[jjsb]

ok so here's another problem for novice to intermediate coming again from the "pas a pas" book . don't hesitate to send Inquiry and I some feed back about what we have decided to do . we will also probably make some schedule .
this is a declare play i'll try to change 1 declarer play , i defense play . again pls feel free to feed back me about some desire ...

so here we are the auction with opps speechless

2D    2H
2nt  3nt

to precise think this sequence 2D is forcing to game 2H weak , no ace. 2nt show 24-25 balanced .

the 2 hands are

K72
7532
J54
864

AQJ
AK8
K92
AQJ2

lead is 7 of D (4th best) Est will play ace .

pls i ask everyone to let some time to people to think about this deal ... send me email here or in jjsb@bridgebase.com

regards

syl (jjsb)

[inquiry]

A nice little problem. It wasn't stated, but I think for the purpose of this hand, you can assume you played low from dummy on the first DIAMOND. After syvain post the answer, I will share my thoughts about this hands.

[inquiry]

The following players have answered this good idea problem correctly via Instant message (new names will be added tothis post as right answers come it to jjsb or me)....
Rain
JStroke
The_Hog




and yes, I answered it right too... :-)

[jjsb]

thanks to all of those who sent their answers to me by instant message, and congrats to those who got it right (given earlier).
so first let me remind you the 2 hands  
 
K74  
7532  
J54  
864  
 
AQJ  
AK8  
K92  
AQJ2  
 
and "inquiry" was right that u play low in dummy. i should have stated that. i think that Inquiry plans to explain why it's far from obvious that playing low is the much better than playing the JACK to trick one (thank you in advance )  
 
so again as i already said (good idea #!) , when u play a contract NEVER play to the first trick immediately. you should take 10 seconds to consider all the available information.  
first is the number of your "sure tricks". This time, 3 in Spades, 2 in Heart, 1 in club and 1 in Diamond (after the lead) . that is 7 so you need 2 more to succeed.   second, what information can you obtain from the choice of the opening  lead?  assuming the 7 is a 4th best u can use the "rule of 11" meaning that you substract from 11 the denomination of the card (here 7) and that operation give u the number of cards higher than card lead shared between your hand, dummy and the partner of the one who lead. to sum up (my english is unfortunatly not great, sorry) in this particular case 11-7=4.  so you know that there's 4 cards higher than the 7 in North , south and east hand. u have in your two hands (north and south)  3 cards higher than the 7 (9 J K) so u know now that East as ONE card only higher than the 7 in his hand... (don't forget that ...)  
 
so now to continue in the way to find your line of play, you need 2 tricks to win your contract so u must ask yourself what colour(s) can give you that opportunity ... well obviously not Spade, and D looks too weak for that ... so u have 2 possible colours Club and Heart. in some case it's not easy to guess which one is better . here it looks like Club is the best opportunity by far . notice that if H are 3-3 yes that gives u opportunity for one more tricks but remember you have 7 tricks only for now so one more is 8 didn't give the contract and u still need the club finesse for 9 ... so now part of your plan is done you have 7 tricks need 2 more u will try to find them in Club . now that u know that other questions is coming . in the actual layout of the deal how many communication do we have in dummy to make the finesse? well One only, the K of spade. so yes, if K of Club is second or third in east's hand everything will work just fine BUT it will not be enough if K of Club is fourth or more (the 4-2 is the most frequent combination with 6 cards). so another problem point out, is there any possibility to create one more entry apart that K of Spade?? . hhhmmm wait, "ace of Diamond is played by east and we know now it's the only card higher than the 7 east must have (rules of 11 , remember) . so that means Q of Diamond is in west's hand for sure... Yes !!! i get it now i can throw my K of Diamond on that ace ... and tha J in dummy  will give me a second communication to finesse again !!!"    
 
so u do that and the situation above show that u did very well...  4 hands    



     K74  
     7532  
     J54  
     864  

83                 109652  
J964          Q10  
Q10876  A3  
53                      K1097  

     AQJ    
     AK8  
     K92  
     AQJ2  
 


see u in other adventure    
 
PS : i have to say i was wrong in the explanation of the auction , obviously the rebid of 2nt show balanced 24+ no higher limit (37 is the limit  ) sorry about that  

[inquiry]

Syvain suggested I would send my analysis of this hand, so here is the my response I sent him via instant message that I believe he was referring too..

-------- Instant Message Starts here --------------

Here would be my analysis of the Good Five hand. I suspect you meant to say that dummy played low on trick one, setting up a jettison problem to gain two entries to dummy for two club hooks. Here is a bit longer analysis which considers some issues at trick one.

K72  
7532  
J54  
864  
 
AQJ  
AK8  
K92  
AQJ2  
 
lead is 7 of D (4th best) East will play ace.

Since EAST played the ACE, we will assume we played low at trick one and JETTISONED the DIAMOND KING under the ACE. This short changed the biggest quess in the hand, which is what to play at trick one. If you played low, you guessed right. Here is an analysis where you haven't played low from dummy yet, and things you might consider (and includes why the JETTISON play is correct).

