Hand 64 — Slam Exploration

Play this hand
Dealer
W
User Side
N/S
Contract
6NT
Declarer
S
Tricks Makeable
12
Recommended Lead
4H
Vulnerability
System
SAYC

Planning

Rule of 20:
With 11-12 HCP and a strong suit, add your point count to the number of cards in your 2 longest suits. If the total is 20 or more, you should open the bidding.

The Deal

North
A K J 10 6 2
K 9 7
6 5 3
J
West
9 8 7 3
8 6 5 4 2
Q 10 7
3
East
Q
A 10 3
9 8 4 2
10 9 8 7 4
South
5 4
Q J
A K J
A K Q 6 5 2
North: 12 HCP, 6-3-3-1
East: 6 HCP, 1-3-4-5
South: 20 HCP, 2-2-3-6
West: 2 HCP, 4-5-3-1

Bidding Sequence

W N E S
Pass1SPass2C
Pass2SPass4NT
Pass5DPass6NT

Final Comments

Looking at the hand to see where we might lose a trick or 2.
If spades break 3/2, the queen might drop, and then we have
6 spades
2 hearts
2 diamonds (the jack is discarded on a spade)
4 clubs
that looks like 13 tricks, but we will lose a heart to make our small slam