GaryFisch

If your partner envisioned a strip-squeeze, she is no rookie! I didn't even see it until you pointed it out (although I wasn't looking for it). Spade shift instead of diamond looks good since declarer denied 4 spades. Also, I'm a bit disappointed, since from your title, I thought the hand would involve a splinter bid gone awry :))

Anyone see Bobby Wolff's column, "Aces on Bridge," today? Declarer used a minimal-risk discovery play to beat a bad break in 7♥, not needing to draw the last trump until trick 13! Here's the deal. [hv=d=s&v=e&n=sa2haq10dakq4cq763&w=skqj10974h3dj976c5&e=s86h7542d1052cj1084&s=s53hkj986d83cak92]399|300|[/hv] South opened a light 1♥ based on the vulnerability and all values being in the long suits. After West preempted 3♠, North used an RKCB sequence to drive to 7♥. West lead the spade king to the ace. Declarer cashed the trump A and played the Q to the K. When West showed out, declarer reasoned that West had probably 7 spades and 1 heart, thus 5 in the minors. With seven diamonds missing, it was probably safe to cash two diamonds, so declarer did so. When the third high diamond passed successfully, declarer discarded his last spade and ruffed the last diamond with the J, East throwing a spade. Since East was now marked with four clubs, declarer entered dummy with the club Q, played a club to the J and K, entered dummy with the trump 10, and finessed against the club 10 for 13 tricks. Very nice. I was thinking that surely there has to be a double squeeze, with West guarding ♠ and ♦ and East guarding ♠ and ♣, but there is none I can find. The problem is, you have to cash all the red suit winners to force East to throw the spade, and then you are out of dummy entries for the squeeze on West. Is this correct? Can anyone find a double squeeze after the spade lead? The only way I see that a double squeeze occurs is if West leads something other than a spade - not very likely! Say West leads a trump. You run all the hearts, discarding clubs from dummy, and then the high diamonds. East discards a spade on the last of these, and you do the same. You then cash the high clubs. This is the key position: [hv=d=s&v=e&n=sa2haq10dakq4cq763&w=skqj10974h3dj976c5&e=s86h7542d1052cj1084&s=s53hkj986d83cak92]399|300|[/hv] On the club king, West is squeezed in spades and diamonds. The difference between this and the actual hand is that you have the spade A in dummy as the entry to carry out the squeeze on West.

Most casual players don't have adequate tools for handling minor-heavy hands after a 1NT opening. The old 2♠ minor bust seems woefully inadequate. What do you do about invitational hands? Slam-going hands? I think that full minor transfers are an essential part of winning bridge, but even those who use them disagree about how to play them. I think 2NT should be natural, so 2♠ => 3♣ and 3♣ => 3♦. After that, what to do? I was trying to come up with a system whereby showing the other minor would promise 5-5. Since I open 1NT with all 15-17 HCP 5-3-3-2, that would enable responder to support opener's delayed 5-card major promising a void in the other major. The idea was that with say, 14 + HCP, responder transfers to ♦, then bids 4♣. Opener then shows a 5 card major, which responder accepts with slam interest with a step bid (4♠ or 4NT). Opener follows with a step bid (4NT or 5♣) to ask for key cards outside of the void suit. All very nice, but then what about those 5-4 minors? You can have slam in a 4-4 fit where 3NT is going down. So I think showing the second minor has to include 5-4 hands. Responder can still support opener's delayed 5-card major but will probably have a singleton in the other major. (With 5-4-4 hands responder should use Stayman unless using 3-major as a 3-suit splinter - finding a major fit takes precedence, and bidding a major after transferring to a minor is normally used as stopper showing, inviting 3NT.) So how about using the step bid after opener's delayed major to promise 3 card support and 5-5 minors? Then opener can use the key card asking bids above. The only problem is, with 3-1-5-4 or 3-1-4-5 shape and slam interest after opener shows ♠, responder cannot use Blackwood (as he could if opener showed ♥). Unless 5♥ can be assigned some special meaning, responder would have no way to invite slam other than to bid 5♠. Another solution might be to assign special meaning to 3♥ and 3♠ in response to 1NT. For example these bids could be used to show 5-5 minors (3♥ invitational, 3♠ forcing), so that a transfer followed by bidding the other minor always shows 5-4. Some partnerships, however, use 3♥ and 3♠ as 3-suit splinters. Any thoughts, opinions, ideas, suggestions?

