A hair-raising slam

My rushes of blood to the head in bidding when I hold a big hand are well-documented. Here is a case in point. My one heart opening on a control heavy 4=5=4=0 was hardly worth a re-raise to SIX after I received a ONE to FOUR raise which can be made on any five carder. Still, this was a tournament of 15 table, and hope typically springs (eternally) at six hearts (pun intended) out of 15.

The lead bore me a badly needed trick, I will take the West player out to a treat, oh wait, he was a BBO robot? Now, I ruffed out the marked DK, eliminated the side suits having drawn trump and simply hoped for Hx Hxx in spades, when a) an overtake would not work or my J would set up, b) one player gets endplayed to give me a ruff sluff. A hand to tell one's grandchildren about. The same lead, three tables managed to go down

Hair-raising Six Notrump

My rushes of blood to the head in bidding when I hold a nineteen or twenty pointer opposite an opening bid are well-documented. Here is a case in point. I was in an all-or-nothing position in diamonds. I reasoned thus. "Well he made a silly overcall missing KQ. of spades. Plus I have AK of clubs a 100 honors in hearts. He must have the DK single or double."

When I sent this deal from BBO out of pride to my bridge partner, he had an interesting perspective. "Well reasoned! And lucky, of course. But I think your 6NT bid was a pretty reasonable description of your hand; it's not your fault that partner had the wrong minor-suit king.

On a related note, I think North should have bid 7D over your 6NT. Really, on that auction, how likely is it that 6NT would make but 7D not make? You feel bad for the opponents when you bid and make a grand slam missing the trump king, but such is life."

A Moysian game bid after 1NT and splinter 4=4=1=4

Partner's jump to three diamonds was a splinter bid promising 4=4=1=4. Now I judged that 3NT would lose, as indeed it would on the marked small diamond lead. I chose a major, and got lucky to pick Hearts game. Perhaps 4Diamonds should say, bid your better 4 card major?. Anyway, the play was quite exciting in the Moysian, with ruffs having to be scored in the long trump hand with KQJx, what was interesting being the key hope that I could get losers off on clubs after only a partial drawing of trumps. What Rodwell calls Cash and Thrash. I was proud of this hand, for bidding and play.