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Suit Combinations
Here we look at individual suits, and how to play them for the maximum return.
Related Extracts from Past Wednesday Games
That’s a rather tortuous auction, arriving in the best spot of 5♦. But we are sure some pairs will languish in a Diamond part-score, and others will try a Spade contract (only nine tricks if East finds the ♥A opening lead). North might well have passed 2♦, and we don’t expect a lot of 5♦ contracts.
Will 5♦ make? If East cashes the ♥A at Trick 1, it will all come down to a trump guess. - Do you play the Ace on the first round? That has a 66% chance of holding the losers to one. - Do you finesse the first round, and play the Ace on the second round? That’s 70%. - Do you finesse on the first round, then finesse again? That’s 76%.
So, finessing twice is the percentage play, and it’s also the winning play on the actual deal. With that play in trumps it is 11 or 12 tricks, depending on the opening lead.
4♠ may or may not make. Here is the down-one line of play: ♣J covered by the Queen and South’s King Spade return (nothing else seems better) won by North’s Ace Heart won by Dummy’s Queen ♥A and ♣A are cashed (pitching Diamonds) Now Declarer must lose two Diamonds, and that will be down one.
Here is how Declarer brings 4♠ home: ♣J won by Dummy’s Ace Spade is finessed and North craftily ducks ♠K is led, won by the Ace, squashing South’s Queen Spade is returned At this point, with the trumps behaving, Declarer has 8 sure tricks, via 6 trumps, the ♥A and the ♣A. He’ll take the Heart finesse for the 9th, and must somehow rustle up a Diamond trick. So Declarer leads a Diamond towards Dummy’s Jack, that will build a Diamond trick whenever North has the Queen. But South takes the ♦J with her Queen, and returns a Diamond or a Heart. Either way, Declarer must finesse the ♦9 to score his Diamond trick, and make his contract.
East’s hand was way too good for a 3♦ preempt, of course, and quite adequate for opening one of a suit. West’s 2♣ was game-forcing, and his 3NT showed some extras. East might have been tempted to try for slam, perhaps she was turned off by those 3 small cards in Partner’s Clubs.
Playing in No Trump, North leads a Heart and that’s 11 easy tricks. How does 6♦ fare? If South is clever enough to lead a Spade (giving away nothing), Declarer can see that he is in a rotten contract, one requiring considerable luck in the Club suit. The suit must be played for one loser, which would be a 50% proposition if East or West had the Ten. But without it the odds drop way down to around 30%. Declarer’s best shot is to play South to hold AQ, with the little bonus that QT doubleton also works. As it happens it’s that little bonus that brings in the lucky slam.
3NT and 5♦ both turn out to be reasonable contracts, each one requiring that Declarer hold her Diamond losers to just one. What’s the percentage play in that suit? The three ways to play this suit combination are: - Cash the Ace: Here the hope is that the suit is 2-2 or that someone has a singleton honor. The chance of success (for one loser) is 66%. - Finesse, and if that loses, play the Ace on the second round: This wins when trumps are 2-2 or when East has KQ. A 70% chance. - Finesse, and if that loses, finesse again: This wins whenever East has at least one honor, and gives the best odds, 76%. The better percentage is also the winning line on the actual hand. Playing in Diamonds, the Spade opening lead is won in Dummy, the Diamond finessed, and when that wins Declarer cashes the ♦A and cross-ruffs the hand.
We are not saying that East should split his Diamond honors on the first round (that would look very foolish if West held the singleton Jack or Ace!), but on this hand he’ll make Declarer’s life more difficult. She could win the Ace and lead another trump, hoping that the suit is 2-2, but that’s only 10 tricks when East wins and plays a third round of trumps. A more successful line is to leave both missing trumps at large, cash the side-suit winners and try for a cross-ruff. But the timing must be just right: Win ♠A Trump to the Queen and Ace Cash ♣A and ruff a Club Back to the ♥A and ruff another Club Cash ♠A and ruff a Spade Cross to the ♥K Now, when the last Spade is led from Dummy, East is helpless. 11 tricks!
