Well judging your hands by Bobby Wolff

A: Pass: You have a great hand, but you showed every bit of it on your second turn. Your partner's raise is mere courtesy; he could have bid game, jumped or made a cue-bid, so you shouldn't expect more than one cover card. With the spade queen and the heart ace, for example, he would have done more. So pass two spades.

Your result so far:

A: 2♠: You may not have much in the way of high cards, but you have a lot of playing strength and must compete to two spades. The secret of responding to takeout doubles is for your hand -- the advancer -- to take up the slack, while the doubler assumes his partner knows what he has (opening values with suitable shape) and tends only to bid again with extra shape or high cards.

Your result so far:

A: 2♠: New suits in response to weak twos are natural and forcing, so you cannot pass. Rebidding your own suit is regressive and denies a fit for hearts, so it does not feel right here. Maybe it is sensible to rebid two spades, which should not guarantee a four-card suit, but is just bidding where you live. You can raise hearts on your next turn.


Your result so far:

A: 3♣: It was once considered normal to use two no-trump as a second negative, the original two-diamond call having denied 8 points. But because players now tend to temporize with a two-diamond call over two clubs no matter what they have, you need the two-no-trump rebid to show at least a semi-positive, balanced. Hence, you should subvert a three-club rebid to show the double negative here.

Your result so far:

A: 2♥: In response to your partner's game-forcing fourth-suit inquiry, you have no particularly accurate call, but rebidding a chunky five-carder is not too far off the mark. It is consistent with a six-carder, but does not guarantee it, and by virtue of being the most economical call, it leaves room for your partner to describe his hand accurately.

Your result so far: