out worse than another)

Scoring is IMPs (teams).

ETA - given the system available, would you have preferred 2H or P? How close is it?

Why is this posted in expert class bridge? Both questions in fact. With no other bidding a ♥lead is 100% and if playing attitude I lead my 5th best heart. If the question is about whether one interferes, NV vs VUL I will show a minor/major with a capp 2H or using HELLO bid 2 clubs.

[MrAce]

I would also lead a ♦ myself.

[FrancesHinden]

 Onedown, on 2014-January-28, 13:14, said:

Why is this posted in expert class bridge? ......NV vs VUL I will show a minor/major with a capp 2H or using HELLO bid 2 clubs.

Perhaps he was hoping that posters would be able to work out the vulnerability?

[wanoff]

 Onedown, on 2014-January-28, 13:14, said:

Why is this posted in expert class bridge? Both questions in fact. With no other bidding a ♥lead is 100% and if playing attitude I lead my 5th best heart. If the question is about whether one interferes, NV vs VUL I will show a minor/major with a capp 2H or using HELLO bid 2 clubs.

Some experts may decide that ♥s may be an entry for ♦s, but not the other way round. Or partner holds ♥J10x.
Maybe you've already done the computer simulation but in it's absence I'm not 100% sure that 4th highest of longest and strongest is best.

[WellSpyder]

 Jinksy, on 2014-January-28, 13:02, said:

Surprised by all the H leaders. I don't have the book to hand, but IIRC Bird and Anthis' Winning NT Contract leads covered broken-honour-five card suits and found them surprisingly poor against 1N (they claim that it's because if the contract is off on the strength of the suit, you often need to win all five tricks in it, so P has to broach it).

I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that a low heart was a poor lead double dummy. But that isn't the same as saying you shouldn't lead the suit in practice. I don't always manage to defend hands double dummy, and the same is even true for my partners sometimes, and it can make a difference if my opening lead gives them an idea of which suit I am likely to want them to lead back.

[Jinksy]

 WellSpyder, on 2014-January-29, 03:53, said:

I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that a low heart was a poor lead double dummy. But that isn't the same as saying you shouldn't lead the suit in practice. I don't always manage to defend hands double dummy, and the same is even true for my partners sometimes, and it can make a difference if my opening lead gives them an idea of which suit I am likely to want them to lead back.

I think this is a factor, maybe a big one, but from what I remember of Bird and Anthis’ statistics, such leads looked like a *big* loser. As long as you have the understanding with P that you won’t necessarily lead such a suit (and even if you don’t), if P sees a H shortage in dummy and declarer shows up with four or five card non-H suits, he may well be able to find the switch in time.

[phil_20686]

I think its right to lead a diamond. I'm not even sure its that close.

I probably would have bid though, at least if I can show hearts + a minor by bidding two hearts, my usual method.


(1) Giving up a trick immediately might be very important. Especially when the hearts arent running.
(2) Hearts may be entries to the diamonds.

[gszes]

p rates to have around 9 power----my 55 hand is very reasonable at the 2 level so if

I had a system that allowed me to play both of my suits at the 2 level I would bid it (dont

for ex 2d = dia + a major) or my favorite 2c = dia + major (similar).




LOW HEART




Difficult to ignore the longest and strongest suit especially when the dia suit (best other alternative)

requires a lot more help from p than a heart lead requires. A pessimnist might well choose to

lead a dia merely because they do no want us to be able to make 2h (since we didn't bid it).

Nothing wrong with pessimism now and then but the disparity btn hearts and dia is so great

that I think there is too much pessimism there:))))))))))))))))))))))