Evening star., 1934-04-09

auction" double, but when you use
the double in the versatile way I ad-
wise, you cannot at this stage know
whether your partners double Is dis
trbutional," in which case it would
be the auction type. but stronger, or
strategic" in which case it will al
most surely not include normal sup
port for the suit in which you are
tempted to make jump response.
This very uncertainty. which cannot
be cleared up until your partner has
made another bid, is the strong point
OF our doubles, and I am particularly
anxious that you should not get into
trouble through incomplete under
standing of its proper handling. On
your first response you must there
fore assume that your partners
double is strategic; that he may have
less than Q in your best suit, SO
that fit between the two hands may
be difficult to find and that there may
not be any fit in any declaration un-
less you are the one who can over
ride this fear of a misfit. A jump re-
sponse to a double is a forcing bid,
forcing to game. and you know that
absolutely refuse to permit a forcing
bid or response being made (other
than the one-over- r-one, which is only
limited force) unless there is GER
tainty Of a fit for the 26 cards in
some declaration. think you will
find that in response to Sims double,
you should not force unless:
(a) Your hand contains an original
Sims bid. mean that it would JUS
tlfy your opening the bidding as
dealer.
CD You must not give a jump re-
sponse in a suit unless it consists of
at least five cards and is nearly solid,
so that you can rebid 1t without
cualm If your partner does not raise
it and need not worry about giving
him the impression that it is a six
card suit. However, you must be pre-
pared for his holding only a weak
doubleton in it. In this case, he has a
lcng suit Of his own; his double was
strategic. Consequently, you may,
after one rebid of your own suit, have
to abandon that suit and consign the
hand to your partners suit. You
must therefore have some kind of fit
for both unbid suits when you Jump
in a five-card suit. At least @ or
x in each of them, so that you
are willing to let your partner be de-
clarer In a game contract in his suit
II ne cannot help you in your suit even
after a rebid.
(c) When your suit is a six-card
suit, you can jump without the sug-
gested support for both the unbid
suits. Lacking such support, how
ever, your six-card suit must be so
strong that you are satisfied to play
for game in 1t even though your
partner may have no support in it.
It should, therefore, be independent
OF trump support; K @ Jxx x or
K @ 10 9 x. The guarantee Of mo
eventual misflt" which justifies your
force now resides in your own big
suit and not in any other resource
in the hand. OF course, to have the
equivalent Of an original bid, you
must have values outside that one
suit; but II those outside values are
all in one suit, it is extremely likely
that the suit in which you have moth
ing is the suit your partner will bid
and rebid because it is the basis
of a strategic double. Don't gamble
on his holding the right one Of two
suits. If in doubt, respond first in
minimum terms and If the bidding is
kept open for you. make a constructive
rebid on the next round: A "belated
game try"
(d) If your hand is of the border
line or defensive type, and you have
no suit justifying a jump response,
your only jump bid would be two
no trumps. Do not make this bid
unless you have the opponents suit
well taken care Of, by which I mean
that you have it stopped once beyond
any doubt, even If another suit is
opened and the lead comes through
you in their suit, and that there is
also strong probability that you
have a second stopper In it. The ace
is not enough, nor ace-jack alone.
K 10 8 or O. Jxx or K will do,
but uot @ TX. With only one STOP
per, bid only one no trump and see
what your partner does. Best pros
poets are now for game in any suit
he may, bid in reply. With no stopper,
bid your best four-card suit, but only
at the minimum level. and make q
constructive rebid on the next round.
(copyrisht. 1884,,
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