Answers:
1.
Hint: What tricks will your partner's hand provide in your contract?
Answer: You have a great hand. First, let's talk about level. Certainly you can make game. Can you make a slam? Partner can't have a one-loser heart suit and the
♦A - that would be a 1H opener. Likewise, partner shouldn't have no heart losers either. A club slam? While it's possible that partner could have the
♥A and the
♣Q, there are still two spade losers to worry about, not to mention a possible 4-1 trump split. Still, there is no way to find out without getting too high.
So, the right level is game. Which game? The hint should have warned you away from 3NT; your partner's hand is unlikely to produce more than one trick. The only way to make your partner's hand valuable is to make hearts trump. Bid 4H.
4H has another advantage; if West thinks you are bidding 4H to steal, he is in for a very nasty surprise.
2.
Hint: What is the most likely game to make?
Answer: Partner should have seven hearts to the king. Seven heart tricks and two aces are nine sure tricks; and there isn't a tenth sure trick in 4H. The recommended call is 3NT.
4H might be better when partner doesn't have the
♥K but 3NT is a lot better when partner does and partner is very likely to have it - (a) because partner has seven of the ten remaining hearts so will have the
♥K 70% of the time even if they open 3H on any seven hearts, and (b) partner shouldn't open 3H on
♥ J9xxxxx.
3.
Hint: A new suit response is forcing, even over a preempt.
Answer: First, let's examine our game prospects. If partner has the
♥AK, there are still five likely losers in any contract - the
♠A,
♦AK and
♣AK. In hearts, you are likely to have a trump loser; in spades, you may have another trump loser as well as a small card to deal with in each minor. 3NT isn't a bargain even if partner has a cover card; the opponents have plenty of high cards to get in to run their long suit.
You might consider running to 3S hoping that partner has spade support but 3S is a forcing bid and you are likely to get to an unmakeable game. You should get out before the doubling starts. The recommended call is Pass.
4.
Hint: What can you make? What can they make? Can you make it harder for them to reach their best spot?
Answer: Your opponents have the majority of strength and are likely to have enough for a game. Do you really think they are going to let you have the contract for 3H? That's very optimistic.
If they do have a game, you can afford to go down 2 tricks in 4H doubled. Partner usually is 3 tricks short of his bid for an equal vulnerability preempt*, so you need to provide 2 tricks to be able to make 8 (down 2 in 4H.) The
♠A is one, diamonds may produce another, or a club ruff could produce a trick. Take away the room they need to find their best spot; bid 4H now. If their points are evenly split, you might get away undoubled since they don't know you're not bidding 4H to make.
For those that know it, the Law of Total Tricks suggests bidding for as many tricks as you have trumps in a competitive auction. Your side should have ten trumps, which suggests competing to the four level. Doing so right away is much more effective than letting the opponents communicate and then bidding 4H later (if that's available.)
*You and your partner may have an agreement on how aggressive your preempts are. My suggestion is that you bid to go down slightly less than the value of their game if doubled when partner provides one trick; hoping that when partner can't produce a trick, that the opponents are missing a slam. This means down 4 with no help when only they are vulnerable, down 2 when only we are vulnerable, and down 3 at equal vulnerability. In the old days, the advice given was down 2 vulnerable and down 3 not vulnerable. I believe that rule causes you to give up many opportunities to make life difficult for your opponents.
5.
Hint: How will the play go in your contract?
Answer: This hand doesn't have much more high-card strength than hand 1 but it has tricks. If partner has the
♥A, you have seven hearts, four diamonds, and the
♠A. If partner has the
♣A and the
♥Q (or hearts are 1-1 or onside), you can promote six hearts to go with two clubs and four diamonds and the
♠A. So if partner has an ace, you'd like to be in a slam. Bid whatever form of Blackwood you and your partner have agreed to play, and if partner shows an ace, bid the slam.
And I repeat: Hint: How will the play go in your contract?
So partner shows an ace, and you bid 6H. And the opening lead is the
♣Q. Oops - you have 12 tricks but the opponents get two tricks first. That's sad, but as long as you imagined this scenario before you bid, you will be okay. You have twelve tricks and want to protect the
♣K. The lead must come up to your hand, which means your bid must make you the declarer. The recommended call, assuming partner shows an ace, is 6NT. (This works if partner has the
♣A as well, as you are protected from a spade lead through your
♠AQ.)
If partner doesn't have an ace, you'll have to bail out in 5H. Yes, your
♣K won't be protected, but in notrump, you could lose lots of clubs no matter who has the
♣A when you try to promote heart tricks. (This is assuming that you can even get to 5NT.)
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