[ArtK78]

Scoring: MP

(3♣) - x - (4♣) - 4♠
(P) - ?

---

Pass or move on?

[jjbrr]

pass. my bad trumps and bad hearts are more than enough to offset my good ♦ and first round ♣ control

[PhantomSac]

Despite my overwhelming extra values and great trumps, I'm gonna try a pass here.

[ArtK78]

It is easy to dismiss this as clear cut. Yet, slam is very good.

Partner has a good hand but a similar inability to bid further than game:

Scoring: MP

(3♣) - x - (4♣) - 4♠
(P) - ?

---

On the expected club lead, 6♠ is a claim. Even on a heart lead it turns out to be a lucky make, as the 4♣ bidder has AT of spades and xx of diamonds.

I didn't think that the doubler had a rational action over 4♠ other than pass.

[rogerclee]

ArtK78, on Mar 7 2010, 09:23 PM, said:

It is easy to dismiss this as clear cut.

We agree.

[jdonn]

ArtK78, on Mar 7 2010, 11:23 PM, said:

I didn't think that the doubler had a rational action over 4♠ other than pass.

We agree.

[mich-b]

ArtK78, on Mar 7 2010, 11:23 PM, said:

It is easy to dismiss this as clear cut.  Yet, slam is very good.

Partner has a good hand but a similar inability to bid further than game:

Dealer: East Vul: None Scoring: MP

♠ KQxxxx ♥ Ax ♦ xx ♣ Kxx ♠ J98x ♥ xxxx ♦ AKQJx ♣

(3♣) - x - (4♣) - 4♠ (P) - ?

I think North should have bid more than 4♠, and even a jump to 6♠ would be reasonable.

[Siegmund]

North has a bit in reserve; doubler hasn't, IMO.

And I would not call a club lead 'expected', when our side has the king.

[ArtK78]

Siegmund, on Mar 8 2010, 04:18 AM, said:

North has a bit in reserve; doubler hasn't, IMO.

And I would not call a club lead 'expected', when our side has the king.

It is amazing how often the opponents lead a suit that they bid and raised.

In any event, a club was led, and slam was easy.

Sure North has something in reserve for his 4♠ bid, but any action other than 4♠ could easily turn a plus into a minus. For example, suppose partner had this fairly normal looking double:

AJxx
KQJx
QJTx
x

I guess this is just another hand where you have to chalk up the result to preempts work.

[pooltuna]

PhantomSac, on Mar 7 2010, 11:08 PM, said:

Despite my overwhelming extra values and great trumps, I'm gonna try a pass here.

in a heartbeat seems descriptively too slow. How about "so fast that parnter has UI" .

[ArtK78]

This hand occurred yesterday at the one-session Charity Pairs event held in conjunction with the celebration of the life of Dave Treadwell. The event was held at the Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware. There were about 150 family and friends in attendance, and I was honored to be one of the speakers to relate some of my personal experiences with Dave. I will have a post about the event in Dave's honor (sounds so much better than in his memory) within a few days.

The pair game consisted of 2 sections of 12 tables each. The strength of the field was extremely mixed, with some internationalists and some novices. Still, for the most part, it was a pretty good field.

The bridge event was the last item on the agenda, following a brunch and the program in honor of Dave. By the time the bridge event ended, most everyone was anxious to leave (including the directing staff). I obtained a personal printout of my scores for the event, but there was no recap printed for my section.

I can say that scoring +480 on this hand was worth 5.5 matchpoints out of 10. So it appears that slam was reached rarely, if ever.

[Fluffy]

Partner can have the right AKA and make a grand, but our 5 level safety is extremlly poor.

[jjbrr]

ArtK78, on Mar 8 2010, 10:01 AM, said:

I will have a post about the event in Dave's honor (sounds so much better than in his memory) within a few days.

Looking forward to reading this

[nigel_k]

I'd say that neither player is that close to bidding more - sometimes preempts work. If anything, I think the doubler is a bit closer to moving than the 4♠ bidder though.