The Walrus gives himself an extra chance

Wally the Walrus and Pete the Pellican were partners at a special game at the Safari Club. The last round they faced the Secretary Bird and the Rueful Rabbit, and played this deal:

                ♠ J 8 6
                ♥ K 5 2
                ♦ 10 9 7
                ♣ J 9 5 3
♠ 5 3                             ♠ A 7
♥ A 10 9 7                        ♥ Q J 8 6 4 3
♦ Q 6 3                           ♦ 8 4 2
♣ 10 8 7 4                        ♣ Q 6
                ♠ K Q 10 9 4 2
                ♥ ---
                ♦ A K J 5
                ♣ A K 2

       North          South
       Pass           2♣
       2♦            2♠
       3♠            6♠
       Pass

Against 6♠, the Secretary Bird led the ♥A, an unfortunate lead.
The Walrus ruffed and led the ♠K, taken by the Rueful Rabbit with the ace. He returned the ♥Q. The Walrus started to discard his low club, then paused to think. Why decide what to do now? It should be better to defer the decision -- the discard could always be taken later. So, he ruffed.

The Walrus drew another round of trumps, then played the ♣A K. On the second high club, the Rueful Rabbit played the ♣Q.

Aha, thought the Walrus. Now I can finesse West for the ♣10, and discard a losing diamond on the ♣J and another on the ♥K. I'm a genius!

Putting thought into action, he lead a club to the 9, and the Rueful Rabbit won the ♣10. The above layout that the Walrus expected, was actually this:

                ♠ J 8 6
                ♥ K 5 2
                ♦ 10 9 7
                ♣ J 9 5 3
♠ 5 3                         ♠ A 7
♥ A 10 9 7 3                  ♥ Q J 8 6 4
♦ 8 6 3                       ♦ Q 4 2
♣ 8 7 4                       ♣ Q 10 6
                ♠ K Q 10 9 4 2
                ♥ ---
                ♦ A K J 5
                ♣ A K 2

"What? Why did you do that?" thundered the Walrus.

The RR's neck turned red. Even though he should be used to it by now, he hated to be yelled at. "I, well, I ..." was all he could manage.

None of the other animals could decide, even later, if he made a great play, or pulled the wrong card. Most suspected the latter.

In the bar after the game, the Hideous Hog held court.

"Norman Kay played a deal like this in a world championship," said the HH. "When he finessed the club, it worked and was called brilliant. Somehow, brilliant plays don't work against the RR. There must be a metaphysical reason, or maybe it's a zen thing - I get those mixed up.

"All this talk makes me thirsty for a bottle of wine. Waiter!"