In my eternal quest for improved counting, my partner and I played a few hands against the robots on BBO last night. The goal was to take our time.
The most interesting hand of the night was this one:
At this point, I knew the location of every single high card. Yay me! Unfortunately, I couldn't see a way forward.
From the bidding, partner has precisely 6 or 7 HCP. The king of diamonds on trick 2 was 3, so that leaves 3-4.
Trick 1 showed me that partner had no spade higher than the 7. When partner later played the 4, that left declarer with AJT9 of spades.
The heart play on trick 5 was bizarre. Clearly, partner had something in hearts, but what? With the ace, declarer would have KQJ..., which wasn't consistent with his play. If partner had the king, the finesse seemed obvious. The only holding that seemed to make sense for partner was KJ. With me having the ten 9, declarer held either AQx or AQxx, and thus had an unavoidable heart loser.
This accounted for all 7 of partner's possible points, so declarer had Axx or Axxx in diamonds. (Admittedly, I didn't have the exact distributional count until the end of the hand.)
Clubs was also a big clue in my deductions. I knew declarer had at least 2 clubs, and I now knew that declarer had the AJ. With AJx, declarer would have attacked clubs long ago, seeking to establish the suit. Thus, declarer had to be AJ bare.
This was just about the limit of my vision. I felt like I couldn't lead back clubs, because that would establish the suit for declarer. I wanted to entice him to misguess the suit, leading towards the king, then back towards his AJ, finessing the Queen rather than playing for the drop. This is of course impossible, but I couldn't quite visualize the play well enough.
I also didn't want to finesse partner's heart holding. Yes, it I had the T9, and yes declarer could cross to dummy and finesse hearts himself, but I didn't want to do it for him.
Knowing declarer had both hearts and spades stopped, I just returned a spade.
It turns out there was nothing I could do.
On the second round of spades, partner discarded a club, and declarer ran clubs to make an overtrick.
Partner lamented his club discard, but it turns out that, at this point, partner is squeezed. Partner holds the stops in clubs, hearts AND diamonds, and declarer can run his two spade tricks, making him discard twice. Partner will be obligated to either discard a club, promoting the clubs, a diamond, promoting the two of diamonds, or a heart, promoting the queen of hearts.
If there's a way to stop the overtrick, it must come up before trick 5. I certainly didn't see it.
All that said, if I saw every hand with the clarity that I saw this hand, I'd be improving by leaps and bounds.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Progression
I'm coming to one of those moments in my progression where I question whether I'm really moving forwards at all.
I'm largely over the triathlon timeout I had in the spring. I'm back, more or less, to where I was in the early winter. Maybe what's getting to me is that there's still so far to go.
I'm counting, but not as often as I'd like. The hands were I count deep into the hand are always rewarding - I know what's going on in the last few tricks, and can see how it's all going to play out. Alas, this doesn't seem to happen as often as I'd like, and sometimes, I stare blankly as trick after trick rolls by. Maybe it'll come with more time and more work.
Most of the mistakes I'm making lately are on "easy" subjects, at best. Some of them are completely idiotic - miscounting trump, not ruffing a loser in dummy before drawing trump, stuff like that. Stuff I wouldn't bat an eyelash at it if were a bridge problem, away from the table. Ok, yesterday I drew a complete blank on a basic 2/1 auction (I couldn't recall if 1H/2D/2H promised 5 or 6), but even that kind of thing will come with repetition.
Granted, I probably won't be able to play 100 hands a week for a good long time (BBO says I've logged 67 in the last 7 days, which is high for me). My reading has slowed to a crawl. Really, I have no real reason to think that my game should be growing by leaps and bounds.
I'm still hungry, though. I (rightly or wrongly) believe that I have the ability to be world class at this game, someday. Someday. My ambition (hubris?) makes me want to get on to the difficult lessons, rather than screwing up the easy stuff over and over again, like I am now.
I'm not getting very many results right now, but that's not the source of my frustration. Results have come in the past, and will continue to come. Today more than most days, it seems like the road ahead is very long, and I'm not exactly sure what the next step is.
I'm largely over the triathlon timeout I had in the spring. I'm back, more or less, to where I was in the early winter. Maybe what's getting to me is that there's still so far to go.
I'm counting, but not as often as I'd like. The hands were I count deep into the hand are always rewarding - I know what's going on in the last few tricks, and can see how it's all going to play out. Alas, this doesn't seem to happen as often as I'd like, and sometimes, I stare blankly as trick after trick rolls by. Maybe it'll come with more time and more work.
Most of the mistakes I'm making lately are on "easy" subjects, at best. Some of them are completely idiotic - miscounting trump, not ruffing a loser in dummy before drawing trump, stuff like that. Stuff I wouldn't bat an eyelash at it if were a bridge problem, away from the table. Ok, yesterday I drew a complete blank on a basic 2/1 auction (I couldn't recall if 1H/2D/2H promised 5 or 6), but even that kind of thing will come with repetition.
Granted, I probably won't be able to play 100 hands a week for a good long time (BBO says I've logged 67 in the last 7 days, which is high for me). My reading has slowed to a crawl. Really, I have no real reason to think that my game should be growing by leaps and bounds.
