[Califdude]

In another thread there was discussion about a response to partner's opening bid, after opp bid a take-out double. The posts in that thread left some doubt in my mind as to the basics of this situation when playing SAYC, so I'm asking for a review of the general point-count rules.

Bidding goes 1D-DBL-??

This is what I've grown up with:

10 or more points bid RDBL showing count only.
All other bids show less than 10 Pts.
SAYC card says bid of new suit is forcing for one round.
Bid 1NT or any raise of partner's suit is preemptive.

Please comment on anything not current method. Thanks for your replies.

[Lobowolf]

I can't vouch for the SAYC, but generally "standard" (in practice) is that new suits are forcing at the one level, but non-forcing at the 2-level. Redoubles show 10+, but not all 10-point hands redouble. So, for instance, if you have a good hand and a spade suit you want to bid, you can simply respond 1♠ over the double, even if you have more than 10 points; however, if you have a good hand and a club suit, you'd redouble rather than bid 2♣, because the 2♣ bid would be non-forcing (and limited). Once upon a time, all good hands began with the redouble; this was found to not be a good idea.

1NT is natural, and not preemptive (at least not per se; it may have the side benefit of getting in the way a bit).

[1eyedjack]

I think that if you redouble on all strong hands then you are exposed to opposition preemption when as responder you hold distribution.

[skjaeran]

In addition to 1M being unlimited and forcing, it's normal (at least where I play) that 2NT shows 10+ and support for openers suit. In a 5-card major system you need 5-card support for clubs and a good 4-card in support of diamonds.

[Gerben42]

What others have said so far is very good.

1NT is never a preemptive bid, and should not be bid on for example

♠Qxx ♥Qxx ♦Qxx ♣xxxx

which is basically a piece of junk.

What hands with 10+ points would not redouble? Most important are hands with a good 5-card suit or longer that can be bid on the 1-level:

♠x ♥AKJxx ♦Qxx ♣Qxxx

1♦ Dbl 1♥!

This hand is easier to show like this then after

1♦ Dbl Rdbl 2♠*
Pass Pass

* Preemptive

Anoter addition: if you play inverted minors, it does no longer apply after double.

[Califdude]

Thanks for the helpful and thoughtful replies.

[Walddk]

I agree that one should not redouble indiscriminately. As soon as you can see that the opponents have a safe haven, it's better to bid your longest suit and let it be forcing. In other words: ignore the double and bid if there had been none.

Unlike other posters I think 2-level (non-jump) bids should be forcing too. It's easier to remember and it also makes certain hands more descriptive.

1♦ (double) 2♣

is also forcing for me.

If you must redouble with a hand like

83
J1083
K4
AQ1094

you are awkwardly placed when your LHO jumps to 2♠, or even worse: 3♠. I assume that those who want 2♣ to be non-forcing can bid it with the cards above, but then they can't do it with say

83
J1082
105
KQJ94

If 2♣ NF can be bid with both hands, it will be virtually impossible for opener to judge.

Roland

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

most likely the following was already stated,
but to get my post count up

#1 XX should show a desire to go for blood, keeping in
mind, that you suggest to defend against a 1 level
contract, and that the target should be at least -2:
XX should deny a rela fit for partner
XX should deny a hand with lost of distribution
=> You will make the XX with bal. hands, with
3-suiters, which contain a single in partners suit,
as a psych bid
#2 To show the fit, it is common to play artificial stuff,
e.g. 2NT as a inv.+ raise for partners suit, if you play
this, you dont need inv. minors, Jacoby 2Nt, Bergen
raises anymore, because 2NT is the artifcial raise.
It may still make sense to play the other form of
raises, but because of the following you may come to
the conclusion, that you need all other bids to deal with
the other hand types.
Also Lots of good players switch to transfer responses
after a t/o, because it is quite common to play a new
suit at the 2 level after a t/o as nonforcing, due to
requency issues.
This is not B/I stuff, but you should keep this in mind,
because if you have a strong 1-suiter, you are not really
interested in going for blood, and this is in contrast to #1.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[helene_t]

We had a discussion about the strength of a response after opponents' double in this thread: http://forums.bridge...showtopic=26069