Assuming the hand is suitably weak, we open Weak Twos with 6-card suits, preempt at the 3-level with 7 cards, and at the 4-level with 8.  The exception is in Clubs where there is no Weak Two available, a 2♣ opening being reserved for really strong hands.  No problem, East’s suit is good enough for a 3♣ bid, all the more so at this favorable vulnerability, a situation where it pays to jump into the fray and harass the bad guys.

Just as on Board 1, North has 11 HCP’s and a 5-card major.  On Board 1 we advocated a 1♠ opening (although that didn’t work out very well!), but this hand is by no means an opening bid.  First of all, it does not pass the Rule of Twenty, coming to only 19 via 11+5+3.  And, looking beyond the arithmetic of points, the hand has some serious defects, such as the rotten Hearts, lack of fillers, and those two dangling minor suit Queens.  As 11-counts go, this one is poor indeed, and deserves to be passed.

As if to demonstrate further that all 11-counts should not be opened, the computer has dealt North another real stinker.  This one is a clear Pass … dull shape, doesn’t pass the Rule of Twenty, and extremely quacky.  Not even close to an opening bid.  To reinforce the fact that there’s more to hand evaluation than counting HCP’s, compare North’s 11-pointers on Boards 1, 4 and 5.

A Double of an overcall is generally played as “Negative”, meaning that it shows the unbid suits, as in:

            West    North   East     South

            1♣       1♠        Dbl

That Double shows 4+ Hearts for sure, and ideally Diamonds as well (though we often fudge that minor detail, it’s the major holding we must not even think about fudging).

However, in the actual auction, North has bid 3♠, raising a question needs to be resolved by every partnership. How high do you play your Negative Doubles?  It used to be common to play them up to 2♠, with higher-level Doubles being played for penalties.  Nowadays, it’s more usual to play the Double as Negative up to 3♠ or 4♥.  There’s no right or wrong here, but we do recommend that (a) you play Negative Doubles higher than 2♠, and (b) you and Partner make sure that you are on the same wavelength!  How many HCP’s does East need for a 3-level Negative Double?  He’s forcing his partner to bid 3NT or go to the 4-level, so decent values are required, something not too far away from an opening bid.  The East hand certainly qualifies, so a Negative Double is the way to go, if you are playing that Double that high.

And, if a Negative Double is not available in your methods?  Bid 3NT and hope for the best.

South has two reasonable choices of rebid … either 2NT, showing 18-19 … or a “reverse” of 2♦.  Two questions:

What is a Reverse?  Opener bids a new suit at the two-level, one which is higher ranking than the first suit.  So, 1♦ 1♠, 2♣ is not a reverse, whereas 1♣ 1♠, 2♦ is.

What does a Reverse show?  Extra values are required, let’s say 16+ HCP’s, give or take.  Also, the first-bid suit is longer than the second suit, because with 5-5 the higher-ranking suit would be opened, and with 4-4 there would be a No Trump opening or rebid.

North has the perfect hand for a penalty Double.  She’s sitting over the 2♠ bidder with a couple of trump tricks and good defense in the side-suits, and would expect to beat 2♠ far more often than not.  This is very much a “matchpoint double”, one that risks the occasional disaster (-470 would be the disaster if they make 2♠) in the expectation of frequent smaller gains when the Double succeeds.  But beware of such Doubles in the team game, with that form of scoring it’s the size of the gain (or loss) that is more important than the frequency.

Next, imagine the same North hand under the 2♠ bidder.  Now, that ♠QTxx is far less appealing for the defense and doubling 2♠ would be quite risky.  For that reason, many partnerships play that the “under-double” by the 1NT opener is take-out, perhaps a hand with two small Spades that wishes to compete.

East has a text-book 2NT bid:

- 11-12 HCP’s;

- Balanced distribution;

- Good holding in the enemy suit;

- Not 4 Hearts (with that hand he would make a Negative Double)

A jump rebid to 2NT, showing 18-19, looks just fine here.  A quick refresher course on the HCP ranges for No Trump bidding:

12-14: Open one of suit, rebid 1NT

15-17: Open 1NT

18-19: Open one of suit, rebid 2NT

20-21: Open 2NT

22+:    Open 2♣ first.

