August 2010 - 43

Mike's Bridge Lesson
When they redouble
A common situation occurs when
your partner makes a takeout double
and your right-hand opponent redoubles. Here is a sample auction.
West
1

North
Dbl

East
Redbl

South
?

Let's say you have not picked up
your hand yet. What do you expect to
find? That's easy: not much. Opener
has at least 12 or 13 high-card points.
Your partner has 11 or 12 HCP (or
more), and RHO has at least 10 HCP.
Add the HCP: 12 + 12 + 10 = 34. You
have 6 HCP at most, and it will usually be a lot less.
When you are very weak, there
could be trouble. If you fail to find
your best spot, assuming there is one,
you might suffer a large penalty. Here
is a likely hand for South in the example auction:
10 3 9 8 6 3 J 8 7 6 3 7 3.
Here are a few hands you might
have. Assume no one is vulnerable
and the bidding has gone as shown.
What should you bid with each of
these? You are going to have bad
hands. Knowing how to avoid trouble
when they come up is important.
1. 8 7 4 10 8 4 8 7 3 Q 8 7 4.
2. Q 7 3 Q 8 3 J 10 9 3 J 7 3.
3. 10 3 9 8 6 3 J 8 7 6 3 7 3.
4. J 10 6 5 3 4 3 9 7 6 3 Q 7.
Answers
1. Pass. Your pass says you have
nothing to bid. It does not say you
want to defend against 1 redoubled.
Your pass is a cry for help, begging
your partner to make a decision you

are not able to make from your hand.
Yes, you have four clubs, but partner
will certainly have four cards in one
or both majors, and when he bids
one, you will pass, knowing you have
seven trumps.
2. It might occur to you to bid 1NT
with your 6 HCP, but I can give you
a rule that handles this situation perfectly: If your partner doubles and the
next player redoubles, your side cannot make any notrump contract. They
will double you and they will set you.
That is a promise.
Pass and accept whatever partner
bids. The redouble tells you that your
partner has a minimum double. If he
has 12 HCP, your side has only 18. You
are outgunned and will be fighting to
hold the losses. Making 1NT doubled
will never be an issue for you.
3. Bid 1. You have a four-card
major, which is about as good as the
news will get considering how bad
your hand is. If you pass and partner
bids 1, the doubling likely will start.
If you bid 1 and partner bids something, whatever happens is on his
head. One thing for sure: Your partner
should not expect you to be showing anything. Your bid is not a value
bid. It is an escape bid, trying to avoid
something bad happening.
4. How does this hand look to you?
In light of the first three shown, this
one is a treasure. Compared to the
others, this one has the following useful features: (1) A a five-card spade
suit; (2) J-10 in the long suit and (3)
the possibly useful Q.
Your correct bid is not pass or 1
- it is 2. A jump over the redouble
says you have a long suit with some

Mike Lawrence

shape. You do not promise high cards,
but in light of the expected spade fit,
you show a hand that rates to make
more tricks than expected. Here is
one possible layout.
South
 J 10 6 5 3
43
9763
Q7

North
K842
AJ72
 10 4
KJ6

At worst, you might lose two
spades, a heart, two diamonds and a
club. At best, you might lose just one
spade, no hearts if the defense lets
you set up a club trick in time, two
diamonds and one club. I would guess
that making 2 is a live possibility.
The benefit of your bid is that you get
in the way of opener's bidding, and if
your partner has a little more, he may
be able to compete further himself.
Be sure you and your partner understand what your 2 bid means.
r

August 2010 Bridge Bulletin

43
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2010
