Getting back to some hands ...
Here's one I had no business getting wrong:
I picked up in first at favorable:
2 Spades and 2NT seem to be the 2 obvious contenders. I like (and bid) 2 Spades. It emphasizes that my Club suit is real and rightsides NT if that's where we belong (protecting partner's Diamond holding.) On the other hand, it's usually best to have the takeout doubler on lead, since his partner's likely almost completely broke. Shrug.
Partner surprised me by bidding 3 Spades. Another decision ...
I'm not ashamed of my hand and partner's asking me to cooperate. I'm a tad worried that if I bid 4 Clubs partner might think that my 2 Spade bid was 'manufactured' but we should be able to work it out later. That's my story and I'm sticking to it, anyway. 4 Clubs it is.
Over 4 Clubs, partner bid 4 Hearts. Time for a screeching halt, methinks. Let's see that dummy.
Over 4 Spades partner unexpectedly raised to 5.
When partner freaks me out with an auction that makes no sense, I tend to pass if it sounds like we might be in a playable spot. I did so here.
The King of Diamonds hit the table and this pitiful hand was revealed:
Q753 / 76432 / AJ5 / 5
AK64 / K8 / 72 / AKJ92
Aside from 1 Heart, partner's bidding was pretty awful. 3 Spades was an overbid. 4 Hearts was completely misguided (who rebids a 5 card suit headed by the 7 in a cuebidding sequence?) 5 Spades was gross.
Worry about the auction later. The contract is 5 Spades. How do you plan to make it?
My thought process went something like this: If Spades are 4-1, I'm surely down, so I must assume that trumps are breaking 3-2 (with 3 on my left, given the double.) It's also almost certain that the Ace of Hearts is offside. I have to figure out how to avoid losing 1 Diamond and 2 Hearts.
I won the Ace of Diamonds and played a Club to the Jack. When I opened my eyes, I was pleased to see that it held the trick. And now?
Well, now I could see those Diamonds in dummy going away on my Clubs. I didn't take the time I needed to think through the position. I cashed a top Club, pitching a Diamond, then realized that Lefty would probably ruff the next Club and so changed gears, playing a trump to the Queen and another back to my Ace before playing another top Club, pitching Dummy's diamond as Lefty surprisingly followed.
What a donkey I am.
Once the Jack of Clubs holds, I should immediately play a Diamond up. Now Lefty will win and may well bang down the Ace of Hearts. If he does that, I'm home if trumps are 3-2 (3 Spades, 1 Heart, 2 Diamonds, 3 Clubs, 2 ruffs.) Even if he doesn't bang down the Heart Ace, I've just traded a Heart loser for a Diamond loser and haven't lost anything.
Once I cashed the top Club though, I still could have made it if I took the only chance I'd given myself at that point, that Clubs were 4-3 (not impossible, since many folks (including myself) frequently make takeout doubles with 4x3 shape.) If the 2nd top Club survives, I pitch a Diamond, ruff a Club (overruffing if necessary) play a trump back and ruff my Diamond. Now all the defense gets is 2 Hearts.
-50 was 6 IMPs and change away. Only 1 person made 5, but (not surprisingly) noone else was in it. I should have played to make the contract I found myself in.
http://online.bridgebase.com/myhands/fetchlin.php?id=1581445&when_played=1191784109
