| Holiday Quiz -- Answers!
Congratulations to James McGee who had three correct solutions, and just missed nailing a perfect score, as he made one minor error on the fourth puzzle.
The Solutions:
Puzzle reminder: Here are four hands. All are keeper or hold hands. The scores are very close, with no more than a ten point lead for anyone. You are playing hand #8. What is your plan for each scenario?
HAND #1
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Setup: The opening lead is taken by your Right hand opponent, who plays the Ace of clubs. You let go of the nine spot - a very essential play. He tables the ten of spades, as you cover with your Jack, and the Ace is won in fourth seat. The nine of spades fetches the seven, your King, and the deuce. Eight spades are down. What is your best line of play to avoid getting trapped?
Solution: Shift to the diamond suit. If the Ace is taken, you can win any return, and you will strip the hand as you play your last club and your last two diamonds. Now comes the spade eight. It wins, as at least one heart is discarded. Play the heart Ace followed by the three of hearts, and you are home free. If the Ace of diamonds does not appear early, you must continue this suit until the Ace is played, or until you have cleared your three honor cards.
HAND #2
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Setup: Here is a real beast! You win the Ace of clubs. Now what?
Solution: A beast? Not really. Play the Jack of spades. If it is taken by the Ace or the spade King, and a minor suit (clubs or diamonds) is then played by an opponent, you'll win a high club or the diamond King, if they let this latter card win. Obviously, if the holder of the spade Queen is short in either minor suit, you will be nailed! Go back to spades. You hope to win a heart early. Clear the last club or diamond. Now you will have to guess the hearts. If you are out of spades, the heart suit must now be explored. Lead the six spot. Watch the spots which fall. Your deuce of hearts will provide a passage to safety, barring bad breaks.
HAND #3
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Setup: Now we have to sweat out the spade suit! The deuce of clubs is played by your left hand opponent. The Ace comes up in second seat, and the Queen of clubs appears. You drop that junk tenspot. Of course, a low spade is pushed, and the nine is played. You insert the Jack, and the Ace wins the trick. Another spade is driven, and this time, three low spots appear, as your ten is winning. What is the best plan here?
Solution: Now, we have a real beast! After winning the second round of spades, you need to clean up the mess! Win the King of clubs and cash the diamonds from the top down: Ace, Queen, and two. When the times comes, play a high heart. A lot depends on the actual play -- you might be able to find the Spade King in a favorable position. You may receive a club lead or a diamond lead, and then it's sayonara to the spade Queen. Or you may find youself with a difficult lead scenario in the latter part of the hand.
HAND #4
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Setup: Here is a distributional layout - a bit unusual for keeper hands. You will need a lot of luck to escape from this mess! The opening club lead is won by the Ace on your right, as you drop the nine, and two high clubs also are played. You heave a sigh of relief as the three of clubs is tabled, and once again you play low, and the other two opponents follow suit. Now, a predictable spade is pushed, and you win the Ace, as the opponents follow with middle spades. You play the Ace of diamonds, and the Jack, nine, and eight are unloaded. OK- now what?
Solution: This is a pattern hand, and you will have to rely on good fortune here. The spade suit is very vulnerable. First, cash the club King. Then shift back to diamonds. Play the entire suit until it is exhausted. Now move on to the heart Ace, followed by Jack of hearts. Whoever wins this trick must have the highest heart, as well as a low spade, in order to "croak" you. This line provides the best chance of escaping.
A Tricky Puzzle
Is it possible to shoot the moon with this holding (it sure looks good...)?
Here are some facts (clues):
a. Nobody holds more than three hearts.
b. One opponent has the Queen of spades with four other spades, and the Ace of diamonds with three small accompanying diamonds.
c. A different opponent holds only two diamonds and three small hearts, and will discard a heart at the earliest opportunity.
d. A heart is tossed on the second round of spades.
e. Hearts may not be led until a heart has been played previously, or you win the Queen of spades.
Here is the way the hand will play out for the first several tricks:
You win the Ace and King of clubs, everyone following. Now you try the King and Queen of diamonds, as one player tosses the three and the deuce successively. The Ace of diamonds does not appear. The player who tossed the low diamonds has no more diamonds. The player who holds the spade Queen and the diamond Ace is not required to drop Her Royal Majesty at first opportunity. You now shift suits and win the Ace and King of spades, and a heart is discarded on the King of spades. Assuming best defense, is it possible to shoot the Moon here? Is the Ace of diamonds a stopper?
Look for the answer next month. If you think you know it, send an email to me at heartsmoon@aol.com!
 A K  A K Q J 10 9  K Q J  A K
Events
Grand Prix World Series of Hearts
Cleveland, OH - September 16-18, 2005
Twenty MSN Zone players will be invited to attend as part of the 2005 event. These are special invites, in addition to the regular qualifiers.
If you want to come to the World Series of Hearts, please send an e-mail to heartsmoon@aol.com.
For the latest information about Hearts Tournaments, check out the Grand Prix Site:
Grand Prix - The World Series of Euchre, Spades & Hearts
Season’s Greetings and Happy Holidays to all!
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