Bridge Tip # 15

If your partner has opened a strong notrump and it is doubled showing presumably  a balanced hand with  more than fifteen points, it is incumbent upon you to run because you are able to   easily judge which side has the balance of power. You may have four triple three with less than three points so your side is almost certainly going down. I have always found it it best for the responder’s redouble to be reserved as showing a desire to run. After all, the opener may have a five card or rarely even a six bagger.

If pass usually indicates the responder thinks the opener has at least a decent chance of making the bid.  the opener with a maximum for the first bid, knowing their side has at least half the points, may double if the opponents run.

This is different if opener bids a suit. Then a redouble shows strength and generally asks the opener to either pass or double any suit the opponents may run to. Though it generally applied to contracts at higher levels, the Aces had a rule that we didn’t redouble our freely bid final contracts even though we should. The reasoning was that we felt we were better than the other team. Why give the opponents a psychological edge if some fluke occurred? If we didn’t have a huge a disaster we felt we would win.

You should work out a defense to a double that doesn’t show a good balanced hand such as Brozel. You should also be aware that your opponents are playing this.