[Coelacanth]

My partner and I got this situation wrong and I'm wondering what the "correct" answer is. I'm interested in responses both in terms of (a) "standard" leads and carding (in ACBL-land) absent in-depth discussion; and (b) your personally preferred methods.

Holding ♣AKQx and a hand too big for a strong notrump, you open 1♣. You and your partner are then silent, and the opponents bid all three other suits, ostensibly naturally, and end up in 3NT on your right. You decide to lead a club; RHO has bid 3♣ as part of their probe for 3NT, but this bid did not promise any specific suit length or quality.

(1) Which club do you lead?

Move over to partner's seat. Partner leads the ♣K and you hold a complete yarborough. Dummy has some suits you'd like to lead up to, but you have absolutely no possible entry in any suit other than clubs. Your club holding is ♣1098x; dummy has two small clubs.

(2) Which club do you play?

Back to the opening leader's POV. Dummy has enough values to convince you that partner must be completely broke, or very nearly so. Between this and partner's card at trick one you decide to continue clubs.

(3) Which club do you lead to trick 2?

Back to third hand. Partner has continued with another high club. Dummy follows low.

(4a) Which club do you play if partner has led the Ace?
(4b) Which club do you play if partner has led the Queen?

I forgot to mention that this is at IMPs, if that matters.

Needless to say (or I wouldn't be posting this), we didn't find the sequence of leads and signals that resulted in cashing the first four club tricks. Please help us to not repeat this debacle.

[Vampyr]

You will do best to lead whatever card (the K?) asks for count; partner should play whatever card shows even count. If petering does this, you could play the 10.

If partner continues clubs at trick 2, he will know that you have 2 or 4 cards, so that further rounds of clubs will either help or not hurt.

[inquiry]

Coelacanth, on 2011-October-03, 09:32, said:

My partner and I got this situation wrong and I'm wondering what the "correct" answer is. I'm interested in responses both in terms of (a) "standard" leads and carding (in ACBL-land) absent in-depth discussion; and (b) your personally preferred methods.

Holding ♣AKQx and a hand too big for a strong notrump, you open 1♣. You and your partner are then silent, and the opponents bid all three other suits, ostensibly naturally, and end up in 3NT on your right. You decide to lead a club; RHO has bid 3♣ as part of their probe for 3NT, but this bid did not promise any specific suit length or quality.

(1) Which club do you lead?

Without hearing the bidding and seeing dummy, this becomes less precise an exercise. If you play king ask for count, by all means lead the king. If you default signal is count instead of attitude then it doesn't matter. Assuming you don't have the agreement that the king ask for count, i will suggest a radical idea few will agree with. I am making the valid assumption that i hold at least 18 hcp (too strong for 1NT) so they have at most 22 hcp and they bid 3nt. This assumption means partner will not hold much, probably not even a jack. So i will lead the club queen. Nearly everyone plays the lead of the queen ask for the unblocking of the jack, and lacking the jack, give count. The lead of queen from this holding probably will not win any opening lead polls, and few will support my choice, but i like it.

Quote

Move over to partner's seat. Partner leads the ♣K and you hold a complete yarborough. Dummy has some suits you'd like to lead up to, but you have absolutely no possible entry in any suit other than clubs. Your club holding is ♣1098x; dummy has two small clubs.

(2) Which club do you play?

I encourage playing whatever card serves that purpose. Why? i assume we are not playing king ask for count, or this question wouldn't exist. Partner opened 1♣ so i assume he has 3 or 4. If partner has four, I might get the entry, and if i discourage, partner will switch. NO USE opening up two different suits for them. Again, it is possible if we saw the dummy hand and heard the bidding, we might have a different answer, but I doubt it.

Quote

Back to the opening leader's POV. Dummy has enough values to convince you that partner must be completely broke, or very nearly so. Between this and partner's card at trick one you decide to continue clubs.

(3) Which club do you lead to trick 2?

This will depend. I lead the king at trick one in this story, so i would lead the Ace of queen, depending upon where my outside strength was -- assuming (and this is a big assumption in this case) that i wanted partner to know what suit i wanted him to return. IF there was a suit i needed partner to protect against some long card establishment in (say i have two diamonds), i would show strength in a different suit in the hopes he would keep his small cards in that suit. Thus with two diamonds, i would return the club ACE, for example, showing interest in a higher suit.

Quote

Back to third hand. Partner has continued with another high club. Dummy follows low.

(4a) Which club do you play if partner has led the Ace?
(4b) Which club do you play if partner has led the Queen?

If i gave attitude at trick one, i give remaining count (or original count, that depends upon our agreement).

As an aside, if both you and your partner know that your partner is "broke" and you both know that the other knows this, signal at trick one would be "count." Here after your wide ranging 1♣ opening bid, he can't be sure you know he has nothing, so this rule would not apply.

[qwery_hi]

I agree with everything inquiry said above; and would like to add - its better in any case to cash all your clubs and exit a club, to avoid getting thrown in later and having to lead from your tenaces.

Coelacanth, on 2011-October-03, 09:32, said:

My partner and I got this situation wrong and I'm wondering what the "correct" answer is. I'm interested in responses both in terms of (a) "standard" leads and carding (in ACBL-land) absent in-depth discussion; and (b) your personally preferred methods.

Holding ♣AKQx and a hand too big for a strong notrump, you open 1♣. You and your partner are then silent, and the opponents bid all three other suits, ostensibly naturally, and end up in 3NT on your right. You decide to lead a club; RHO has bid 3♣ as part of their probe for 3NT, but this bid did not promise any specific suit length or quality.

(1) Which club do you lead?

Move over to partner's seat. Partner leads the ♣K and you hold a complete yarborough. Dummy has some suits you'd like to lead up to, but you have absolutely no possible entry in any suit other than clubs. Your club holding is ♣1098x; dummy has two small clubs.

(2) Which club do you play?

Back to the opening leader's POV. Dummy has enough values to convince you that partner must be completely broke, or very nearly so. Between this and partner's card at trick one you decide to continue clubs.

(3) Which club do you lead to trick 2?

Back to third hand. Partner has continued with another high club. Dummy follows low.

(4a) Which club do you play if partner has led the Ace?
(4b) Which club do you play if partner has led the Queen?

I forgot to mention that this is at IMPs, if that matters.

Needless to say (or I wouldn't be posting this), we didn't find the sequence of leads and signals that resulted in cashing the first four club tricks. Please help us to not repeat this debacle.

[wank]

people playing king for count usually play it demands an unblock. obviously you don't want an unblock.

if this is what you're palying imo you play the queen first. getting partner to encourage with the Jack or 4. in this case partner plays the 10. obviously this means he doesn't have the jack so you just continue them from the top.