Second hand emotion
Say you're defending a no-trump game, holding Q-7-6 in a suit nobody bid. Dummy leads the jack from A-J-10-8. Sitting second, do you play high or low?
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posted by Paul @ 3:26 PM
2 comments:
Low fer shur! When the king wins, the queen is still good as a stopper.
It's a convoluted situation. I agree with your choice, but here's my reasoning. Either your partner has the king, or declarer does: it's 50/50.
If your partner has the king, then playing low is the way to go: the king will win the trick and the queen is positioned after dummy to take another trick in the suit.
BUT if declarer has the king and you play low, the jack can win that trick, and the queen may well fall under the king or the ace.
Seems like even odds. But my thinking was: play low. Declarer doesn't know where the queen is. If he has the king he may well be looking for a finesse. His next step might be to try the finesse in the other direction, leading low from his hand and playing the 10 from dummy. Then the queen is a winner.
If only my analysis could be that careful in the heat of a game. Maybe after another 30 years.
Would you still play low if you only had Q-7?
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