[mr1303]

2. IMPs, Unfavourable

♠ A1032
♥ AQ3
♦ --
♣ J106432

RHO you LHO pard
1♠ pass 1NT 2♠
3♠ 4♥ 4♠ pass
pass ?

2S was a Michael's cue-bid, showing hearts and an unspecified minor. Clearly we have a good hand here, and 4H expected to make comfortably. The question is are we going to get a sufficient penalty from 4S doubled, or to take the push to the 5 level?

[helene_t]

Dbl, I'm not going to violate the LOTT by three levels, and certainly not with a void in p's second suit. This should be unanimous. I already considered doubling 3♠.

[helene_t]

(double post)

[jtfanclub]

I give. Looks like an X to me. If partner has an insane hand with 12 cards in the red suits, I expect him to pull.

[Gerben42]

I will pay the 1 time partner has ♣, but if they have ♦ we gotta take what we can get and Dbl.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi

X.

Hopefully the bid I send in my mail.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[Foxx]

Double. Just another problem where there are 50 points in the deck. I will lead the club deuce and we will wreak havoc on this contract if partner can win, read the lead for what it means and return a diamond. Five hearts will not play as well as we think if we get a heart lead, since we will have a lot of diamond losers in partner's dummy to deal with. But we are at unfavorable vulnerability, so I choose to believe that partner is trading on more than a couple of red rags and a 6 count. If they are about to make, the swing on this board was probably going against us anyway. If they are going down, we want to get all that is there.

[Echognome]

Count me amongst the doublers. It's possibly a huge double fit hand, but who knows for sure? I'll take my stand here.

[Dwingo]

Double: With this kind of bidding, I anticipate bad heart breaks and 5H is not going to be easy. Let me go positive.

[Fluffy]

P_Marlowe, on Jul 9 2007, 07:40 PM, said:

Hi

X.

Hopefully the bid I send in my mail.

With kind regards
Marlowe

Same for me hehe

[mikeh]

double.. what else is there?

If partner has diamonds, this will be bloody. If he has clubs, it wil lstill be bloody, but it will be our blood being spilled. I lead the ♥A...I am not going for ruffs, I am going for control.

[skjaeran]

Double. Can't make any guess now, just hope partner had ♦'s, which is odds on.

[mr1303]

When I first put this problem in, I thought it was more interesting than many of the posters. Assuming opponents are sane then 4S is unlikely to go many off, and with a sane partner opposite (who should not be introducing a Michael's cue-bid on rubbish at unfavourable vulnerability) 5 hearts should be safe, and 6 hearts could have possibilities.

However, on further consideration, hearts are most unlikely to break 3-2 on this auction, so we could well have handling difficulties if partner's diamonds are broken, and I think the doublers are correct.

Dbl = 100
5H/5C = 50
Pass = 20

[whereagles]

This problem happened to me at the table in a national open teams.

I don't remember the hands, but I know pard has an offensive 6-5. If you dbl, it goes 1 down on good defense (one slip and you let it through). Still, it's the best you can get, as 5♥ goes 1 down.

[whereagles]

Hum.. I just remembered up pard's hand. He had

x
JT9xxx
AKQxx
x

Funny.. I don't see how 5♥ fails to make.

[ArtK78]

Indeed. If that is partner's hand, 5♥ is a claim, and 6♥ has some play. Meanwhile, you are not beating 4♠x more than 3 tricks, possibly less.