This is a rule of eleven hand. If the 7 is an honest 4th best lead, then the rule of eleven says to subtract the card lead from eleven. The resulting number shows the number of cards higher than the lead card that are not in the leader's hand. Thus, 11-7 = 4, so there are combined only four cards higher than the seven in NORTH, EAST and SOUTH hands. Since you can see the KJ9, that means East has only one of these cards. That card can be the ACE, QUEEN, TEN, or EIGHT. Thus, West holds something like (were x=0 to 3 small cards)  

1) AQT7(x)
2) AQ87(x)
3) AT87(x)
4) QT87(x)

It would be GREAT if you knew which of these that West held. In 1 or 2, you should play the DIAMOND-JACK from dummy. It will win, giving you a great chance to score 9 tricks. All you would need to find is EAST with the club KING or clubs divided 3-3. This is because with the DIAMOND JACK providing an entry to dummy, you can hook in CLUBS twice (this entry and then a second entry with SPADE KING). This will give you 1D+3S+2H+3C when ever the hook wins. If the hook loses, WEST can not continue Diamonds without giving you your ninth trick, so you have a chance to gain from a 3-3 club split. In addition, should he lead a high heart, you can let him hold that, so you can gain from a 3-3 heart split as well.  

Playing low is the road to victory if West held #3. If East plays his QUEEN, you win the diamond JACK is going to win a second diamond for you. Here you can just play the CLUB ACE and CLUB queen if you like. This give you 2H+2D+3S-2C at a minimum. If he keeps his queen, allowing you to win your 9, they can't attack your diamond holding without giving you a second trick, which gives you a chance to try to set up a trick in heats (with 3-3) or clubs (if 3-3).

The fourth hand provides an opportunity for you to show your card playing skill, and the point of the problem as proposed to you. If you play low from dummy and EAST plays the ACE, you should JETTISON (throw away) your DIAMOND KING. This discard gives you your second entry to dummy for two club hooks (when you throw the king away, the jack becomes an entry). This time, however, you only make if EAST has the CLUB KING, or if clubs split 3-3 and diamonds split 4-3. Although technically there may be a chance for a HEART-CLUB SQUEEZE against WEST if he is 2-3-4-4 or against EAST if West is an unlikley 5S-2H-4D-2C. In both these endings, West needs to make a mistake and cash his Diamonds when he wins the club squeeze to setup the squeeze (a suicide defense, as WEST squeezes himself, essentially). Here I show the squeeze where West ducks the second diamond.... then get in with the club and runs his diamonds. and EAST has 4H + 4C.  

        S-Kxx
        H-xxxx
        D-Jxx
        C-xxx

S-xx       S-Txxxxx
H-J9x         H-QT
D-QT87     D-Axx
D-KTxx     C-xx

        S-AQJ
        H-AK8
        D-K92
        C-AQJ2

Trick 1.. D7-Dx-DA-DK
Trick 2.. Dx-d9-dT-DJ
Trick 3.. Cx-Cx-CQ-CK
Trick 4.. DQ-Dx-Dx-Dx
Trick 5.. DX-Hx-Sx-H8
Trick 6.. Sx-Sx-Sx-SA
Trick 7.. HA-Hx-Hx-HT
Trick 8.. HK-Jx-Hx-HQ
Trick 9.. CA-Cx-Cx-Cx
Trick 10. SQ-Sx-Sx-Sx
Trick 11. <------ key trick......

           S-K
           H-x
           D-void
           C-x      

S-      
H-J  East immaterial
D-      
C-Tx

           S-J
           H-
           D-
           C-J2

On the spade K, if West throws his Heart JACK, the dummy's heart is good. If he throws a CLub, then dummys club is lead to the JACK and and the club 2 is good. You could reverse the holdings and give EAST the 3 card heart suit and the 4 card diamond suit, and the same squeeze works, but that means WEST lead a diamond from 4 instead of a spade from a 5 card suit.  

Looking at these four possible hand give for the leader in yellow above, however, shows you that what card you play from dummy has an important role in your outcome. In half the cases, the JACK is the right card, in half the cases, a small card is right. In Bridge, however, it is important to be able to get into the head of your opponent. If you know West very well, and know that he is the kind of player that would either never lead away from an AQ, or would only very rarely lead away from the AQ, then the odds change dramatically and playing the JACK would be an inferior line. Since many people will at least consider a different openig lead, perhaps the odds are not 50-50 for JACK or small, but actually sway a little towards being right to play small from dummy. Just something to think about. Syvain, you posed a very interesting problem to think about that, if you delved into it deeply, it dealt with how psychology may influence a simple statistical calculation at trick one, the need for a clever little jettison play, and even ends up with a possible squeeze (alternative hand for WEST), from which you might have learned that if WEST doens't cash his diamonds when thrown in with a club, he can avoid the squeeze and keep declearer from making. Quite a lot on a simple little hand.