[Laocoon166]

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What's the best line to make the contract at IMPs?

And at MPs is it worth just playing off clubs to get the over when they are 3-3?

EDIT: Lead is a club to the 10

[billw55]

Contract is cold on the heart lead. Or was the lead something else?

[Laocoon166]

billw55, on 2014-September-30, 12:40, said:

Contract is cold on the heart lead. Or was the lead something else?

Yes - a lead would be helpful! Lead was a small club to the 10.

[gszes]

trick 1 win club ace
trick 2 low spade to dummy
trick 3 low heart toward the K

this may seem like a give up play but unless lho is looking
at both the heart ace and the heart Q they are unlikely to
return/cash a heart. Losing to the heart ace rectifies the count
for any available squeezes and you still have entries to
perform any squeeze available. There is a small side bonus
that the K might actually hold and you can play for a simple
squeeze overtrick.

If you need a top board you might as well run the clubs but
under normal circumstances playing to make the contract is
usually best especially slam level.

A finesse *unadjusted by the bidding and play so far* is
50% while a 33 suit break under 35% so leading toward the
heart K has a much higher chance at success and playing for
the overtrick when the K holds is the way to MP top gun

[nige1]

Laocoon166, on 2014-September-30, 09:35, said:

What's the best line to make the contract at IMPs? And at MPs is it worth just playing off clubs to get the over when they are 3-3?

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gszes, on 2014-September-30, 14:11, said:

trick 1 win club ace trick 2 low spade to dummy trick 3 low heart toward the K. this may seem like a give up play but unless lho is looking at both the heart ace and the heart Q they are unlikely to return/cash a heart. Losing to the heart ace rectifies the count for any available squeezes and you still have entries to perform any squeeze available. There is a small side bonus that the K might actually hold and you can play for a simple squeeze overtrick. If you need a top board you might as well run the clubs but under normal circumstances playing to make the contract is usually best especially slam level. A finesse *unadjusted by the bidding and play so far* is 50% while a 33 suit break under 35% so leading toward the heart K has a much higher chance at success and playing for the overtrick when the K holds is the way to MP top gun

gsze's line is attractive but there is an argument, especially at MPs, for taking the 60% line of testing ♣ first.

• You make an overtrick, if ♣ are 3-3 (even when LHO has ♥AQ). Otherwise...
• If LHO has 4 ♣s then try a ♥ to ♥K.
• If RHO has 4 ♣s then try a ♥ to ♥J.

[Laocoon166]

With all the entries, threats all over the place and 11 winners I imagined that I might be able to do some sort of clever strip squeeze. Perhaps nige's rather (excuse me) rudimentary line is the best. I'm sure it is at MPs where you want to try for the overtrick.

[johnu]

Laocoon166, on 2014-October-02, 11:15, said:

With all the entries, threats all over the place and 11 winners I imagined that I might be able to do some sort of clever strip squeeze. Perhaps nige's rather (excuse me) rudimentary line is the best. I'm sure it is at MPs where you want to try for the overtrick.

I read someplace on the internet that there is a squeeze on every hand so it must be true

[johnu]

gszes, on 2014-September-30, 14:11, said:

trick 1 win club ace
trick 2 low spade to dummy
trick 3 low heart toward the K

LHO may also duck the ♥K holding just the ace. It's hard to quantify what percentage of time that will happen since it depends on the opponent and what they think of your declarer play.

[nige1]

Duplicate sorry

[nige1]

Laocoon166, on 2014-October-02, 11:15, said:

With all the entries, threats all over the place and 11 winners I imagined that I might be able to do some sort of clever strip squeeze. Perhaps nige's rather (excuse me) rudimentary line is the best. I'm sure it is at MPs where you want to try for the overtrick.

There seem to be some squeeze chances. e.g. after leading a ♥ to the king.

• If LHO returns pointed suit, say ♦, then you cash pointed suit winners for a simple round-suit squeeze on RHO (assuming RHO has long ♣.
• If LHO returns a ♣, you cash the remaining top ♣, discarding a ♥. If LHO has the long ♣, then you run ♠ to reach

North ♠x ♦Kxx
South ♥J ♦Ax ♣x
On the last ♠, unless RHO has discarded ♥Q, you discard your ♥J . Now LHO is squeezed in the minors.

[mikeh]

I'm not going to post a suggested line of play.

I am going to make a suggestion to the OP and to all who post similar play problems:

it may not seem to matter to you but in my view it is impossible to analyze play issues with incomplete information. Which club was led?

What are their carding agreements on opening lead?

We would know all of that at the table and it can be very important. On this hand, probably less so than for most, but still one would like to know whether, for example, the lead suggests length on either side.

[/end rant]

[Lovera]

It's more probable that clubs are 4- 2 in East and that West had heart Ace without Queen (this squeeze ending it's easier to see if you inverted cards of North with South) diamonds are both opp controlled and in hearts there is a situation similar in trump squeeze.. but here used in NT play. In this case 4th club in East serve to obblige to descard diamond. Infact if West descard diamond too you have last diamond winner otherwise the ending is on according descard of East dropping Queen for King for Ace and return for winner Jack (this is the lonely ending i know of a delayed squeeze with a double menace).(Lovera)