Duck 2 hearts, throw a club from dummy on the 3rd heart. Play a low spade to the Q. If that holds, cash the high diamonds. If diamonds are 2-2, come to hand with a diamond to the J, and repeat the spade finesse. If West has ♠Kxx, you can cash the spade A, cross to hand with the diamond 8, cash the spades, crossy to dummy with a club, and take the long diamond - 2 overtricks. Even if East has ducked in spades, you are in control with the club A still in dummy - but East should not duck (see below). If diamonds are Qxx or longer, a lot depends on who has the long ones. If it's East, you can force out the diamond Q, win the club return, cross to hand with the diamond J, and take a second spade finesse for 9 tricks: 3 spades, 1 heart, 4 diamonds, and 1 club. If West has the long diamonds, you are reduced to cashing the spade A and hoping the K drops doubleton - a reasonable chance given that West started with 5 hearts and at least 3 diamonds. If the spade finesse loses on the 1st round, East will surely return a club. That gives you a problem: You cannot force out the long diamond Q with East, since East can put West on lead with a club to cash the hearts. You will thus need a 2-2 diamond break (or singleton Q) to get home. Even if the spade K drops, that's only 8 tricks unless diamonds behave.

How do you show 2 suited hands? I can think of three or four approaches: 1a. A rather old textbook (Modern Bridge Conventions, Root and Pavlicek, 1981) suggests using 2NT to show a weak freak (6-5+, < 6 HCP) and a cue-bid of opener's suit as Michaels. Then what do you do with a bid of responder's suit? 1b. I'd think that if you're going to use this approach, it makes more sense to bid responder's suit as Michaels and to let a bid of opener's suit be natural. First, you're more likely to see this sequence with opener bidding a minor. Second, you want the two-suited bid to have some preemptive power, eg., 1♣-Pass-1♠-2♠ shows hearts and diamonds, but 1♣-Pass-1♠-2♣ shows clubs 2. A bid of an opponent's minor is natural but opponent's major is Michaels. If both majors are bid, then bid !S for minors (or 2NT/4NT weak freak). If both minors are bid, then overcall in spades w/major 2-suiter. 3. All suit bids are natural, and 2NT shows a two-suiter (5-5+) if the bidding is at the 1-level. If the opponents have bid to the 2-level, content yourself with a simple overcall in your higher suit, unless you have a very distributional hand, where you want to bid 4NT. I prefer this approach for its simplicity although it gives up some specificity. What do you think? Of course, none of this applies against Precision or similar systems.

Right, and that's a good argument for opening all decent 5 card majors even with 5-3-3-2 and 1NT point count. It seems to me that you have to play this way using 4-suit transfers. Suppose the bidding goes 1NT-3♣-3♦-4[_CL (game-forcing)? Responder might have a 5530 or 5431, but you don't want to be introducing a new suit at the 4-level. Responder will not know your strength (max/min) or what you may have in the minors. A perfectly good sequence, if responder does have that strength and shape, is 1♥-2♦-2NT-3♣-4♣-4♥. Then opener may cue-bid, use Blackwood, or bid 5♥ to ask for quality of trumps. OTOH, I would always open 2NT or (even more so) 2♣-then-2NT with the right point count and a balanced hand. It's essential to show that strength and shape early so partner doesn't pass with a sure game.

Interesting suggestion. Let's look at what happens if East shifts to the ♠4 to the K and A. Leaving the ♣A in hand, declarer runs the diamonds. Suppose West keeps the ♥A and probably two other hearts, a spade, and a club. Declarer keeps ♠J65 and ♣A6, and East holds on to ♠Q109 and ♣Q10. The position is: [hv=d=n&v=e&n=sj65hdca6&w=s3ha107dcj&e=sq109hdcq10&s=s7hk986dc]399|300|Scoring: IMP[/hv] Dummy's spade is now played and ducked in hand to East. East can shift to a club, but Declarer wins and puts East back on lead to play from ♠Q10 up to J6. But now suppose West instead keeps a spade, 2 hearts (including A), and 2 clubs. Now, when declarer plays a spade to East, that player returns the ♣Q. West plays low, and now declarer is either endplayed in spades or must put West on lead to cash the ♥A and play a spade through declarer. Or East could simply keep a heart along with a club and 3 spades, win the spade exit, and put West on lead with the ♥A. Nor can declarer get ahead by keeping both hearts in hand. He then has to come down to 2 spades, and, while declarer may get a ♥ winner at the end, the defense first gets the ♥A and 3 spades, plus the ♦Q. I do believe the game is sunk after a spade shift by East. Naturally, if East continues clubs, declarer should win this trick to not give the defense a second chance.

