The opposition open 3C. Takeout double or overcall? If you overcall at your first bid partner does not know about your 16 HCP and you do not get to game. Usually overcalls are made on shapely but weaker point hands, takeout doubles show very good opening hand points and at least three cards in the unbid suits. Instead in this case it is more correct to open double "X" partner names their longest suit; you bid your 6 card heart suit ending in game in 4H.
Acol Bidding
The opposition open 3C. Takeout double or overcall? If you overcall at your first bid partner does not know about your 16 HCP and you do not get to game. Usually overcalls are made on shapely but weaker point hands, takeout doubles show very good opening hand points and at least three cards in the unbid suits. Instead in this case it is more correct to open double "X" partner names their longest suit; you bid your 6 card heart suit ending in game in 4H.
Plan Before You Play
Count your losing tricks , you see possibly 1 diamond and 2 spade losers. your best option is to finesse the spades and then drop the King of diamonds
The Play
Win the club lead, draw three rounds of trumps to clear them out ending in dummy, lead a low diamond up to the JD and play AD (dropping the KD), play the rest of the diamonds in dummy discarding a spade on the last diamond, ruff dummy's club lead a low spade from your hand up to dummy's KS covering the card that west plays or ducking if its the AS. The rest of the tricks are yours
Comment
Sometimes when you are bidding you have to tell a little untruth.... the skill is in deciding on the least damaging untruth to tell. Here you only have 2 spade cards not the 3 required in each suit for a takeout double. If you extract all trumps, finesse and drop the diamonds and finesse the spades this hand can make 12 tricks in hearts or in diamonds.
The above commentary is intended as a guideline only. As with any Bridge hand there are many ways to bid and play any hand.
