Calling the Twenty — Puzzle M1

Trick 6 of a Normal Game. The XX hit the table two tricks ago, so everyone knows P1 and you (P3) are the team. Now Hearts are led, your partner P1 has trumped the trick with the XVIII, the third player followed with a low Heart, and you are last. You hold K♥ and J♥ and must follow Hearts.

zwanzigerrufen Puzzle #178

Which Heart do you play?

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Answer

The K♥. Your side is winning this trick, so feed it your fattest legal card: five Card Points straight into the team’s pile. In this game a King is only half a trick on its own (5-card suits get trumped early): banking it inside a won trick is often its best life.