I should add, though, in the 2 card ending with ♥ all round and the lead with East, if East plays the 5, you will have to guess to run this to the J. Thus, it isn't really an endplay - except in that you have a chance, whereas if you had to play from either hand in this ending, you would lose.

It sounds like people have gotten off topic and onto the subject of slow play in general. Well, ok, if you want to talk about that, I think most complaints about slow play have nothing to do with inferences, pressure, or deception, and everything to do with someone wanting the hand to move along. Well, fine, I like a hand to move along, but some hands deserve more time than others. I remember one time a BBO opponent stated that thinking for too long is cheating. He then chatted, "Bye, cheaters" and left the table. Needless to say I was upset by this and reported that player.

This is wrong, you don't have to play in tempo you can think all you want at trick #1 and it does not have anuthing to do with tournament rules. Your comments about "pressure" just don't apply, there's no such pressure. It indeed can pressure the third hand if the singleton is played quickly, because declarer can draw an inference from any delay by that hand; whereas, if declarer takes time to play from dummy, third hand can spend that time planning the play. Also, if 3rd hand then plays quickly, the defense can draw an inference from any delay by declarer which they can't do on a delay to play a singleton from dummy.

[hv=d=e&v=e&n=saj65hj43dj3ca652&w=sk32ha1072d1076cj93&e=sq1094hq5dq9cq10874&s=s87hk986dak8542ck]399|300|Scoring: IMP[/hv] An unremarkable auction led to 3NT played by North. East led 5th best to dummy's king. I won't go into the line actually played. I think the line with the best chances and of the most interest is to duck a diamond to set up the suit for 8 tricks total and hope for a helpful discard for the 9th. Suppose you duck the club return and win the next club. When you cash diamonds, you must find four discards. Let's say you reduce to 2 in each major. If East and West both do the same, you can prevail with ♠A and another to endplay whoever wins it. A better defense might be for East to keep a 2 spades, a heart and a club, with West keeping a low spade and 3 hearts. This would be the position: [hv=d=e&v=e&n=saj65hj43dj3ca652&w=sk32ha1072d1076cj93&e=sq1094hq5dq9cq10874&s=s87hk986dak8542ck]399|300|Scoring: IMP[/hv] On the ♦2, West drops a ♠ and you throw a ♥. Of course, a ♠discard by East would be fatal, setting up the J. If East tosses the ♣Q, it is safe to play ♠A and another. Whoever wins has to lead ♥. So East bares the ♥Q. Now if you play spades, East will get the club and a spade and give West the heart A for down one. So instead, you play the ♥K at trick 10 to pin the Q, setting up the J as the 9th trick. You know to do this, because if West holds ♥AQ10, the contract is dead no matter what you play, and if East holds ♥AQ10? Then West threw the ♠K from KQx allowing you to finesse through the Q. Very unlikely. If West actually dropped an honor from that holding as a falsecard to get you to play ♥ instead, all you can do is tip your hat. Any problems with this analysis so far? Anyone have more to add? Does it make a difference if you don't duck the 2nd club?

I see I've sparked some discussion. It sounds like the answer is to check the tournament rules, and unless otherwise stated, play in tempo. I see how playing fast with a singleton from dummy can pressure the third hand, but it can also pressure declarer where, say declarer wants to steal a trick by playing Q from Qxx opposite Axx, or tempt LHO to cover J w/K crashing on Q, or play a suit where he/she is weak to keep the opponents from playing it. I suspect it's more likely to place the pressure on the third hand.

Hmm, and if South plays ♠ next, win A and have 9 (1 S, 1 H, 4 D, and 3C). OK, makes sense to me.

It's an old adage that more hands are lost at trick one than at any other trick. It makes sense for declarer to take time to plan the deal before playing the first card. My question is: If dummy is singleton in the lead suit, does declarer gain an unfair advantage by thinking before playing the only card that can be played? The opponents know that declarer must be planning the hand but can't infer anything else. However, if declarer plays immediately from dummy and then thinks before playing from hand, the opponents might infer something about declarer's hand, especially in NT. They can infer that declarer was considering whether or not to hold up, and decide whether to continue the suit or switch when next on lead based at least in part on this inference. Maybe it's moot in this case though. Declarer's decision will almost always be based on the complete hand, rather than just one suit, so deciding what to play at trick one and planning the hand become synonomous. Are there any established guidelines here? Any thoughts?

