[rbforster]

Partner opens the north hand (light as usual), and makes a minimum heart raise. Plan the play.

Scoring: IMP

1♦-1♥
2♥-3♣
3♦-5NT*
6♥

Q♦ lead

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* you notice irritatingly that "normal" methods catering to a 3 card raise (like 2N and 3N natural with only 4) don't offer any way to check for the 4-4 heart fit with slam-going values.

[Pict]

I'll try:

A♦, Q♥, A♥, K♥, club ruff, finesse 9♠, planning to use K♦ as an entry to finesse spades again and draw the last trump if there is one.

If both spades are wrong, or one spade is wrong and hearts were 4-1 and diamonds 5-1 I'm down.

I think discarding spades on clubs to ruff spades in North may work but is probably not as good.

[ArtK78]

This looks like a classic hand. Try this:

Win the diamond. Cash two rounds of hearts with the A and K. If both follow, duck a diamond. If both follow to the second round of diamonds, you are home. Win any return (ruffing a diamond return high in hand), cross in hearts and, assuming a diamond wasn't the return, ruff a diamond. Cash the clubs pitching the losing spades from dummy and dummy is high.

If the hearts do not break, you will either need 3-3 diamonds or the spade finesse to have a chance. After 2 rounds of hearts, cash the clubs pitching spades from dummy, play a diamond to the K and ruff a diamond. If diamonds split, cross in hearts and run the diamonds. If the diamonds do not split but RHO shows out so you can ruff in hand, cross in hearts and finesse the spade. Eventually one of your opponents will score the long heart.

Finally, if hearts break but the diamonds are 5-1, you will need the spade finesse. After cashing two rounds of hearts and leading a diamond towards dummy, if LHO is short in diamonds but does not ruff the lead towards dummy, win the second round of diamonds in dummy. You now have two lines. You can either just pull trump and finesse the spade or you can pull trump, cash the clubs and ruff a club, and then play a spade to the 9 (or cover RHO's spade honor). This depends on your judgment on LHO's distribution.

If after two rounds of diamonds (ducking the second round) RHO shows out, you are going to probably have to rely upon the spade finesse.

[jjbrr]

Ya win and ♥AK give us a lot of good chances.

As to the auction, perhaps N should bid 3♠ to pattern out and guarantee 4♥ if your style is to sometimes raise with 3 and have no methods to unravel that fact.