IMPs. Both vulnerable.
♠A K J 10 9 7 6 ♥K2 ♦K 7 ♣J 10
| West | North | East | South |
| 1♦ | ? |
What’s your call?
| 1♥ | 1♠ | 1NT | ||
| 2♣ | 2♦ | 2♥ | 2♠ | 2NT |
| 3♣ | 3♦ | 3♥ | 3♠ | 3NT |
| 4♣ | 4♦ | 4♥ | 4♠ | 4NT |
| 5♣ | 5♦ | 5♥ | 5♠ | 5NT |
| 6♣ | 6♦ | 6♥ | 6♠ | 6NT |
| 7♣ | 7♦ | 7♥ | 7♠ | 7NT |
| ReDbl | Pass |
Most of the panelists are evenly split between doubling 1♦ with this strong playing hand or overcalling 1♠.
Boehm doubles. “Well-placed red kings elevate this hand beyond my threshold for a simple overcall.”
Falk says he’s hoping the bidding stays low on the way back. “This is a really nice hand, but still not great. 3NT is tempting, but if it’s wrong, it may be down six. 4♠is too much on this distribution, and no other spade bids come close to showing my power. So I want to invite game without gilding the lily too much.”
The Gordons, too, double. “No leaping for us. Bidding 3NT or 4♠ takes us out of the running if the other contract is the successful game. With spades, you don’t have to hurry.”
Meckstroth believes that a double followed by a spade bid “shows my strength and allows me to stay low if pard is weak.”
Stack doubles, but recalls, “The last time I doubled with this type of hand, my left-hand opponent bid 1♠, and I had a difficult time convincing partner that I indeed had spades.”
“I’m afraid of 1♦–1♠–Pass–Pass–Pass,” says Cohen, so he doubles first. “With spades, I expect to comfortably be able to double now and bid spades later — about what this hand is worth.”
Meyers doesn’t think it’s going to go all pass and chooses instead to overcall 1♠. “If partner doesn’t take a call, I will rebid 3♠, and if partner takes a call, I will make sure we get to game.”
Walker and Robinson are torn between 1♠ and 4♠, but settle on 1♠. “I don’t have enough strength or distribution to bid 4♠,” Robinson says.
Walker agrees. “4♠ is a close second but if the auction suggests that partner is broke, I’ll be glad I started low.”
The Sutherlins aren’t too worried about missing a game if partner can’t find a call over 1♠.
Rigal bids 1♠ rather than 4♠ mostly because of the effect the leap to game might have on the opponents. “I don’t know if I want the opponents to bid 5♦, and I don’t know what I’d do over that if they did. With the same hand and no diamond trick (switch hearts and clubs), perhaps 4♠ and double 5♦?”
There are two votes for an immediate leap to 4♠. “If not now, when?” asks Sanborn impatiently.
“Take all their room away,” blast the Coopers. “We are unlikely to have slam and likely to make this.”