Yes, but a strip squeeze in 3 suits, with a different wrinkle on each choice of discards as to why it loses. That is truly amazing, and brutal!!! I say, whoever declared this should submit it for publication. Of course, I don't know the rest of the deal.

[hv=d=e&v=e&w=saq1064ha8da65caq8&e=s875hq42dkq983ck6]266|100|Scoring: IMP[/hv] This hand is a lesson on when it's right to play second hand high, as well as thinking before you play the first card from dummy, not to mention being careful what you read into opponents' play - especially online. Most players know it's often right to play 2nd high from Kx, Qx, or Jx, but it's also sometimes right to play high from Qxx or Jxx opposite Ax or even Axx. It's good to think about it before playing to trick 1. I found out the hard way. I opened 2NT in 3rd seat (20-21), and partner raised to 3NT. The opening lead was the ♥9. This seemed a bit strange, but I didn't start to really think until I had played second hand low. Then I had a dilemma. It didn't seem like North could have the K. From KJ109, surely North would lead the J, and from K98x or longer, the 4th best. So South surely had the K, and, possibly, the length. (It didn't occur to me that South would encourage with a higher card than the 5.) I wouldn't need the ♥Q if diamonds broke or the ♠K was onside. However, if North started with 9x, I could isolate the suit after a possible losing spade finesse by holding up my A. This I did. After winning the 2nd round, I cashed the ♦A, dropping the J, and then played a diamond to the K. Considering diamonds alone, the K or Q first is best - then Restricted Choice says run the 9. The problem here is that that play could cost me the chance to take the spade finesse if North has ♦J and 10 and hearts are not 4-4. It's close as to the odds, but I like to go with 2 chances instead of 1. Also, if South showed out on the first diamond, I could finesse twice through North. Anyway, diamonds didn't break, so I cashed the remaining minor honors ending in dummy and tried the spade finesse. Down one. It might have been down two if North had boldly bared the spade K and kept all the hearts. But it never should have been an issue. If I'd played the ♥Q at trick 1, second hand high, I could still have ducked if South covers, but here, I'd be able to take the RC play in diamonds, leading to 11 tricks (1 spade, 2 hearts, 5 diamonds, and 3 clubs). I could have had my cake and eaten it too. The full deal: [hv=n=sk3hkj10963djcj954&w=saq1064ha8da65caq8&e=s875hq42dkq983ck6&s=sj92h75d10742c10732]399|300|[/hv] What's that saying, "More hands are lost at trick one than at any other trick?"

Give me AK in a case like this (except in dummy's suit) and I'll probably play one of them to have a look at dummy. I'd also play A from AQJx here, for the same reason. Keep the lead in my hand, get a look at dummy, get two chances, since declarer might have 9 or more cashing with the long suit in dummy. In this case, though, gotta go with 4th best club.

You are right. I plead lateness of hour for not checking that, sorry. North with QJx has an interesting choice of risks. Either play low and risk the 9 holding, or split the honors and risk declarer playing spades, which would, in fact, squeeze North in that case. Declarer can't make the game by playing spades (since with 4 of them West would have bid 3♠ in response to Stayman), and this argues in favor of splitting the honors. Declarer will almost certainly play the club finesse rather than try to come up with a squeeze by playing spades. But if you're playing North at a real table, better play that card smoothly!

[hv=d=e&v=e&w=sak6hak9da4ca10863&e=sj104hj1085d863ck95]266|100|[/hv] This is a www.playbridge.com deal, and not actually played; however, I found it interesting. You, West, open 3rd seat with 2♣, partner answers 2♦, and you say 2NT. After a checkback Stayman, you end in 3NT. The defense starts with two rounds of diamonds, South unblocking the king. How do you proceed? You have 7 high, but the defense will surely cash 3 more diamonds if they get on lead. You can get 2 more in ♥ if the Q drops singleton or via finesse if South has Qx - both unlikely. You can't get a 4th heart via finesse due to the blockage; South is not going to "cover an honor with an honor" seeing the 1085 still in dummy with no other entries. So the best play is to cash ♥AK and hope for the Q to fall - or other chances .... [hv=n=s98hq76dqj1095cj42&w=sak6hak9da4ca10863&e=sj104hj1085d863ck95&s=sq7532h432dk72cq7]399|300|[/hv] Both follow low to two rounds of hearts, so you cash a high spade, cross to the ♣K, and take the ♠ finesse. Pity poor North! No matter whether South covers or not, North is squeezed in three suits on the 3rd spade. The ♥Q or a club is immediately fatal, so North throws a diamond. But now you just exit in hearts or diamonds. The defenders get 3 diamonds and a heart, but then North must lead away from the J4 up to the A10. A 3-suit strip squeeze! GaryFisch Note: If South plays an honor when you play a club to the king, and North throws a low heart on the 3rd spade, you can try to drop the QJ doubleton. If on the other hand, North plays a club honor, you're best off taking the club finesse (giving you 5 clubs if it wins, and heavily favored via restricted choice). That puts North in a rather interesting position if you switch one of North's low clubs with the club Q ;) !

