[Fluffy]

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Unscientific auction, LHO leads ♦A, RHO plays ♦10

[Statto]

Start by cashing the ♣ hoping to throw 2 ♥ from dummy. If successful we can cross-ruff the red suits. If LHO ruffs the 3rd round of ♣, overruff, draw trumps, then hope to find LHO with at least one ♥ honor, running ♥Q from hand. One ♥ from hand can always go on ♦K.

[nige1]

Fluffy writes "Unscientific auction, LHO leads ♦A, RHO plays ♦10"

IMO, Ruff the ♦ lead, cross to ♣A, throw a ♥ on ♦K, cash ♣K, and advance ♣J...
If LHO ruffs the third ♣, then over-ruff, drraw trumps, and rely on the double ♥ finesse.
If both follow, then play ♣Q
If LHO follows to the fourth ♣, then discard a ♥..
If LHO ruffs, then over-ruff, cash ♥A, concede a ♥, and claim on a high cross-ruff.

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[phil_20686]

I would just take the double heart hook.

[inquiry]

A couple of lines suggest themselves. First to understand the vulnerable 2♦ bid, we have to figure out how many diamonds west has. If trumps are 0=5, I don't think we can make it. If clubs are 3=4 or east discards a "useless 5th" club on the ♦K there is an endplay that is 100% certain to make (trumps have to be 3-2 or 2-3). Also, if you can get a count on west where he is 3-1-7-2 or 2-1-7-3 or 3-1-6-3 or 2-1-6-4, or 3-0-7-3, or 2-0-7-4 or 3-0-6-4 you have a 100% line.

Anyway, you have to explore to figure out how to play.

ruff trick one.
Trick 2, spade AK (i STIPULATE) that west has to follow at least once, or I GIVE.

In the unlikely chance that east showed out on 2nd spade (giving west 4-x-6/7-y). I will pull trumps. Cash two clubs ending in dummy, take pitch on diamond king, cash heart ace, and play heart up to queen.

if both followed to second spade, I win the third spade in dummy and cash the diamond king. With key questions being, who had the 3rd trump? did west have 7 diamonds? and what did east discard on the diamond king? Now I run 4 club tricks. if EAST is out of clubs, i play a heart and cover whatever west plays in dummy. if east has a long club, now I need a count on the hand.

if hearts were 3-3, or if west had 4♥, i double hook in hearts.

If east started with 4♥ to east 2♥ I think i will go with the percentage play of heart to the ace, and heart back to the king (playing east for the king).

[andy_h]

If you're going to draw trumps, it's probably a little better to win the 2nd trump with dummy's Jack. If trumps break 3-2 and the 9 has come down you can go for a dummy reversal, using the SJ, CA and the HA as entries to dummy.

[inquiry]

andy_h, on 2012-May-20, 22:17, said:

If you're going to draw trumps, it's probably a little better to win the 2nd trump with dummy's Jack. If trumps break 3-2 and the 9 has come down you can go for a dummy reversal, using the SJ, CA and the HA as entries to dummy.

So you ruff with the ace or king at trick one, and overtake the spade Ten at trick two if west follows (obviously not if he shows out). That loses only to the highly unlikely four spades with west. Not only that, you have a chance to change lines if west has 4 small spades and east singleton nine. I like it. nicely done. It only drops a trick around 5% of the time (a little less due to the singleton nine issue, or if west also has seven diamonds), and solves the find a 2nd heart trick issue somewhere around 25% of the time (assuming a 6-3 diamond split).