Conference turris::bridge

	I pass.  Partner has a couple of hearts, and is willing to try and
	make 3H on power alone.  He could have bid 3N or 3S or another suit
	if he was void.  He might even pass.  But not redouble.

	I expect partner to be 6-2-2-3 with Qx or xxx of hearts.

	-Dave

    If your casual partner is a unknown entity you'll have to go by 
    reason alone. Then why should he XX if he had H toleralnce or 
    6+ spades? 3HX making gives a far better MP score than any undoubled 
    game. Yet, with 6+ spades and H shortage there's an easy 3S bid.
    Hence (should it happen to me) I'd assume partner as 5-0-4-4,
    and would bid 3N. Pard would know I have no long hearts, nor spade
    tolerance; no 5 card minor, and cannot have much stopping in the 
    minors in view of my previous bids. This marks me with a 4 card
    minor. In the unlikely event pard decides to go minors via 4C, 
    I'll have to raise to 5C.

  Ho, ho - the ambiguous redouble !!  Either Dave's or Stoian's suggestion
 no doubt makes sense to them.  It's a shame bridge has come to this, isn't
 it ?  I agree you bid 3NT if you think it's runout, and you pass if you
 think it's penalties.  Your partner's age might help.  An older player
 is more likely to think it's for penalties.  But that is no guarantee -
 I doubt Stoian is in his twenties.

  I think I'd pass.  This might be an interesting play position in which
 I reduce my own trumps and try to endplay LHO.

  bb

    I'm not, but my daughter is.

Partner has already conveyed the message that his/her hand is (nearly?)
forcing to game, so PASS would mean "do something intelligent". I think
redouble should be an attempt to punish the opps for stepping into an
auction where they don't belong. So the question, as I see it, is "can
we hold the trump losers to 4 opposite partner's holding? Can s/he have
a void? I think not because s/he should pull the double in that case.
Besides, the trump endplay opportunities should be terrific. I'd pass
and expect to make 3Hxx on shear power.

Dave

>and expect to make 3Hxx on shear power.

	Is that the power of pantyhose?

    I remember the Flight A pairs in Manchester last summer, where with
    both vul, it went 1N(me, 15-17)-P-2D(Transfer)-Dbl(RHO)-Rdbl(me)-AP
    As my hand came down with AJx in Diamonds, partner wanted to confirm
    what the contract was:
    
    "I only know it is an exercise in terror", remarked LHO, the doubler's
    partner. Partner, Bill Bingham, whose declarer play soars to dizzying
    heights, whenever we're in a 3-2 or 3-3 trump contract, held Kxx, and
    proceeded to make 4. Of course, 3 rounds later, Walter La Fontaine
    rewound a 6C contract, which I had the temerity to double, momentarily
    forgetting Mr. SJ Simon's admonition, so the night became a tale of two
    redoubles.
    
    What does all this have to do with .0? Well, it was such a GREAT
    feeling to see 2D redoubled making - I wouldn't want to see you
    miss out on that opportunity, Mark. Trust your partner's strength and
    your own declarer play and GO FOR IT!
    
    Shekhar

It's nice to have an agreement for what happens after your transfer
bid is doubled. I think redouble with 5, pass with 3 or 4, and complete
the transfer with 2 is a good system for the NT opener. Any other?

If the transfer bid comes back to the transferer doubled, s/he can redouble
(sos), pass for penalties (but it is below game if diamonds), bid the implied
suit for "stop here", bid a new suit as game or slam try, raise in the same
suit to "retransfer".

If the transfer bid comes back redoubled, all the above bids are available
except redouble. However, a game-invitational or better hand probably passes,
so pulling the double is very similar to sos.

Dave

	This wasn't a transfer double, but I see the point.

	Our agreement (in order of priority) is:

		1) If you have support for partner, accept the transfer
		2) With 4+ cards in transfer suit, redouble
		3) Pass

	Note that accepting with support takes precedence over redoubling.
	A redouble should imply no (2-card) support, so partner doesn't
	misdefend if the opps eventually buy the contract.  Also note
	that a redouble from partner after your pass is not, "Run", but
	an offer to make on sheer power.

