Had another practice set tonight with Jimmy.  It went better than the last couple have gone.  I wish I'd bid this one a little differently:

White vs red

T5 / K8752 / 972 / J42

You pass in 1st.  Pard opens 1NT in 3rd.  2 Spades (natural) on your right.

Do you double (takeout/negative) or bid 2NT lebensohl or pass?

Answer over the fold.  That hand wasn't really what I wanted to talk about, though. 

This auction came up tonight.  Does it exist and if it does, what kind of hand do you expect opener to have?

1C - P - 1S - X
P - 2H - X - P
3H - P - 3N - P
4S

On the 4-count hand I doubled and we played in our 4-3 Diamond fit (with JTxx opposite my 9xx) instead of our 5-3 Heart fit (with Kxxxx opposite AJx.) We still ended up okay, but I think I tried too hard to be 'flexible' and should have just gambled on partner having 3 Hearts or at least not a 5-card minor with a doubleton Heart (which is the only time that double really gains.)
http://online.bridgebase.com/myhands/fetchlin.php?id=55222093&when_played=1212155004

On the impossible auction hand, I did something I almost never do.  I didn't try to describe my hand (because I couldn't think of a bid that did my hand justice without getting us overboard too often.)  Then I tried to catch up later, hoping partner would be able to put the clues together.

I had

K8642 / A3 / - / KT9763

On the one hand I feel like I almost have to have that hand (6-5 in the blacks with a minimum) because I have to have at least 3 good spades on this auction and I didn't raise Spades or make a support double.  Why?  I have easy ways to show so many hands with Spade support, but bidding 4 Spades with this (my 2nd choice after pass) or 4 Diamonds with this (3rd choice) is just asking for trouble, imo.

Instead, what did I do?  I conveyed that I had a great hand (cuebid) with Spade support (overruling 3NT to bid 4 Spades opposite a likely 4-bagger) but obviously some flaw that prevented me from bidding over the double.

Against that, when partner doesn't make a support double I just rule out the possibility that he has as much as 3-card support.  I might not have worked this out either (and would have been peeved at partner for 'masterminding' either way.)  Let me know if I'm nuts.  Or even better, weigh in on this hand.