True confession: I'm a complete sucker for the "Despicable Me" Minions. How anyone can look at and listen to them without laughing is beyond me. Anyway, watching them in their latest movie got me thinking: Why are so many cartoon characters bright yellow? The Simpsons, SpongeBob, Peanuts' Woodstock, dozens more.
Indeed there are two reasons. First is visibility. Cartoon characters color schemes are based on making them stand out from their backgrounds. Since the sky is background so often, the color diametrically opposed on the color wheel, yellow, is used.
The second reason is psychological. The color yellow is associated with happiness and fun.
Now, as bridge players, we could wear yellow to make everyone around us happy. OR!! We can make our bids bright and clear so they stand out. Let's try that today, responding to Take-Out Doubles.
A quick review of what Pard's TOD means: 1) Shortness (no more than two cards) in the opponent's suit. 2) Four cards in any unbid major (if the opponent bid a minor, you can get away with four-three). 3) Tolerance (three cards) for any unbid suit. 4) An opening-ish hand (including distribution). The modern TOD shows a very specific hand.
When we respond to a TOD, we have two responsibilities. First, we need to pick a suit. Knowing Pard's shape (above) is a huge help. Secondly, and this is where most beginners fall down, is we need to show our point count. With 0-8ish pts, we bid as cheaply as possible. With 8-ish to 11 pts, we jump one level, and with more than that, we consider game.
So let's paint the town yellow with our responses. Ready?
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