I'm still hungry, though. I (rightly or wrongly) believe that I have the ability to be world class at this game, someday. Someday. My ambition (hubris?) makes me want to get on to the difficult lessons, rather than screwing up the easy stuff over and over again, like I am now.
I'm not getting very many results right now, but that's not the source of my frustration. Results have come in the past, and will continue to come. Today more than most days, it seems like the road ahead is very long, and I'm not exactly sure what the next step is.
Morale/Concentration
I played 4 spades in a 4/2 fit last night.
I should have made it, too. I conceded an early spade to maintain control. They ruffed at one point, but I got back in, drew trump, and, when I saw that trump were splitting 5/2, I kind of gave up.
Of course, I'd forgotten that they'd ruffed in. Trumps were 4/3, and with long running diamonds outside, we were home free. Instead, I tossed diamonds, and kept my losing hearts, hoping to promote a heart honour after they ruffed in and switched to hearts. Imagine my surprise.
One of my big problems seems to be keeping my morale up. I was very defeatist on this contract. My concentration lapsed for a second, and I compounded my error by tossing winners, in a very dejected mentality.
Obviously, the bigger problem is that I need to bid a bit better. Still, disasters do happen, and will continue to happen no matter how good I get at this game. It would be nice to be sharp and focused when they do. I think 4 spades would have been a top instead of a bottom.
I should have made it, too. I conceded an early spade to maintain control. They ruffed at one point, but I got back in, drew trump, and, when I saw that trump were splitting 5/2, I kind of gave up.
Of course, I'd forgotten that they'd ruffed in. Trumps were 4/3, and with long running diamonds outside, we were home free. Instead, I tossed diamonds, and kept my losing hearts, hoping to promote a heart honour after they ruffed in and switched to hearts. Imagine my surprise.
One of my big problems seems to be keeping my morale up. I was very defeatist on this contract. My concentration lapsed for a second, and I compounded my error by tossing winners, in a very dejected mentality.
Obviously, the bigger problem is that I need to bid a bit better. Still, disasters do happen, and will continue to happen no matter how good I get at this game. It would be nice to be sharp and focused when they do. I think 4 spades would have been a top instead of a bottom.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Almost
I had flawless count, both point-wise and distribution-wise. I knew that RHO could have either red king.
Somehow, I convinced myself to play for hearts being 3-3. /facepalm
I even played the last two tricks to try to "get count". Gah!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Card Combination
There is only one (immediate) outside entry to dummy, and I start in my hand.
What's the best way to tackle this? Obviously, the balancing double may be a clue - I expect west to have longer hearts, but was unsure whether to expect east to have the better hand or not.
I crossed to dummy, and led the queen. When the ten appeared from RHO, I ducked. When the king won, I could clear the suit with the ace, 8 covered by the J9.
If RHO can be expected to hold the balance of power, then this seems ok. If, in a balancing situation, the points may be evenly distributed, but I expect short hearts on my right, maybe low to the Q is right?
Two Declarer Problems
Two from today. One, I think I played correctly, but got a defense error to help. The other, I misplanned.
(Sorry, I haven't the energy to rotate these and whatnot.)
1.
Potentially 5 losers, though the spade finesse should work. The key will be to only lose 1 trump trick.
Not sure what's right, but I led low to the jack, planning on cashing the ace next, and putting anyone with a doubleton honour in a bit of trouble. North rose with the queen before the jack, making 4 hearts straightforward.
Is there a better line?
2.
Ace of diamonds was a hugely helpful lead. I decided to try for 2/2 trumps, and to toss spades on the promoted diamonds. If they're 2/2, I think I can ruff hearts twice, and make on a 3/3 or 4/2 heart break. When trumps were not 2/2, I found that I needed hearts to be 3/3, which they weren't.
I guess I might have had extra chances if the short hearts had also been short on trump, but that seems unlikely.
This feels like a really good puzzle hand, but I'm not sure that I see a winning line here.
(Sorry, I haven't the energy to rotate these and whatnot.)
1.
Potentially 5 losers, though the spade finesse should work. The key will be to only lose 1 trump trick.
Not sure what's right, but I led low to the jack, planning on cashing the ace next, and putting anyone with a doubleton honour in a bit of trouble. North rose with the queen before the jack, making 4 hearts straightforward.
Is there a better line?
2.
Ace of diamonds was a hugely helpful lead. I decided to try for 2/2 trumps, and to toss spades on the promoted diamonds. If they're 2/2, I think I can ruff hearts twice, and make on a 3/3 or 4/2 heart break. When trumps were not 2/2, I found that I needed hearts to be 3/3, which they weren't.
I guess I might have had extra chances if the short hearts had also been short on trump, but that seems unlikely.
This feels like a really good puzzle hand, but I'm not sure that I see a winning line here.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Easy Squeeze?
One of the things that may motivate me to count more consistently is the idea of pulling off a few squeezes.
Red vs white, MPs, we bid to an unopposed 3NT via 4sf.
