How to ...
This interesting hand raised questions on how to play the trumps. It comes from a MATCH POINT session at X-Clubs, Monday 8 June
Spades is trumps and you hold AQJ962; dummy has the singleton 5
Everybody should know how to FINESSE. The idea of finessing is to make as many tricks as possible. In order to be able to finesse, you have to start by leading the FIVE. Otherwise there is no finesse. If you want to win the first TWO tricks, you LEAD the five and put in the jack or queen. That is simple enough, you either win the trick or lose to the king 'off side'
Fifty fifty is it not? But on a longer term basis, you also have the same chance by finessing the NINE: if the TEN is in the pocket the nine will
force out the king. Still a 50:50 shot
But in a match point session you want to make as many tricks as possible so which line do you choose, knowing you can finesse ONLY ONCE
I'd love to get a proper statistical analysis but that may also be complicated by which card next hand follows with when the five is led from dummy. If it is not the ten then declarer can no longer make six tricks from the suit. If any reader is statistically minded or knows someone who is, I'd love to know the answer. As it was at the time, Deep Finesse made 4S by finessing the nine and losing only to the king, so well done to the panelists who would have finessed the nine. But there has to be a proper statistical proof either way, and no, playing the ace the first time is definitely not best
Board 9
Dealer N, EW Vul
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84
T83
AKQJT97
2
ex Bridge Encyclopedia 3rd edition
