[InTime]

Thanks all for your valuable contributions. But I need to maybe re-phrase the question not particularly focusing on this hand combination.
Taking a different South hands being invitational, game forcing or even slam interest, do you ignore the possible 4-4 card spade fit and immediately show your 4-card heart support with your methods available? Further, is it then better being in slam that a 5-4 fit is more desirable than a 4-4 fit?
Regards

[bawbee]

The phrase to remember is. " Go with the known fit"

[nige1]

InTime, on 2016-December-03, 12:48, said:

Thanks all for your valuable contributions. But I need to maybe re-phrase the question not particularly focusing on this hand combination.
Taking a different South hands being invitational, game forcing or even slam interest, do you ignore the possible 4-4 card spade fit and immediately show your 4-card heart support with your methods available? Further, is it then better being in slam that a 5-4 fit is more desirable than a 4-4 fit?

IMO conventional wisdom is:

• If you find a 5-4 or 4-4 major suit fit, you should inform partner immediately.
• If uou fiind a 5-3 major fit, if is often sensible to check for a 4-4 fit in the other major,
• If you know of an 8+ card minor fit, you should still look for a 4-4 major fit.

When you have both a 5-4 and a 4-4 major fit, the choice of trump-suit depends on the rest of the hand e.g.

♠ better

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♥ is safer

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And you can construct deals that play well in 4-3 or 4-2 fits.

[jogs]

InTime, on 2016-December-03, 12:48, said:

Thanks all for your valuable contributions. But I need to maybe re-phrase the question not particularly focusing on this hand combination.
Taking a different South hands being invitational, game forcing or even slam interest, do you ignore the possible 4-4 card spade fit and immediately show your 4-card heart support with your methods available? Further, is it then better being in slam that a 5-4 fit is more desirable than a 4-4 fit?
Regards

I have yet to see an unbiased study to prove whether the 4-4 fit or 5-4 fit has greater chances of making 12 tricks.
Anyone can construct a board where one fit works better than the other fit. Proves nothing. Need at least 1000 random
independent boards to prove any conclusion unless one fit is 'clearly' better than the other.

[kenberg]

jogs, on 2016-December-03, 18:34, said:

I have yet to see an unbiased study to prove whether the 4-4 fit or 5-4 fit has greater chances of making 12 tricks.
Anyone can construct a board where one fit works better than the other fit. Proves nothing. Need at least 1000 random
independent boards to prove any conclusion unless one fit is 'clearly' better than the other.

Yes, although I think what is being asked for is even more daunting: On what sort of hands should we seek out the possible 4-4, and when should we ignore the possibility? The hand from the OP, just the NS cards not the full deal, seems clearly to be of the latter sort. It is easy for S to imagine the likely play: Ruff diamonds and, before ruffing or after, draw the remaining trump. Take whatever tricks are available in the black suits. Q: Are there hands where it is equally clear that we should respond 1S?

Maybe someday I will have such a freak hand or have an inspired vision, but I find it useful to keep my inspired visions at bay. The decision has to come on the first round: 1H from partner, pass on my right, I am 4-4. If I ever hold a hand where I decide to bid 1S, I will post it here along with why I did it and how it worked out. Don't hold your breath.

[jogs]

kenberg, on 2016-December-03, 21:15, said:

Yes, although I think what is being asked for is even more daunting: On what sort of hands should we seek out the possible 4-4, and when should we ignore the possibility?

Unless your partnership has thoroughly discussed the situation, on the fly it should be never. After the 1♠ call you will never be able to convince pard you have 4 card heart support.

[sfi]

InTime, on 2016-December-03, 12:48, said:

Thanks all for your valuable contributions. But I need to maybe re-phrase the question not particularly focusing on this hand combination.
Taking a different South hands being invitational, game forcing or even slam interest, do you ignore the possible 4-4 card spade fit and immediately show your 4-card heart support with your methods available? Further, is it then better being in slam that a 5-4 fit is more desirable than a 4-4 fit?
Regards

The most likely way a 4-4 fit will create an extra trick is when you have a useful pitch on the fifth card in the suit. You can frequently diagnose this when you have a double fit in a major and a minor, and have started a cuebidding sequence. However, as others have pointed out it's just too hard to convince partner you have four card support when you start with 1S, so it's far easier just to start by raising partner immediately.

On the original hand it is very unlikely pitching a club on the hearts will gain any tricks. Even if you did have a way of showing both majors, this would not be the hand to do it on.

[jwccsllc]

InTime, on 2016-December-02, 12:07, said:

Dlr:W
Vul:Both
North opens 1♥
The question is do South show his 4-card support immediately with Bergen or any other method you have or bid 1♠?
If you bid 1♠ then you will not be able to persuade partner of your 4-card support and if you show your 4-card support immediately you will loose your 4-4 fit in spades.
Which is the more desirable way to go? I will appreciate any comments with rationale.
Regards

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I like playing major suit raises described in Max Hardy's book "The Problem with Major Suit Raises and how to fix them".

Here a jump to 3♦ (Under Jump Shift) shows a 4-card limit raise with a singleton or void. North bids 3♥ asking about the shortness, and South's 4♦ bid shows a singleton diamond (there is another sequence to say it's a void). Now it's an easy 4♠ Kickback ask to find that South has one keycard.