[jschafer]

Ops vul. IMPs (EDIT: adding scoring)

(1♣)-Pass-(1♠)-Pass
(2♠)-Pass-(4♠)-Pass
(Pass)-Pass

♠73
♥Q543
♦QT543
♣AT

What do you lead?

This post has been edited by jschafer: Yesterday, 23:03

[mike777]

AC

[jillybean]

I have to agree with you.

[apollo1201]

I d lead a passive trump. The auction reveals nothing. So no need to play the hero.

2nd choice would be a small D, less neutral but less likely to blow a trick than H or C. And if partner has the J, K, or A and K with declarer, will have achieved something.

Of course partner has KC and gives me a ruff to sink an otherwise cold game. But the next 4 times, I will just have made declarer s K high, opener had 3 small.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

I would go with a diamond.
The Ace works, when we get a ruff, but that req. trump control and club control.
I dont believe in trump control, and club is openers suit.

Diamonds will establish side tricks.

I used to lead trumps more often, I rarely do now, if I have something reasonable
as an alternative.
The Bird / Anthias books said, you lead trumps, if you dont want to get a ruff yourself.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[TMorris]

Also a diamond for me.

[mikeh]

A few comments:

Is the OP trying to drum up business for the website he advertises? If so, this isn’t the place for it, afaik. There’s Bridge Materials forum that may be more appropriate.

My preliminary take is that the problem is of limited interest and the website likely of even less given that the OP doesn’t seem to realize that the form of scoring often and, in this case, should affect how one reasons one’s lead.

At imps, we want to beat the contract, even if trying to do so blows one or more overtricks. At mps, beating the contract on this sort of auction, with this sort of hand, is usually a bad idea. The opponents have bid with confidence (based solely on the auction) and rate to be making the great majority of the time. We have the worst possible trump holding, so no reason to suspect bad breaks.

No competent analyst would think that the form of scoring was not worth mentioning.

As for what I’d lead, at mps unhesitatingly a diamond. At imps, I’d tend to lead diamonds as well. If I had a semblance of a quick trick elsewhere, I might lead the heroic club Ace, but when taking three fast tricks in clubs doesn’t assure us of a plus score, I think it’s too risky. And I need an unlikely parlay for a club attack at trick one to work, although one possible side benefit would be to look at dummy. But all too often, leading an Ace to look at dummy simply tells us that we should have led something else😀

Yes, I know that ultimately the form of scoring didn’t change my choice of leads, but it did change my thought processes, making the club far more attractive than it would be at matchpoints.

[jschafer]

mikeh: it was IMPs, forgot to add it (now in the OP). The signature is a plain text link now, and I'll share an intro in Bridge Material Review as you suggested.

At the table I led the ♣A, so I'm with mike777 and jillybean. My thinking was the 1♣ opener on my left rates to hold the ♣K more so than RHO.