Two Possibilities, I

Question

• Alice clues blue to Bob, which touches one card on slot 2.
• Bob writes a card note with the identity of the card.

1. What card note does Bob write?
2. What action should Bob perform?

Solution

1. Bob writes "b2, b3 if blue 2 f".
   • Bob knows that this must be a Play Clue on his blue card, since it is not on chop. Blue 2 has not been played and has not been touched elsewhere, so this card could be the blue 2.
   • However, Bob also sees a blue 2 on Cathy's Finesse Position, so Alice could have performed a Reverse Finesse. If that is the case, this card could be a blue 3.
2. Bob must entertain the possibility of a Reverse Finesse, so he cannot play the blue card immediately. Assuming there is nothing useful to clue in Alice's hand, Bob should just discard (and avoid cluing the blue 2).
   • If Cathy blind-plays her blue 2 on her turn, Bob can update his note to "b2, b3 if blue 2 f | b3".
   • If Cathy has nothing more urgent to do and still does not play her blue 2 on her turn, Bob can update his note with "b2, b3 if blue 2 f | b2".