[Apollo81]

♠Ax
♥K10x
♦QJxxx
♣AJx

favorable, MPs

(1♠)-Dbl-(3♠)*-???

*weak

[helene_t]

Double. I hope p will pass or bid 3N or 4♦, but of course 4♣ is more likely. Then I wonder if 4♦ would be forcing. I suppose it is so I can bid 4♦ over p's 4♣. Otherwise I would have to bid 4♠ (choice of game).

[karlson]

Double seems clear enough to me. Hopefully partner with 2 spades will sit it out.

[kfay]

I'll start with a double. Though, like Helene, I can't say i'm sure if 4♦ over 4♣ is forcing. If partner bids 4♥ I'll think about this some more but I'm going red card first just to see what happens.

[mikeh]

double looks like a perfect 'poll' answer: it gets you by this round (if partner passes you rate to be 500 or more) and you don't have to say what you'll do when partner bids 4♣.

Kudos to Helene for actually going beyond double to explain her plan.

I would be very worried that partner won't read 4♠ as choice of games. If we held, for example, Axx Kx QJxx AJxx, we'd be trying for slam, and we might well want to try via 4♠.. picturing x Axxx A10xx KQxx as not unreasonable. And we can't use keycard because a 2 keycard response would get us beyond our safety level.

Anyway, I'm taking the coward's way out by doubling and I'm not saying what I'll do if/when he bids 4♣... maybe I won't have to.

[karlson]

I think 4d over 4c is forcing, but shows a different hand, offering a choice of diamonds or hearts (xx Kxxx AQxxx Qx or whatnot). With this hand I think we just have to bid 5d over 4c. Maybe partner can raise.

[mike777]

If this is a bidding problem then double or cuebid must be the answer.....

[awm]

I'll go with 4♠.

The thing is, I've seen a lot of polls where the auction goes 1♠-X-3♠-X-Pass and we have the takeout doubler's hand. It seems like people often vote for pass when we have 1444 shape and reasonable defense, on the reasoning that "partner's double is usually 3244, we have only 8-card fits so if we make at the four-level they are down two at the three-level" or people saying "we will often get +200 on hands where we may not have a game" or such things.

I am sure that double is a good blame transfer, in that if partner passes and it's wrong we can always say "bad partner, why did you pass instead of bidding" whereas if partner bids and it's wrong we can say "bad partner, why didn't you pass the double and take our plus" but I don't realistically think that partner has any way to go right.

[han]

Also double. I play 4D over 4C as forcing with Arend, as it should be imo.

[whereagles]

3NT. Hamman's rule... "If 3NT is one of the possible bids, BID IT."

[jdonn]

A bit torn between 3NT and dbl, I think I would dbl. I am happy if partner passes, and if he doesn't I bid 5♦ next (even if 3NT makes exactly, maybe 5♦ makes an overtrick?)

[neilkaz]

Favorable vul ! I voted double. If PD passes I expect 500 and that should beat 400 or 430 if 3NT makes and perhaps we do better in 5♦ or 4♥ (pd may have 5) or perhaps 3NT is set. Double also may get us to 6♦ if PD has extras.

.. neilkaz ..

[jdonn]

Jlall, on Nov 16 2007, 10:01 PM, said:

jdonn, on Nov 16 2007, 09:50 PM, said:

(even if 3NT makes exactly, maybe 5♦ makes an overtrick?)

I think the reverse is way more likely, but obviously 3N is more likely to go down than 3N as well.

I don't really think so with spades just stopped once. There are lots of hands for partner where you have the spade ace, 8 tricks in two of your suits, and off the ace of your third suit, but partner has a stiff spade (or you get to pitch one from hand) so the missing ace is your only loser in diamonds. This seems like a very real possiblity to me and is actually what tilts me toward double in the end.

[Apollo81]

To the doublers: do you think there's any chance of partner passing with a singleton spade?

[han]

No.

[dicklont]

Double. I would like to bid 3NT but I don't think 9 tricks can be taken from the start.

[dake50]

I use xfer advances, and must show S control with 5 Neap. controls with 4H -> S slamming cue to partner's T/O double.

The only question for me is D-xfer 1st, then S-cue. I fear that over-emphasizes my diamonds.

Either xfer lets partner progress not fearing controls shortage.