Quote
BBO 8:52am 25°C in ur room so everything ok but
then u receive that hand :
IMP all vulnerable
J
K965
A87
AKJ102
and the auction goes a "dragstar" way
LHO dealer open 4S , ur partner Pass and RHO 5S , to you .
My bid =
PASS
I play a DOUBLE here still as takeout, although partner passes my takeout at this level about 70% of the time. However, even though I have the "perfect takeout double type hand for my treatment on this auction", the given hand at the given Vulnerabilty, I am afraid
I will simply choose a tame PASS over 5-SPADES, and hope they are one level too high and I get +100. Here is why I pass.
This is a very dangerous hand. Let's assume you know that WEST is a strong intermediate or better player. He will be very close to making his bid when he opens a VULNERABLE 4S , surely at least 8 tricks, and maybe nine.
So you have to think about what the FIVE spade bid means. If you were VUL and they were not, I would think that EAST was just raising the level of the preempt to make it hard for you to find your best fit.
But when they are VUL, I seriously doubt this is a mear raise the level of the preempt. So EAST must have something like 3 or maybe 4 likely tricks and is inviting slam if West has good SPADES for the given auction.
Therefore, it is likely that the opponents will have 10 or 11 tricks in spades, and maybe even 12 (if EAST has a CLUB void, for instance, for his failure to use blackwood).
So if I make my 5SPADE takeout double, here is what will happen. The bidding might go....
4S-P-5S-X-P-P-XX-P-P-P making five (-1200) or six (-1600) when East holds something like
S-xxxx H-AQJx D-KQJxx C-void
or
4S-P-5S-X-P-6D-X going down maybe six vul for -1700 when partner has
S-K H-7653 D-Txxxx C-xxx
So if East or West is off their rocker, and they have terrifically overbid, I will just stayed fixed. For I have discovered a long time ago that if the opponents are trying for slam, it is the wrong time to go doubling them at the five level (an exception for the psychic
stripped tail ape double if you know what that is). :

After you rack up a few -1200, -1600, and -1700 you will be willing to stay fixed occassional on hands like this one of your opponents makes a lucky wacky bid like he would when not vul when he is vul.
If West raise to 6 SPADES, I will double, but I know that is might still make despite my two aces, I just hope I can score the HEART KING and DIAMOND ACE or two ACES.