[CamHenry]

Morning all

A hand from last night, at matchpoints. 4th in, vulnerable against not; RHO opens 4♣. You hold:

---

Your call? If you double, the auction continues:
P - P - 4♣ - X
4♥ - 5♦ - P - ?

[Codo]

I would pass, facing Kx,Kx,KJxxxx,xxx. But I prefer this to bid 6 and find partner with KQx,xx,KJxxx,xxx.

[PhilKing]

6♣ - Irish slam try.

Part of my vig for punting slam is that I keep grand in the picture and another is that they may find a phantom save. Sometimes you just have to take a chance. We are conditioned not to do that in the slam zone, but why not? Here there is no room to explore, but I would suggest that there is a more than even chance that that it will turn out well one way or another, and if partner has:

♠Kx ♥- ♦KJxxxxxx ♣xxx

We have hit a homer.

[the_clown]

PhilKing, on 2012-December-12, 06:21, said:

6♣ - Irish slam try.

Part of my vig for punting slam is that I keep grand in the picture and another is that they may find a phantom save. Sometimes you just have to take a chance. We are conditioned not to do that in the slam zone, but why not? Here there is no room to explore, but I would suggest that there is a more than even chance that that it will turn out well one way or another, and if partner has:

♠Kx ♥- ♦KJxxxxxx ♣xxx

We have hit a homer.

With a such a hand partner might open 3♦. I think 4♥ is lead directing on the way to 5♣ so I am not confident that partner is short in ♥.

[PhilKing]

the_clown, on 2012-December-12, 08:42, said:

With a such a hand partner might open 3♦. I think 4♥ is lead directing on the way to 5♣ so I am not confident that partner is short in ♥.

Oh lol - missed they were passed hands.

Pass quicker!

[lalldonn]

Could be making slam or even a grand but there are just too many ways raising can be wrong IMO.

[mikeh]

Bidding more is chasing moonbeams. You haven't even made 5 yet (don't mistake me: I expect to make game but we might be off a heart, a heart ruff and a slow spade, as one example), and 6 (or 7!!!) is simply too far away given that we have no way to probe.

Preempts win not only by their initial denial of bidding space but by creating these situations. Long and sometimes bitter experience has convinced me that we should encourage our partners to bid aggressively over 4♥ which in turn means we should tend towards conservatism. AKA, once fixed, stay fixed.