Boston's great.  I finally got to meet my brother's lovely wife, Clare, who was almost nothing like I expected, but everything I could hope for for my younger brother.  I also had a little too much to drink tonight and bet a relative a nickel that Clinton's Treasury Secretary was Ron Rubin.  Sigh.  (For the Google-impaired, it was Robert Rubin.  Ron Rubin is a well known world class player whose team I even played in the Vanderbilt in St. Louis, so I really had no excuse for the brainfart.) 

Here's the worst result from my set yesterday with Jeff.

4th unfavorable

AJ853 / T97 / Q32 / 43

1 Diamond on your left, Pass, 1 Heart on your right to you.

This is a close decision for me.  Give me AJT53 of Spades and 1 Spade is auto.  Give me AJ953 of Spades and I'm probably in there.  But Red overcalls still oughtta mean something and I don't think this is enough.  I passed.

The auction continued uncontested:

1NT - 3C
4C - 4D
4H - 6H

What do you lead?

 

Spade Ace is a possibility.  No Spade cuebid.  A Heart is a possibility.  If pard has Qxx or Kx he surely was never scoring it anyway.  A Diamond looks nuts with LHO bidding Diamonds and RHO cuebidding them.  A Club looks nuts with RHO bidding them and LHO raising them.  

So either a trump lead or the Spade Ace, which will it be?

Actually, any lead but a Spade probably sets the hand (which is cold double-dummy.)

RHO sure earned his side a good board (albeit at not-insignificant risk.)

 

KT9 / K4 / A987 / AT62

 

- / AQJ8532 / KJ65 / Q7

RHO knew he was driving to slam and knew that he didn't want a Club lead, so he muddied the waters with his 3 Club bid.  

Was Jeff supposed to double 4 Clubs with

Q7642 / 6 / T4 / KJ985 ?

I don't think so.  He had no reason to believe that one of his opps was psyching or that the bidding was over.  

I've just got to find the Heart lead, which has a lot going for it.

-980 was almost 8 IMPs away.