See Gee Spot Run

None Vul
IMPs
Dealer: South
Lead: 3

	wildcats 5 K Q 10 8 6 A K 8 7 5 Q 2
bilgin 9 4 3 A 9 5 4 3 Q 4 3 10 3		sauron K Q 7 6 J 2 J 10 9 6 2 9 5
	Maestro A J 10 8 2 7 — A K J 8 7 6 4

West Pass Pass Pass Pass

North 1 3 6

East Pass Pass Pass

South 1 2 4 Pass

The diligent reader may recall a recent discussion of the Gee Spot, which, to review, is the percentage difference between the optimum line on a hand and Gee’s actual line.

Today, for instance, N/S reach an excellent club slam after a rather shaky auction. Myself, I wouldn’t want to sign off in my 5-card suit with a 5-1-0-7 four-loser hand after hearing my partner force twice and promise no support, but I’m funny that way. In any case North guesses to jump to 6C, and his guess proves out. Almost.

West finds the excellent lead of a trump, without which the hand is cold on almost any layout. Let’s pause and calculate the Gee Spot. The optimal line is to win in hand and lead a heart. This wins whenever West holds the heart ace, or East holds it but lacks another trump to lead, provided neither defender can ruff in on the red suit winners. Adding all the possibilities we wind up at 58% or so for the optimum line.

Gee wins the lead in hand and, postponing the problem of disposing of his spade losers (how? somehow), leads a second round of trump, discards a heart and a spade on the two top diamonds, and attempts to play AJ108 opposite a stiff for one loser. This is only a near-zero play; it wins whenever East holds exactly K9, Q9, or KQ9. The total chance of success rounds up to 5%, giving us a Gee Spot on 58% – 5%, or 53.

After the hand North, the normally mild-mannered wildcats, is moved to observe that the hand was cold — I exclude several exclamation marks — not that he means that in a negative way. The specs buzz, as ever:

Spec #1: what a surprise – the 1st time its been played off :)
Spec #2: is this an exp table??????????????
Spec #3: H trick 2 seemed auto pilot
G: I think I am too tired
G: make this the last…
Spec #4: yeah, that’s the reason
G: when I reach that point, I can’t think any more
G: but I did not want to go to bed without playing a few with you:)
Spec #1: i think the barracking from the spectators put him off and he should be allowed to replay it:)
Spec #5: not sure he makes in replay
Spec #6: that won’t help
Spec #7: I swear I might start saving these hands for a book for novices on typical mistakes to avoid

Word to Spec #7: Don’t even think about it. I’m writing that book.