Thursday, January 28, 2010

Sometimes it doesn't matter what you do

You're in 3rd seat at matchpoints in a club game with this hand:
S Kxx
H KQxx
D Qxx
C Q10x

Your partner opens a preemptive 3S and the next hand overcalls 4C. What would you do?

You've got a lot of values, and probably a club trick, but you're nowhere close to contributing enough for 4S to make, and you don't really have enough to double either, so pass by default.

Surprisingly 4C is raised to 5C and the auction comes back around to you. Still passing? And does it matter that your opponents aren't very good?

I figured I had a sure heart trick, a sure club trick, and enough chances for a third (and maybe fourth) trick that it was worth doubling. If partner can't contribute anything I'll probably get 100, and if partner can, then the 300 might be necessary to outscore the 140s and 170s our way.

Dummy was a bit of a surprise:
S 10xx
H AJx
D AJxx
C KJx

So much for the club trick, or really any of the other good things that might happen. Declarer didn't finesse clubs and still made 5C. The double didn't cost any matchpoints, though, since no one else in the room bid 4C with his hand:
S void
H xxx
D Kxxx
C A10xxxx

Later in the evening our opponents found a 5-4 heart fit, then played slam in their 6-3 diamond fit instead. Of course only the diamond slam succeeds. On that hand we had a 12 card spade fit with AK109 opposite QJxxxxxx. So one of my friends got to provide 8-card support for his partner's (four card) overcall.

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