What’s your call?
| 3NT | ||||
| 4♣ | 4♦ | 4♥ | 4♠ | 4NT |
| 5♣ | 5♦ | 5♥ | 5♠ | 5NT |
| 6♣ | 6♦ | 6♥ | 6♠ | 6NT |
| 7♣ | 7♦ | 7♥ | 7♠ | 7NT |
| Pass | Dbl |
Meckstroth, as is his wont, keeps it simple: “Double. Too much to pass.”
Hampson doubles. “Partner could easily have:
♠x ♥Q x x x x x ♦ Q x x x ♣x x
and we have an easy game.”
Colchamiro, as is his wont, takes it a step further. “We could even make slam opposite as little as:
♠x ♥K x ♦ Q x x x x ♣Q x x x x –
a hand not good enough to act over 3♠.”
Double by Rigal. “They aren’t going to push me around.”
Stack doubles. “Can’t pass with this hand, even if there is a disaster looming. It is possible that pass will produce the only plus we have coming, but you cannot be a Gloomy Gus on these hands.”
Falk doubles, “prepared to apologize, as we rate to be going plus 100 here and might go minus if partner has nothing. But partner could have a lot of middling hands where we are on for game, and might even pass 3♠ for a big profit. If partner has a five-card suit and a couple of honors, we will land on our feet. If partner is 1–4–4–4 or so, we will do badly because he will usually guess to bid 4♥.”
Robinson says his first thought was to bid 3NT but didn’t because West is vulnerable. So he doubles. “Why can’t partner have:
♠x ♥K x x x x x ♦ Q x x ♦ Q x x?”
Kennedy doubles, but not without misgivings. “I probably missed an opportunity to get a plus score by not passing. Pass is tempting but impossibly unilateral.”
Korbel calls double risky, “but so is passing. I’m hoping partner has a long suit, which is more likely than usual because West and I have so many spades.”
Lee doubles. “Wrong shape, but I can’t pass with this much power and no waste in spades.”
Double by Cohen. “There isn’t any viable alternative, so this should be near unanimous.”
Not so fast, Mr. Cohen.
Pass, says Lawrence. “Where else is our plus?”
Steve Weinstein goes with his gut and passes. “I don’t feel good about this one. Double could easily be right. We could have a game, but we could also be turning a plus into a minus if we bid.”
Sanborn calls her pass “an educated guess.”
Meyers passes, too. “This is likely our last plus score, and we might get 200 if partner has a trick.”
