2♣. Your hand is extremely strong and must be opened at the two level, but should you open with a game-forcing bid or just a strong two? Your hand has wonderful potential and it would not be unreasonable to expect to make ten tricks from your own hand, even if your partner has no points at all. Whenever you have a hand that can make game by itself, open 2♣ – your strongest opening bid. This keeps your partner bidding and will allow you to show both suits. Don’t forget the definition of the strongest bid: 23+ highcard points or a hand that can make game by itself. Here, the auction would be straightforward: 2♣-2♦ -2♠-2NT-3♥ -4♥ End. Your partner shows a double negative and then supports your hearts. Making ten tricks should be easy and eleven tricks are likely. 

East Hand  ♠ 5  ♥ 9 8 3 ♦ 8 6 2 ♣ 9 8 7 6 5 4
 

Pass. You have 22 HCP, so you open 2NT. Your partner bids Stayman, to which you reply 3♥  and he raises to 4♥ . Your partner knows you have 20-22 points so why has he just bid 4♥? Because he has a weak hand and he expects game to be the partnership’s limit. It is very tempting to bid on with strong hands, but when you make a ‘limit bid’ such as 2NT – setting limits to your strength – you leave your partner in charge. If East had 10+ points, he might have contemplated a slam, but with just five points, he rightly settled for game.

East Hand ♠ 8653 ♥ QJ92 ♦ 87 ♣ Q76

Double. You open 1♠, North overcalls 2♥ and the bidding comes back round to you. You have a medium to strong opening hand and would like to compete for the deal. Competing for the deal is particularly important when you are short in the opponents’ suit. You might rebid 2♠, but that excludes your partner from the decision. Why not include him by reopening with a double: this describes your hand perfectly. It suggests you are short in hearts and are happy to play in any other suit, thereby keeping the partnership’s options open. Furthermore, it gives one last option, which occurs on this hand. Your partner might be happy to play in 2♥ doubled. East is weak on this hand, but when he hears your double (for take-out), he is happy to pass, confident that the best result for your side will come from defending. Two ace-king combinations and hopefully three or more trump tricks will result in at least +300, but you may well score more than that.

East Hand ♠ 76 ♥ KJT32 ♦ T752 ♣ 43

1♦ . You need 6 HCP to respond at the one level. There are a lot of rules in bridge and, as any players who have played this game for any length of time know, they are all made for breaking. However, it is important to break the rules only if you have good reason. You would choose to respond on a weaker hand only if you could be pretty sure that by responding you will find a better contract. 1♣ does not look very good from your hand: surely any other suit is better, even no-trumps (assuming your partner is strong)? The only time that responding will not work on this hand, is if your partner has a single-suited hand with six clubs. This is quite possible, but you are playing with the odds. Clearly, if you are going to respond, you should choose the cheapest suit, giving your side the best chance to find a better contract. Had you chosen 1♥ or 1♠, your partner would have rebid 2♣. Instead, he can raise your 1♦  response.

East Hand ♠ K3 ♥ 2 ♦ AK62 ♣ A98632