Cthulhu D, on 2014-June-20, 11:12, said:
Is the double really clear on hand 1? It feels awful with 3 spades to the ten, given that it suggests 4.
helene_t, on 2014-June-20, 11:25, said:
Imo the double doesn't suggest spades it asks opener to bid 3nt with a stopper
I do not think any one has the luxury to assign such a clear message to DBL at 3+ levels without ignoring a lot of other hand types. Whether that be asking stopper or always promising spades. Simply because this type of preempts do not leave much of a space below 3 NT to do anything but dbl for a lot of other hands that are too strong to pass or not strong enough to bid 5 card spades at 3 level, which would be GF, (5134 8 hcp)
Hand 1 is clear DBL for me. After DBL E may choose to bid 3 NT or Pass. I would have sit on the double at these colors.
Hand 2 is very tuff to reach to slam with confidence imho. W may easily hold Ax
♥ instead of Ax
♣. I assume 2
♠ was forcing 1 round but not a GF. 3
♥ by opener created a GF, After this it pretty much depends on agreements. What would 3
♠ show instead of 4
♠? Is it the worst hand or better than 4
♠? Did 3
♥ promise a spade fit or not? Even with the agreements and each pd knew what all these bids meant, it also involves a strong judgement. This type of hands are the ones which strong pairs almost always get it right and others get it right occasionally and randomly. Also note that NS perhaps did a good job by not preempting in hearts any further with their 10 card SOLID fit. This could have been helpful for EW rather than destructive.