Posted 2014-March-21, 15:18
I know I am getting too old for this forum. Can't we ever make a penalty double anymore?
RHO didn't pre-empt in 1st chair....and we're now supposed to assume that on this delayed pre-empt he holds a solid, classic first seat pre-empt?
End of preliminary rant.
As for what I would do, I think it useful to be able to show a very good playing hand with 10+ cards in the minors, and I have a way to do that: 4♣.
If I trust partner, he can show a good raise, with working cards, via 4♥ without implying a heart control. 4♦ would be a preference, 4♠ would be an offer to play, so the only strength raise he has is 4♥, which is logically sort of LTTC.
Now, he might choose 5♣ with a perfect minimum...the spade A and the club K and nothing else, but even with that, and 4+ clubs, I think he should make the 4♥ call. So while I might miss a decent or even cold slam, I expect 4♣ to allow us to reach 6 most of the time it is good.
I think double, even if takeout, is flawed. It is a 'cook' to know his rebid, and even then it isn't clear that we aren't hanging partner by keycarding.
As for 4N immediately, that is keycard where I come from so it is absurd. Even if, for some reason, it were the minors, it would show longer diamonds than clubs, which isn't what we hold.
4♥ is unambiguously spades, especially when double is takeout. Cues of their suit below 3N need not be a raise, but 4♥ absolutely is, imo.
Btw, if he passes 4♣, which I don't expect, we haven't yet made that contract let alone game and there is some chance we won't: picture QJxxx Kxx xx xxx, and he could have a worse hand than that.
'one of the great markers of the advance of human kindness is the howls you will hear from the Men of God' Johann Hari