In 4♠ doubled, as Declarer (East) how do you play the Spade suit? If the suit is 2-2 it doesn’t matter, there will be one loser regardless. And if the suit is 3-1? Then there will be two losers except in these cases: South has singleton King (♠A is cashed, then a Club towards the Jack) South has singleton Queen (same line of play) North has singleton Ten (Declarer must lead the Spade Jack from his hand) The superficial conclusion is “Two chances are better than one” leading Declarer to lay down the ♠A. But the bidding suggests that the third case is more likely, so we would play South for KQ6. This is the winner, bringing in the trump suit for one loser and scoring a surprising 11 tricks!
Against 6♥, let’s say that West leads the ♠Q won by Dummy’s Ace. How do you play the trump suit? There is no problem if trumps are 3-2, but suppose that they are 4-1. In that case, the defender with the singleton is likely to be West, he of the long Spade suit. If that singleton is the Ten or Jack then the suit can be picked up with correct play. So, Declarer plays a Heart to the Ace and then back to the King. Bingo! West does indeed have a singleton honor, and now there is a finesse position against East’s ♥J. After the Hearts are gone, the Diamond finesse brings in all 13 tricks.
Against 4♥, East leads the ♦K and Declarer holds up the Ace, then wins the Diamond continuation, cashes the ♥A and ♥K, ruffs a Diamond, ruffs a Club, and successfully finesses the ♠J. Ten tricks are now assured, and the question is “Can Declarer make an overtrick by avoiding a second Spade loser?” If Spades are 3-3 then it does not matter how Declarer plays the Spades, so we need only worry about the 4-2 breaks. The two possible lines of play are: - Cash the ♠A, hoping that East started with a doubleton King - Cross back to hand with a Club ruff and lead the ♠Q. This caters for West holding a doubleton Ten or doubleton Nine, allowing Declarer’s mighty ♠7 to set up! That should be an easy decision! Kx with East is one chance … Tx or 9x with West is two chances. Which do you prefer? So, 11 tricks for those Declarers who give themselves two chances instead of one!
Back on Board 4, when it was N-S in their 7-0 fit, Declarer held AQ98743 … then we said that the best play for just two losers was Ace, then Queen, hoping to pin either the doubleton Ten or doubleton Jack. But here, with AQ96432, it doesn’t help us to do that … even if the Ten or the Jack came down doubleton, our lesser spot holding would still result in 3 losers … no, with this suit, the only chance to hold the trump losses to 2 tricks when trumps are 4-2 is to lay down the Ace, and then play a low card, hoping that the King is doubleton. As it happens, the King does come down, but it’s still -500 for virtually no matchpoints.
The play looks simple enough but it does contain a small trap for the unwary Declarer. West, of course, leads a Heart to East’s Ace, and a Heart is continued to Declarer’s King. At this point Declarer’s fate hinges on the Club finesse … down one if it loses, making 10 or 11 tricks if it succeeds. Most Declarers we know prefer 11 tricks to 10, and that requires correct play in the Club suit. The plan should be to lead a low Club to Dummy’s Jack, and, if that wins, to cross back to hand on a Diamond and lead another low Club towards Dummy. This is the best chance of bringing in 4 Club tricks, catering for K or Kx with West as well as the more friendly and Declarer-proof holding of Kxx. If Declarer makes the mistake of leading the Q♣ at Trick Two, she’ll have only 10 tricks (West must cover, of course).
South leads a 4th best Diamond, and Declarer ducks North's Jack, if only for practice. Now, after winning the Q♦ continuation, it all comes down to how Declarer plays the Spades. If he can play the suit for one loser he’ll make 7 tricks, otherwise it will be down two for the dreaded -200. Looking at the suit in isolation the percentage play is to finesse twice through the North hand, giving an almost 80% chance of at least three tricks in the suit. But, alas for Declarer, he has only one entry to the board, so must choose between one of these less promising plays: - Cash the A♠ and lead towards the Queen … if the King or the Jack appear from South, things are simple … if South plays low on the second round, Declarer plays the Eight, hoping that South started with Jxx (reasoning that, with the King, South might have grabbed it in order to rattle off a bunch of Diamonds) - Cross to the A♥ and run the Queen hoping that the King is with North or that, if the King is with South, that the Jack will fall on the next round.
The odds of these two lines are not that far apart (around 60%), but the play of the Diamond suit and our knowledge of human nature suggest a more promising line. It looks as if the Diamonds are 6-3, and we don’t know many Souths who would be able to duck holding the K♠ when they have 4 Diamonds in their hand, begging to be cashed. So, we suggest a low Spade towards the Queen (without first cashing the A♠), challenging South to duck holding the King. If South does play low, we’ll finesse the Spade Eight, and if that loses to the Jack, we’ll confidently finesse North for the K♠ after the run of the Diamonds. Psychological plays are so much more fun than mathematically correct ones, don’t you think?
