kantarbridge.com
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North |
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♠ 10 9 8 |
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♥ Q J 8 7 5 |
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♦ A J 10 |
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♣ 5 4 |
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South |
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♠ 7 |
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♥ A K 10 9 4 |
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♦ K 9 3 |
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♣ A K J 3 |
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After you open 1♥, partner makes a limit raise, you try 4♣, partner cooperates with 4♦. You check for keycards and discover that partner has an ace and the ♥Q. That’s enough for you to bid 6♥.
West leads the ♠K, gets an encouraging signal and continues with a low spade to East’s ace and you trump making both opponents unhappy. Hearts are 2-1. How do you plan to keep them unhappy?
Don’t you dare put all of your eggs in one finesse basket! After drawing trumps, the way to stay alive is to play the ♣AK and ruff a club. If the queen appears (think 37%), the ♣J is high and can be used to discard a diamond. If the ♣Q remains at large, go fishing for the ♦Q. At least a 70% chance is better than a 50% ‘too quick’ finesse chance.
Tip: When faced with a two-way finesse for a queen (diamonds), the idea is to try to determine which opponent started with the longer diamonds and play that opponent for the queen. In other words you have to count! If you can’t tell, might as well play the opponent you dislike the most for the queen. At least if the finesse works, it gives you more satisfaction. Good luck!
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♠ 10 9 8 |
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♥ Q J 8 7 5 |
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♦ A J 10 |
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♣ 5 4 |
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| ♠ K Q 6 4 2 |
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♠ A J 5 3 |
| ♥ 6 |
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♥ 3 2 |
| ♦ 7 6 5 4 |
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♦ Q 8 2 |
| ♣ Q 10 6 |
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♣ 9 8 7 2 |
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♠ 7 |
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♥ A K 10 9 4 |
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♦ K 9 3 |
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♣ A K J 3 |
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