Too Many Points #10-05

IMPROVE YOUR PLAY
with Larry Matheny

Can your hand ever be too strong? Here's a hand where a player had half of the high card points in the deck but his best action was to just pass. Take a look.

Scoring: Matchpoints (Pairs)

Hand #5
Dlr	N
Vul	E/W

	10843
	J9652
	J6
	Q3

	AKQ75
	KQ
	K1083
	K7

	62
	873
	9542
	10942

	J9
	A104
	AQ7
	AJ865

West	North	East	South
	Pass	Pass	1NT
DBL	2*	Pass	2
DBL	End

*Jacoby Transfer

BIDDING: West was delighted to hold such a good hand and was still counting his points when his right hand opponent opened a 15-17 1NT. West considered his options and finally made a penalty double. Holding a five-card heart suit, North used a transfer bid so that his partner's stronger hand would declare. Now what was West to do? He didn't know it but his was his last chance to secure a good score and he could only do this by passing. This was in a pairs event and some players doubled again while some bid their spade suit. At this table, West doubled and East felt he had no place to run.

PLAY: West led the ace of spades and then shifted to a trump. Declarer knew that West must hold most if not all of the missing high cards so he continued with a low club toward dummy. West won the king, cashed his high heart, and then played the king of spades. When declarer followed with the jack, West continued with a low spade for his partner to ruff. Declarer over trumped and then led a low club to the queen followed by a diamond to his ace. He then proceeded to run the club suit pitching dummy's remaining losers making the contract with an overtrick. West kept saying "But, I had twenty points!".

Those in the West chair who bid spades rather than doubling were usually down only one but repeated trump leads would hold West to six tricks. Should West have bid again over 2