Thanks, and the reason I didn't try to set up ♦ was because I thought North had to have AKxxx for the overcall, despite the underlead. Maybe North was hoping for Qx with partner. I guess, though, one can believe an opponent's play, especially the opening lead, more than his/her bidding. My theory is that players bid strangely here to confuse opponents, thinking they can get away with it, since there are so many players here, and contact is only virtual. They figure the opponents won't remember their play if they ever meet again. It'd be hard to get away with unsound bidding in a club, where people get to know your tendencies.

[hv=w=sj1082haj75d4cakj6&e=saqhk1042dq10962c73]266|100|[/hv] ... for my first hand in a session, so soon after dinner. You know, a nice 1NT with 7 cashing tricks and no more possible. But instead I found myself declaring a rather complex game. The bidding proceeded: West North East South Pass Pass Pass 1C 1D 2D Pass 2H Pass 4H All Pass Partner's 2 diamond bid, apparently, was natural (we hadn't discussed this). Four hearts is a logical contract. North led the diamond 3, and maybe I should play second hand low, but I hoped for the J to be with North, so I put in the 9. No such luck. South won the J and continued with the 7. I agonized a bit over this - should I ruff or discard? I finally decided that the hand had too many variables to give up an early trick needlessly. There are finesses possible in 3 suits, as well as squeeze and endplay opportunities, so I ruffed low. Next I took the spade finesse. I figured that 1) It was likely to work, 2) It would set up the J10 if it failed, and 3) It might help me in playing the other suits. The Q held, and I cashed the spade A. Then I decided to take the finesse through South. I couldn't bring in a 4-1 trump break, so I played for South to have Qxx. You may notice a few things wrong with my play. First, I had 3 chances to cash a high club before taking the finesse - I can always cross to dummy later. If the club Q falls, though, I can play safe against any 3-2 by cashing the high trumps, then the club and spade winners. Second, North would hardly have underled the diamond AK, so South had one of these and the J. It was very likely that North had both the heart Q and club K, so the finesse, if any should go through North. Anyway, North took the trump J with the Q, and at this point I'll show you the full deal. [hv=n=sk964hq93dk853c105&w=sj1082haj75d4cakj6&e=saqhk1042dq10962c73&s=s753h86daj7cq9842]399|300|[/hv] Doesn't North's overcall, on 8 HCP and a ratty 4 carder, look strange? North returned the diamond 8, and, after some thought, I ruffed the A with the trump A. I finessed the spade J, which held (discarding the club 4 and missing a 4th chance to cash a high club!). I then ruffed the last spade, drew the last trump with the heart 10, and led the club from dummy. Would you believe that my brain was so muddled by now that I actually considered finessing, where the AK would give me 10 tricks? Fortunately, South made life easy by playing the Q. Second hand high, covering a low card with an honor! But if I had needed 11, the way to get them is still to play from the top. Here's what's left. [hv=n=sk964hq93dk853c105&w=sj1082haj75d4cakj6&e=saqhk1042dq10962c73&s=s753h86daj7cq9842]399|300|[/hv] North, who "should" have both minor honors remaining, has shown up with 4 spades, 3 hearts, and 4 diamonds. Therefore, the club Q should drop under the AK. What do BBO players have against sound bidding??? That's one of my pet peeves. :o Looks like the best way to play this hand is to throw a club on the second diamond. If North wins, and returns a spade (best), I finesse the Q, ruff out the diamond A, play the spade 10, covered by the K and ruffed in dummy, cross to the trump A, finesse trumps through North, draw the last trump, and claim. If North holds up the diamond K, I win, and almost any play guarantees 10 tricks (best is to finesse both majors through North). Any thoughts? GaryFisch