Declarer is destined to make 11 tricks in 4♥ provided that he manages not to revoke. It makes no difference on the actual layout, but the question is “What is the correct way to tackle the trump suit?” Of course, we’ll always lose at least one trick in the suit, the idea is to find the line that maximizes our chances of avoiding the second loser. The two choices are: - Cash the A♥ first, which works fine when trumps are 2-2 or one opponent has a singleton honor. - Take a first round finesse, and, if that loses, then finesse again, playing South to have either or both of the missing honors. Provided that Declarer has sufficient entries, and further provided that there is no impending defensive ruff on the horizon, the clear winner is to finesse twice. That succeeds 76% of the time, whereas starting with the A♥ is only a 66% shot.
6♦ is a fine slam indeed, requiring no more than a modicum of luck in the trump suit. The correct way to handle that particular holding for a maximum of one loser is to lay down the Ace (catering for the off-side singleton King), cross to the board, and lead towards the Queen. This works 77% of the time, and the slam fails only when trumps are 4-0 or when South holds KJ9 or KJ2. Unfortunately, the actual layout falls into the 23% category and the slam fails. Rotten luck for the good bidders.
Despite the 8-card major fit and the combined 26 HCP’s, the contract needs careful play to succeed. Let’s say that South starts out with a Spade (nothing else looks attractive). How do you play the trump suit for one loser? If the suit is 3-2, there will be no problem, and if South has 4 Hearts there is no chance. But how about when North has 4 Hearts? There are two safety plays available, which one is preferable, do you think? - Take a first round finesse of the Nine, catering for the possibility of North holding QJT7 or QJT2 - Cash a high Heart and then, if an honor appears from South, cross to Dummy, planning to finesse if North plays low. This line caters for North starting with QJ72 or QT72 or JT72. Clearly the second line is slightly better, as it takes care of three 4-1 breaks, not just two. And it’s also the one that works on the actual hand.
Playing in a Spade contract, how would you handle that trump holding? If trumps are 3-2 then there will be 2 trump losers regardless, Declarer just leads honors from her hand. How about the 4-1 breaks? If one defender has AQ9x, then there is no escaping 3 trump losers. But, if trumps are 4-1, with the singleton Queen or Nine in one hand or the other, then the lead of the King is the way to go, holding the trump losers to just two tricks.
But, the suit is 3-2 and the Spade play turns out to be academic, and it’s 10 tricks for Declarer.
Against 6♣, let’s say that North is on lead and starts with the A♥ and another Heart which is ruffed by Declarer. How would you play the Clubs? With the Heart length in the South hand it makes sense to play North for the Q♣. Which is better, do you think? - Cash the K♣, and then run the J♣? - Or, run the Jack immediately? If Clubs are 3-2 if won’t matter, this is all about the 4-1 breaks. If we cash the K♣ first, we’ll pick up a singleton Queen with South (just one possible holding). If we finesse immediately we can pick up Qxxx in the North hand, which is 4 possible holdings and therefore clearly superior. Good technique, but unnecessary on the actual hand where the trumps turn out to be 3-2.
Against 4♥, it’s easy enough for Declarer to score 10 tricks, but are 11 possible? Let’s say that East leads a minor suit. Trumps will be drawn, the A♦ will be lost and the minor suit winners cashed. Now, with nothing but trumps and Spades left, how should Declarer play the Spade suit for one loser? One possibility is to cash the Ace, then to play low towards the Jack. This holds the Spade losers to just one whenever one defender or the other has Qx or Kx or KQ of Spades or when East has the singleton K or Q. That line of play works out at 31%. Or does it? An expert West, holding Qx or Kx (where the low card is not the Ten), will cleverly avoid the endplay by jettisoning his honor! So, against such a player, the odds drop down from 31% to 21%.
The second way to play the Spade suit is to lead the Nine from the board towards Declarer’s Jxx, planning to play low from hand. Now, if East holds the KQ without the Ten, he will be end-played. This one comes in at only 20%, so it’s better to go for that earlier line, regardless of the expertise of your opponents. Unlucky! The winning play is also the anti-percentage play, sometimes a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!
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