	If 2C (Stayman) is doubled, our agreement is:

		1) Bid a major if you have one
		2) Bid 2D with no major and 5 diamonds
		3) Redouble with 4+ clubs
		4) Pass with 3 clubs (3343)

	Again, a redouble by partner after your pass is not, "Run".

	Did I get it right, partner?

	-Dave

re .-1:  Yeah, Dave, that looks pretty good.

re .0:

Well, I chose to pass 3HXX.  It seemed clear that "run"
didn't make any sense, so it had to be a punishment for
the opponents entering into an auction that they should
have avoided.  We had no agreement that he would be trying
to redouble to show heart controls, for example, so I did
expect to find a couple hearts, or maybe the stiff A at worst,
along with a spade suit and lots of other winners.

I was totally stunned when dummy hit with:

AKJT-void-AKTxxx-AQx

WTF?

Me: "@&^#%&!!!  What did you mean by redouble?"

Pard: "Run!"

Me: "RUN?!!  After you opened 2C??!!  Why are WE running?"

Disgusted silence while I surveyed the battle scene.

Me: "I'm supposed to figure out to bid by 3-card, 9-high suit?"

More silence.

Me: "Why didn't you bid 3D over 2D?  Why distort your hand?"

Pard: "Well, after your negative response, I decided that the
only game we could make was 4S, so I had to bid them in case you
could support them."

Me: (silently) AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Me: (aloud) "Oh, come on:  Give me the CK and 4 small diamonds
and 6D may be cold as ice.  And even if not, 3N has plays
if I have some hearts."

Final result:  -1, XX for -200.  ZERO Matchpoints.
Field has a lot of 400s and 50s for pairs trying 5/6D or 3N
and making/losing whichever.  KC and QD are offside, so 6D
is not making.

Moral:  With a good hand, bid it naturally.  Don't start
masterminding the auction -- it's a partnership game.

					- Mark

    Why should one kick a dead horse?  (3HX v 3HXX making, MP-wise)
    Hence there cannot be a material difference in punishment;
    only ego-emotive (so long as one measures partner by his yardstick). 
    
    But there may be a material difference of a trick depending on 
    who plays 3N, perhaps(?) in favour of you being the declarer (as there 
    will be less H-rounds through you). Ironically, perhaps better than
    after a no-nonsensical bidding as 2C-2D-3D-3H-(X)-3N. 
    It would be nice if you gave us the whole deal.
    
    Sure, pard blundered initially (2S) but recovered later; he has an 
    easy 3N if you go 3S/3HXX, thus avoiding a dangerous 4S-by-you/3N-by-him.

Stoian makes a good argument:  if 3HX and 3HXX are likely to score the same at
MP, then a penalty redouble makes no sense, and a truly logical partner should
be assumed to mean something special by it.

But is it a reasonable assumption that the redouble will make no difference to
the MP score?  Suppose that partner is contemplating a small slam.  3HX making 6
scores *less* than a small slam; 3HXX making even 5 scores more.  Therefore, if
partner has any grounds for suspecting their may be a small slam around, his
penalty redouble would be completely sensible.

Looking at our hand and listening to the auction, there seems to be no
particular reason to conclude that partner doesn't believe there may be a slam
on this hand, so the penalty interpretation of redouble is still viable.  If you
accept as a rule of thumb that a bid should be assumed to have its natural
meaning in the absence of either prior discussion or compelling contrary logic,
then there is no reason to pull the redouble.

	-Neil

  And anyway, why not PASS 3HX ?  If partner wants to do something, he can.

  If he wants to redouble or pass, he can do that.

  bb

    Neil, it is possible but *extremely* improbable that pard is
    contemplating a small slam facing a virtually control-less
    hand where an opp has already shown something after 2C opening.
    And if said opp dares to 'step-out-of-line' at under-game level,
    risking a bottom, he must have a string of H, hence, it's
    far more probable that opener is short there (as you are short in
    his suit (S).