[sceptic]

bidding goes 1 major and you hold

17+ hcp and a mediocre 5 minor card suit (two of top 3 honours) and axx of bid major

when is it appropriate to double then bid the suit and when is it worth understating the hand and just bidding the suit

I just want some guide lines as to what rules there maybe to follow

[helene_t]

If you double, you should have tolerance for the unbid major. Personally I never double with a singleton UM and rarely with a doubleton but this is something to discuss with partner.

You should try to avoid bidding a mediocre 5-card suit non-forcing at the 3-level. If they have hearts and you have diamonds the risk is not so big since partner (or LHO) is likely to bid a black suit.

Otherwise consider alternatives:
- Overcall 1NT
- Dbl and then do something else (cuebid or another double)

[foo]

sceptic, on Jun 9 2006, 04:46 AM, said:

when is it appropriate to double then bid the suit and when is it worth understating the hand and just bidding the suit

I just want some guide lines as to what rules there maybe to follow

First and formost, X'ing then bidding a suit shows a hand with =exceptional= playing strength.

The message of this sequence is "GOP, if you have =1= good card and reasonable shape for me I want Us to be in Game."

HCP are far less important than the number of losers in your hand.
You should have 4- losers or equivalent power trick taking strength to X then bid a suit.

[hotShot]

You need to have:
1) A weak overcall
2) A very strong overcall (Semiforcing or better)
3) A strong overcall
4) A very weak overcal

2♦ = 1)
3♦ = 4) but should have 6 cards
dbl accepting partners choice 3)
dbl bidding own suit later 2) (popular in europe) or 3) (popular in USA) depends on agreement
dbl and cue bid after partners choice 3) or 2) with good fit depends on agreement

Here you have the additional choice to bid 1NT, which seems to be better since you did not mention tolerance for ♥ (important)and ♣(would be nice).

Now this is mainly a matter of agreement, so you and your partner should agree to something here.