By the way, West could be forgiven if he upgraded that 19-count to a 2NT opening, look at all those lovely Aces and fillers!
 

South should probably bid 2♠ here.  This jump, opposite a takeout Double, is game-invitational strength, showing around 9-11 HCP’s.  It is not preemptive!  We said that South should “probably bid 2♠” because the hand is not without serious defects, such as the K♦ under the Diamond bidder, and the truly rotten Spade suit.  So, we’d find it hard to argue with a 1♠ response here.

What’s going on here?  Your Redouble showed a decent hand, supposedly 10+ HCP’s, after which Partner bids Diamonds, more Diamonds and yet more Diamonds.  Was Partner’s original 1♠ bid a mistake?  No, clearly Partner has an extreme two-suiter.  The last Diamond bid was not an attempt to play in Diamonds, that would hardly make sense when you have already twice said that you are happy with the more lucrative Spade fit.  No, the third Diamond bid was a slam try.  Should you accept?  We don’t think so.  Sure, you do have some extra values for your initial Redouble, but it appears that North is short in Hearts and Clubs, so much of your high-card strength is surely wasted.  It would be so much better if those Kings and Queens were replaced by an Ace or two.

What would be your choice over the 1♠ opening?  None of the possibilities is perfect:

- 3♦?  N-S are vulnerable, the suit is not great, and the hand has too much defense (two likely tricks in their Spade suit), so the 3♦ preempt is our least favorite.  When we preempt, we prefer a minimum of defense, we’d hate to egg Partner into a sacrifice which turns out to be a phantom because of our defensive strength.

- Pass?  That would be reasonable, but perhaps a tad timid.

- 2♦?  Normally, we’d have more high-card strength for this bid, but it’s a shame to pass a 7-card suit, so 2♦ is a reasonable compromise for those who hate to pass but who also hate to preempt with defensive tricks.

What would 3♠ mean here?  Some partnerships still play that this bid shows game-invitational values.  But that’s decidedly old-fashioned (not automatically a bad thing, we wish to point out).  Nowadays, after Partner has opened with one of a suit or made a simple overcall, jump raises are preemptive, and a cue-bid shows a good hand.  Using the actual start of 1♠ by Partner, and an enemy overcall of 2♦, this is what the bids mean:

(a) 2♠ is simple support, typically 5-9 HCP’s or thereabouts, usually 3-card support

(b) 3♠ is preemptive, usually with 4-card support

(c) 4♠ is preemptive, usually with 5-card support

(d) 3♦ also shows support (3-card or better) and at least game-invitational values (no upper limit)

It’s that simple.  To summarize: with a moderate or weak hand you raise Spades directly, bidding higher the more trumps that you have.  With a good hand you cue-bid first.  That’s the modern way to raise Partner, please disregard all previous messages on this subject.

South has something of a problem at her second turn.  She has a lovely hand, but nothing to bid!  A jump raise in Hearts shows 4-card support and No Trump bids show something in Spades.  We’d say that the alternatives are:

2♠: This cue-bid obviously shows a good hand, and presumably one without 4-card Heart support (that would be a 3♥ or 4♥ bid).  It’s just a good hand that knows not where it is headed.

2♦:  This is a strength-showing reverse, and eagle-eyed readers might be wondering “Where is the 4^th Diamond?”  A fair question, and the answer is that we sometimes make lies of convenience in the auction, especially in the minor suits.

The 2♠ cue-bid is fine, but we rather like that 2♦ reverse, it has the benefit of keeping things low while the partnership investigates the best spot (in particular, it makes a 5-3 Heart fit easier to find).
 

Opposite that Takeout Double you were obliged to find a bid, so your 2♣ does not show values, it merely says that Clubs is your best suit and that your point range is 0-9 (with more you would jump).  Therefore, opposite a hand that could be broke, Partner’s 2NT shows a good hand, something in the 19-20 range (with 15-18 he could have overcalled 1NT initially).

Yes, your humble 6-count is worth a raise to 3NT.