[cencio]

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[mike777]

strong enough to double and rebid hearts

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

you dont mind 4H or 5H over 4S given the colors, so go with X
if you wamt, it is ok.

I still would go with 1H.

If p finds a bid over 1H, you know you have 4H, if he is forced
to bid, you dont know that.
If you bid X followed by 2H, p knowes you are strong, but he does
not know, that you know, which suit will be trump.
Shortage in hearts will scare him, you know, you dont care finding
him with shortage.

Similar, if he cant find a bid over 1H, 4H wont have a great chance
of success.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[jillybean]

It's a matter of style, many players would double first considering the hand too strong to make a simple overcall.

I'm now in the lonely 1H camp.

[mikeh]

mike777, on 2026-April-15, 14:28, said:

strong enough to double and rebid hearts

Really?

Ok. You double and partner jumps to 4S. Are you happy yet?

[mikeh]

Easy 4H.

1H gives the opps too much bidding space. Double then bidding (a) runs the risk of it being partner who bids 4S and (b) lacks the defence implied by double and bid.

More interesting to me is whether I should double if they bid 4S, which double shows my 4H was not purely preemptive and promises some defence.

[blackshoe]

If North jumps to 4♠ over my double with that crap, he can find a new partner.

[jillybean]

mikeh, on 2026-April-16, 10:37, said:

Easy 4H.

I know you can be relied upon to have your bid but Isn't this a little too strong for 4♥ ?
7 hearts to the AKQ, stiff ♠, likely working ♦K

[mycroft]

Of course partner isn't bidding 4♠ with that crap. How about KQTxxxx - xxx Axx?

Over a "normal" takeout double, this should play.

[johnu]

blackshoe, on 2026-April-18, 10:53, said:

If North jumps to 4♠ over my double with that crap, he can find a new partner.

Not with the OP's deal, but there are plenty of hands where partner would jump to 4♠, especially if West competes and compresses the bidding space.

[johnu]

mycroft, on 2026-April-18, 12:30, said:

Of course partner isn't bidding 4♠ with that crap. How about KQTxxxx - xxx Axx?

Over a "normal" takeout double, this should play.

This is like Goldilocks and the 3 bears. The original North is too weak to jump to 4♠. Your example is too strong to jump to 4♠. ♠A, singleton ♦, and ♣KQ give this hand a play for 6♠.

[mycroft]

Okay. I don't play for perfectos, I play to win the most common situations where the opponents find their fit too. You are probably right that there is a better call with that hand.

But if we're in Goldilocks territory, then there is a third bear (which I will admit I didn't spend too much time looking for). Which - not "which exact hand would do this" - is actually the point.

If you double with this hand, partner will - occasionally - bid 4♠. Or 3♠ - do you just bid 4♥? Is 3♠ preemptive in your system (in which case you're going minus), or "shape-strong rather than points-strong" that is afraid of cuebidding and leading to partner doubling on your tricks (or something else)? Even if partner bids 2♠ showing values - two black aces has a (poor, but better if also the ♦Q, still a 2♠ call, no?) play for 6♥. ♠KQ ♦QJ goes down in 4.

What do you do with the "I have 8.5 tricks in hearts, and nowhere near as many in any other suit" hand when you decide it's a "too strong to overcall" double and the auction is at 4♠ or higher when it comes back to you? Whether partner has hanged you or the opponents doesn't matter much - but it is more embarrassing if it is partner, of course. That's the question, not picking holes in exactly which hand partner will hang you (and whether you'll win the post-mortem after).

The question is - is the risk of that happening more, or more costly, than the risk of going +170 in 1♥ AP?