would not open 1st 1NT w/Qx - don't want to play NT - last two yes w/Kx

Hannie, First off, don't worry about a negative response. Yours is quite thoughtful, and I hoped to get some feedback. Actually, I'd never heard of the notion of using transfers on this sequence, and I think I like the idea. With regard to your objections: 1. Please explain why you think passing first is a losing strategy. My notion is that the 4th player is unlikely to hold 5 strong trumps if you have 3 (doubler would be void) and thus is forced to bid. Granted, the opponents might tend to penalty pass more often knowing that you will pass with a good hand and support, but that seems like a losing strategy to me. Most of the time, your pass will mean you have a weak hand. They may get a few 1Mx+3's, with your missing game, but there will be a lot more 1Mx+0-2's, and those can be deadly, especially at matchpoints. They may even be missing a game. There is a problem if they bid past 3 of partner's suit before your next turn, but what do you normally see if you pass? A minimum takeout followed by 2 passes - and that's with a traditional pass with a weak hand. Note - opener is free to bid with a strong hand - say, make the normal 2NT bid with a balanced 18-19. 2. The system could be modified to allow a bid of a 4-card major over a double, but I would rather use a redouble if possible to let partner bid that suit and become declarer. Maybe a 4-card major with 6-7 HCP could be bid. The situation is somewhat analogous to a negative double, which promises 4 spades after 1C or D-(1H) (see Marty Bergen's Introduction to Negative Doubles (Points Schmoints Mini Series)). With 5 spades, you would bid 1S rather than double. 3. The two-suited bids are optional. 1NT and 2NT can be used with their regular meanings if desired. Perhaps the answer is to extend the redouble all the way down to 6 HCP - then the 2-suited bids could be used without having to pass a balanced 7 count, to use your example. 4. The pre-emptive jump raise is still there. It shows up to 7 HCP, and you bid higher the longer your support. 5) It's a matter of preference. 6) The non-specific 2-suiter is only in the case of a major opening, and then partner at least knows you have the other major. Partner can locate your minor by bidding 2 clubs. You can then pass or bid 2 diamonds with the weak version, or make some other bid with the strong flavor. (BTW, that's a good reason for having 1NT be the slightly non-specific bid and 2NT specifying the lower 2 suits.) If the opponents bid, you can still usually get in your minor (unless they bid it). As far as non-specific strength, your next bid will specify that as well. It's a trade-off of course, and like I said, the 2-suited bids are optional if you want to use the pass-and-bid-later approach (which, apparently, you don't.) Again, I like your transfer approach and think it may be superior to my proposed approach. You are less likely to be shut out of the bidding, and have a way to show strong hands as well. Now, if your proposed name for it gains acceptance, then it will be easy to put on CC's and play it online. Till then I'll probably just use standard redoubles. Thanks again, Gary

Many players are now using "no-fit" redoubles to show a defensively oriented hand rather than the standard redouble as the only strong bid after an enemy takeout double. The problem arises of how to handle invitational or better hands with support for partner's suit, especially a major. Truscott 2NT is available, but I have come up with an approach that I haven't seen before. The full description is too long to post here, but the essentials are: Pass, then bid by responder shows 8+ HCP and support for partner's suit. A raise shows 4 card support and the level increases with HCP. A no-trump bid shows exactly 3-card support and the level increases with HCP. Any 1st round bid by responder other than a raise denies support for partner's suit, bids are as follows: Non-jump new suit shows 5+ cards and unlimited strength, and is forcing for 1 round. Jump new suit shows 6+ cards, max 6HCP, non-forcing. 1NT shows 5-5 or longer in both majors or major and unbid minor - weak or strong 2NT shows 5-5+ in the lower unbid suits - weak or strong Redouble shows 8+ HCP. With a 5 card suit, prefer redouble over new suit if stronger, less support for partner, and more balanced in other 3 suits. The idea is that if responder has support for partner's suit, the double will almost certainly be taken out. Responder will likely get a chance to describe his/her hand very accurately, especially if there is a weak take out followed by 2 passes. It follows that opener should pass the takeout bid except with a very strong hand, say 18+ HCP. Also, enemy bidding may give a clue as to both bidding and play - eg., responder can cue-bid enemy suit to show control, support, and game force. Combined with splinters, a slam can be reached that might not otherwise. The likely disadvantage of this approach is that the opponents can sometimes jump the bidding up too high to allow an accurate bidding sequence. This is less likely with a Truscott 2NT. Also, I have never seen a two-suited bid over partner's opening - only over an opponent's bid. Yet 1NT and 2NT are less useful as natural bids - opener should declare no-trump rather than responder so that the doubler leads. Any thoughts? Gary