ACES ON BRIDGE

DEARMR.WOLFF: Does bidding in the balancing seat show less than in direct seat? I’ve seen reference to this, but can you still have full values when you balance over an opening bid? — Rate Adjuster,

Houston, Texas DEAR READER: In general, most actions in the balancing seat have a lower minimum threshold, say about a king less, than the same action in direct seat. So with a maximum overcall you have the option of starting with a double and then bidding your suit, as opposed to introducing the suit at once. And a balancing notrump call shows 11-15 points, not a strong no-trump.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: When opener, facing a passed hand, doubles the opponents at his second turn, is that for takeout? I opened one heart with ; 10-2, k A-K-J-10-3, l A-Q, ' K-10-3-2. If my opponents bid and raise spades, what should I do next? — Lola Granola,

Chester, Ill. DEARREADER: With the above hand I might bid three clubs rather than double — my diamonds look too feeble. But any time you have a 5-4-3-1 pattern, a double is surely best. Let partner pick his long suit — in which case three-card support should be enough for him.

DEARMR.WOLFF: I was confused with a recent aside you produced in an answer in Bid With the Aces. After hearing a one-heart response to one diamond, you said, “to rebid the diamonds here virtually guarantees a six-card suit.” Are you ever allowed to rebid a five-card suit?

— Limbo Dancer, Fredericksburg, Va. DEAR READER: When you open a minor and hear partner respond one heart, it

is almost never necessary to repeat a five-card suit. Occasionally, after a response of one spade to a minor, you may be forced to repeat a good fivecard suit when holding four hearts and no stopper in the other minor. By contrast, after partner responds at the two-level, repeating a decent five-carder is often the least lie.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: When should a redouble be to play, when is it SOS, and when is it just a good hand? — Sorting It Out,

Tucson, Ariz. DEAR READER: Generalizing is hard, but a simple rule is that if you have been doubled for penalty and are in the pass-out seat, redouble is for rescue. If you are facing an overcall or opening and the double is not penalty, any redouble shows a good hand or extras. Where no fit has been found by your side, such doubles generally look like defensively oriented hands.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: An unopposed sequence went 1

k —2 ' —2 ;. Some say that opener’s second bid of two spades is really a sort of reverse (guaranteeing some extras). Is there such a thing? Is there any difference in the value of the two-spade call depending on whether you are playing Standard American or two-over-one game-forcing? — Upsy-Daisy, Charleston, S.C. DEAR READER: The answer here does indeed depend on whether the two-club call guarantees a rebid. If two clubs is a game force, then the two-spade bid just describes opener’s hand pattern and does not guarantee extra values. If the two-club bid is not a gameforce, then the reverse to two spades shows enough extras to force to game — say at least a good 14 points with fit.