EW Vul S Dealer	♠ ♥ A Q ♦ 9 8 6 ♣ K Q 8 6 5 4 3 2
♠ A 9 8 5 3 ♥ K J 8 7 5 ♦ A Q ♣ A		♠ Q J 10 7 ♥ 6 3 2 ♦ J 7 3 ♣ 10 9 7
	♠ K 6 4 2 ♥ 10 9 4 ♦ K 10 5 4 2 ♣ J

1) What went wrong in the auction?

Hi Kaiping,

On the auction, I think once West doubles (which I agree with, as the suits aren’t good enough to rebid 5♥), East should just pass it out. East does have four-card support which is nice, but the 4333 shape gives very little playing power, so it would be best for East to pass and take the money.

Preempts are difficult to deal with, but just remember, commiting to an 11-trick game can also be quite difficult! You would usually need extra distribution to be able to make a 5-level contract, and this is the main reason why East should pass.

Imagine if West’s hand was:
AKxxx
KQJxx
AQ
x

Now, although 5♠ has better chances, you can still defeat 5♣ likely via two diamonds, one heart, and possibly one spade. This might not give you the best score if 5♠ happens to make – but remember, sometimes when West has pure suits, he may sometimes rebid 5♥ instead of doubling.

Hope that helps,
Andy