A spade lead drew the jack from RHO, and the king from my hand.
I saw no harm in trying the club finesse. All the suits are stopped, and the contract is already secure, even on a 5-0 diamond split. Plus, if the finesse loses, RHO might decide that I'm trying to set up some winning clubs, and switch suits. This could give me a trick.
Alas, the finesse failed, and RHO returned the jack of clubs. Interesting.
Seeing no reason to duck, I won, and led a low diamond towards dummy, trying to maximize my chances of picking up a 5-0 diamond split. Both followed, but when I continued the queen, LHO discarded a small spade.
With 8 tricks remaining, I have 6 winners. This shouldn't be squeeze territory, but it turns out the Jack of spades on trick 1 was from a QJ doubleton. Ergo, my ten of spades is the 7th trick, but I don't know that yet.
What I do know is that RHO has the ten of clubs, which is boss. I also know that hearts are going to be interesting, so I make a point of watching LHO's discards carefully.
LHO throws 2 hearts as I run the diamonds. I throw one myself off the board. RHO throws the queen of spades on my final diamond. Yay!
Sadly, I didn't give it too much more thought at the table, but I probably should have. RHO held, before discarding:
At first glance I would have said that that 4 of clubs is the clearly correct discard, but on reflection, I can see why that would be bad. If east discards the small club, I can cash a spade then endplay him in clubs, making him lose his heart trick. (Assuming, of course, that I know what's going on.)
With the queen of spade tabled, I take my 2 spades. RHO discarded the a small heart on the ace, and the ten of clubs under the ten of spades (which I completely overlooked - oops!). Even if it had been the 4, the end result would still have been the same, as LHO was down to a small spade and 2 small hearts. A small heart to the ace, then back to the king will clear the heart suit, dropping the queen and promoting the jack, for the 12th trick.
I wish I could say that I counted it out just like that, but I didn't. I did know, though, that there was still a club out against me, and I knew that RHO was out of spades and diamonds. Once west had followed under both the ace and king of hearts, the finesse was never going to be right.
In the post-mortem, the squeeze was extremely easy to read. Hopefully, as time goes on, that understanding will creep into the pre-mortem.
Red vs white, MPs, we bid to an unopposed 3NT via 4sf.
A spade lead drew the jack from RHO, and the king from my hand.
I saw no harm in trying the club finesse. All the suits are stopped, and the contract is already secure, even on a 5-0 diamond split. Plus, if the finesse loses, RHO might decide that I'm trying to set up some winning clubs, and switch suits. This could give me a trick.
Alas, the finesse failed, and RHO returned the jack of clubs. Interesting.
Seeing no reason to duck, I won, and led a low diamond towards dummy, trying to maximize my chances of picking up a 5-0 diamond split. Both followed, but when I continued the queen, LHO discarded a small spade.
With 8 tricks remaining, I have 6 winners. This shouldn't be squeeze territory, but it turns out the Jack of spades on trick 1 was from a QJ doubleton. Ergo, my ten of spades is the 7th trick, but I don't know that yet.
What I do know is that RHO has the ten of clubs, which is boss. I also know that hearts are going to be interesting, so I make a point of watching LHO's discards carefully.
LHO throws 2 hearts as I run the diamonds. I throw one myself off the board. RHO throws the queen of spades on my final diamond. Yay!
Sadly, I didn't give it too much more thought at the table, but I probably should have. RHO held, before discarding:
At first glance I would have said that that 4 of clubs is the clearly correct discard, but on reflection, I can see why that would be bad. If east discards the small club, I can cash a spade then endplay him in clubs, making him lose his heart trick. (Assuming, of course, that I know what's going on.)
With the queen of spade tabled, I take my 2 spades. RHO discarded the a small heart on the ace, and the ten of clubs under the ten of spades (which I completely overlooked - oops!). Even if it had been the 4, the end result would still have been the same, as LHO was down to a small spade and 2 small hearts. A small heart to the ace, then back to the king will clear the heart suit, dropping the queen and promoting the jack, for the 12th trick.
I wish I could say that I counted it out just like that, but I didn't. I did know, though, that there was still a club out against me, and I knew that RHO was out of spades and diamonds. Once west had followed under both the ace and king of hearts, the finesse was never going to be right.
In the post-mortem, the squeeze was extremely easy to read. Hopefully, as time goes on, that understanding will creep into the pre-mortem.
Simplicity
Ok, I know this seems simple, but I actually took the time to think this through yesterday:
Unless I'm completely misreading this, there's a clear best way to play for 3 tricks. (And yes, I've gotten this wrong in the past, and so have others that I've seen.)
The thing that can be difficult in bridge is that the correct play often goes unrewarded. Last night, though, RHO showed up with Kx in clubs, and I was rewarded for my effort.
Unless I'm completely misreading this, there's a clear best way to play for 3 tricks. (And yes, I've gotten this wrong in the past, and so have others that I've seen.)
The thing that can be difficult in bridge is that the correct play often goes unrewarded. Last night, though, RHO showed up with Kx in clubs, and I was rewarded for my effort.
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