[alphatango]

Submitted for general consideration.

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EW are playing some sort of SAYC-based system; partner's 3H was preemptive, showing four trumps and a weak hand.
(1) Do you agree with your calls in the auction so far? If not, what would you have done differently?
(2) What do you do now, and what would you do at other vulnerabilities?

[Fluffy]

Opponents are vulnerable? take the sure plus.

I don't like double of 4♦, the bidding will not end there and you are alerting them, I'd just bid 4♥.

[nige1]

alphatango, on 2010-November-20, 11:21, said:

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Submitted for general consideration.
EW are playing some sort of SAYC-based system; partner's 3H was preemptive, showing four trumps and a weak hand.
(1) Do you agree with your calls in the auction so far? If not, what would you have done differently?
(2) What do you do now, and what would you do at other vulnerabilities?

IMO, 6♥ = 10. _X = 5.
In this context, we don't play pass as forcing but, whatever t means, I think you should settle for the small slam.

[mtvesuvius]

I double. Partner does NOT have to have anything decent in trumps at this Vul, and therefore I am willing to give up on a possible +980 (or 1210) for the mundane +500 or so.

[mfa1010]

1st round: I would double 1♦.

2nd round: Agree with double. They are potentially in trouble it seems at this point. 4♦X might be the final contract or if LHO runs unilaterally to 5♣, partner might have an opinion about that contract. The alternative is an effort to discover if partner has ♥A or ♥K. Blackwood or 5♥.

3rd round: Can't think of anything better than 5♦.

4th round: 6♥. We might go down but such is life. If partner's pass is encouraging, he should have something useful which can almost only be a heart honour. Even if this is unclear I bid 6♥.
It would be a little naive to think that we are about to get wealthy against 6♣X. I expect 200. But on a bad day it slips through. West's bidding opposite a potential misfit marks him with a black monster and he will buy a good dummy with no ♦-wastage. If it is 5-7 opposite a 1273 distribution, the play may go: heart lead to A, spade from dummy, 12 tricks by ruffing three spades and setting up the 5th.

[CSGibson]

alphatango, on 2010-November-20, 11:21, said:

Submitted for general consideration.

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This hand is terrifying to me. There are 3 ways to lose: We can make 6 hearts but not bid it, they can make 6 clubs and we don't sac, and we press on to 6 hearts with both going down (and in some of those cases we've already lost because they have found a good sac).

Now, some of you might be laughing at the possibility of them making, but take a look at the bidding:

Our opponents are bidding like crazy vul vs not with a max of 22 HCP, so they are quite distributional.

East has bid 2♣ than 4♠, when he had a negative X available. He has 11-13 black cards, IMO, for this bidding.

West freely bid 4♦ at the 4 level missing the AKQ of the suit, then gave preference to clubs over spades. West has 10-12 cards in the minors, with 7-8 diamonds and 3-4 clubs.

Based on this bidding, I would guess that it is a likely possiblility that East has at most 1♦, and just as likely 0. It is also very likely that West has 1 spade.

At most, I see getting this contract off one, for 200, and I think that our percentage play is therefore to bid the heart slam. I think it is even clearer at imps than matchpoints, too, because the potential loss if either slam makes is too much not to take out some cheap insurance.

[mcphee]

The idea that we double 4D (which is just possible we may not beat) when we have a possible slam remains a mystery to me. The next part is we may not beat 6C either however I am far more optimistic. Still I think we only need partner to have 2S for slam to have a play, maybe even make 7! A 4th of trumps and 2S bingo, K falls under the ace, or K 4th. Seems to me bidding 6H is the clear winner.