Recent hand solution
Yes, you have a good hand with a good club suit. Partner has bid to boot. But I think the percentage action is to pass. You are not sure where to play on offence, and you have very little defence against an opponent who committed to 11 tricks against two bidding opponents!
Partner still has a chance to bid. The full deal:
1098542
J983
A
63
AJ76 3
K54 A6
8 KQJ9765432
J10872 –
KQ
Q1072
5
AKQ954
Playing in a Swiss team match at the sectional I passed. My opponent with the same hand doubled and was -950, and we picked up 8 useful IMPs (p.s. we lost the match but won the event).
The moral of the story: High Card Points aren’t everything…
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Bridge-related
Well, it’s certainly right to pass on this layout! Whether it’s the percentage action, I’m more doubtful. RHO doesn’t have to have 10 tricks in his own hand (you should see some of my 5D bids!), plus a dummy with two more. Just shift the ace of spades to North, and he’ll pull my double to 5S, which makes except on an unlikely heart lead. In fact trade your king of spades for West’s ace, and you still can’t beat 5D, but I think the double would be even clearer. I don’t agree with “Anonymous’ that double is 100% penalty — it can’t be. You are most unlikely to have a diamond stack, so it simply shows cards, and partner must do his best to make a good decision. As some wise person once said, you can’t be perfect over preempts!
If my RHO seems sane then he probably does have a nine card suit or so. Ten seems a bit excessive, I have never been dealt one.
If you can beat this hand more than one trick, partner will double since you really don’t have that much defense. I don’t think you need to double here to get the extra penalty. I suppose the argument for a double is that you are inviting partner back into the auction by showing extra strength. The good news is that even with a good hand partner won’t bid unless he has extra shape. So if partner pulls you do have more chance that you will make it. Doubling seems to pay off on a hand where partner has something like:
S AXXXX H KJXXX D X C XX
So doubling ties when partner has a more or less balanced hand and would double anyway or when partner is strong with shape and comes back in
Doubling losses when partner can’t add anything much to the defense
Doubling wins when partner has good shape and will pul to a making contract
So it is a matter of frequency. Things that suggest passing to me are the doubleton spade and the fact that the most likely fit in in clubs which we have to bid at the 6 level. Even contracts that seem superifically good may well go down on distribution.
I am a passer. But I didn’t look at the problem until I saw the solution. I always get these right when I see all four hands.
you only have two spades. I know they are good ones. Things are not breaking.
Mmm… Neil, that’s also not the same hand you gave us in the original column.
Whoops…
Mmm… Neil, that’s also not the same hand you gave us in the original column.