Dear Mr. Rigal: What would you do with ? A-Q-8-5-3, ? 8-7-2, ? 9-4-2, ? K-3, at love all, after partner opens one diamond and the next hand overcalls three hearts?

— High Level, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Answer: A three-spade bid ought to be game-forcing, and you do not really have enough for that. I would pass because if I make a negative double and partner does not have spades, things are bound to end badly for us. Partner may be able to reopen if he has short hearts, giving me a second chance.

Dear Mr. Rigal: If the auction starts with one heart to your left, double from partner and two hearts on your right, what should your bids mean here?

— In Competition, Staten Island, N.Y.

Answer: Double ought to be for takeout. It does not pay to double the opponents for penalty at a low level when they have a known fit. Note that doubling should deny four spades unless you have a good hand (enough to invite game or more) — you can simply bid two spades with less. Two no-trump can be played as natural, but I prefer to use it either as Lebensohl or to show both minors. (It is always artificial by a passed hand.)

Dear Mr. Rigal: Say the auction has taken a strange turn, and you suspect partner has forgotten the system. Should you consider that possibility or plow on, assuming nothing has gone wrong?

— Practical Advice, Portland, Ore.

Answer: I would trust my partner to be on the same page. After all, if you do something odd and end up punishing partner, he might struggle to trust you in the future! If something has gone awry, a bad result will mean partner is more likely to remember next time!

Dear Mr. Rigal: Did I do wrong here? I picked up ? Q-4, ? K-9-5-3, ? J-6-4, ? A-10-7-2 at game all and heard my partner double my left-hand opponent’s one-club opening. The next hand bid one spade, and I called two hearts. My left-hand opponent raised to two spades, back to me. I passed, missing out on a part-score swing when both two spades and three hearts were making.

— General Principle, Grand Junction, Colo.

Answer: I hate to let the opponents play at the two-level in an eight-card fit, but the spade queen is likely to be much more useful on defense, and we have the balance of power. Two spades is likely to go down, and we may not even have a fit ourselves if partner has a 3=3=4=3 distribution. We certainly will not have a nine-card fit, so I cannot fault your pass.

Dear Mr. Rigal: I hear that the same player was dealt two nine-card suits during one session in a teams event at the nationals last summer. What are the odds of picking up a nine-card suit?

— Nine-bagger, Honolulu, Hawaii

Answer: Richard Pavlicek’s bridge website states that the odds of having a nine-card suit are 2,698 to 1. Picking up two of these in one session is incredible, but I was told that one particular player never took a bid on either hand! In both cases, his partner preempted in another suit. On one of these, he wound up on lead against three no-trump and cashed his nine running tricks.

Contact Barry Rigal, email him at barryrigal@hotmail.com