[Hanoi5]

♠Q9xx
♥AKxx
♦x
♣Kxxx

Red vs White, partner opened 1♥. I debated whether to bid a Jacoby 2NT (but I'm against doing it with an unbalanced hand) or bidding spades and then supporting hearts and I went for the second:

1♥-Pa-1♠-2♦
X*-3♦-

*Support double

I usually get in a mess after a support double. Had my RHO passed the double I would have bid 3♥ (or is 4 better?). At this point I should have bid 4♥. But the thing is I don't know what I'm supposed to do after the support double with many different hands:

- If partner support-doubles and RHO passes 2 of the supported-through-double suit is to pass showing a very bad hand or not even a fit. What if a have great support for partner's opening bid suit and a not so great hand in terms of HCP's? Should I just bid 2 of the Major? Is 3 (or 2 if available) of partner's suit forcing?
- How should a cue-bid/4NT be treated? As having found a fit with the 3 card support or just showing a great hand while supporting opener's suit?
- What does opener do with a 18+ hand? What are the hands with 3 card support that won't double?
- 1m-(Pa)-1♥-(2om)-X-(Pa)-??? What if responder doesn't have a 5 card suit but does have 4 spades?
- Is there any material online or buyable or in this forum about support doubles and continuations?

[TWO4BRIDGE]

The bidding is a poster child for one of a number of BAD things that can happen when you don't make an immediate 4 card raise.
Looks like a good time to use: 1H - 2S! = splinter ( somewhere ) of various strengths as put forth in recent threads:

http://www.bridgebas...mini-splinters/

http://www.bridgebas...es/page__st__20

[whereagles]

Good thing I dumped support dbls like 5 years ago

[bluecalm]

Quote

Good thing I dumped support dbls like 5 years ago

Yeah, they don't go well with wide range openings.
You will always have problems, just dump it like the best pairs playing wide range opening did (in fact they never adopted it).
Support double is good for precision or maybe polish club.

[Free]

If you get into trouble because of support doubles, then either don't play them or avoid them whenever possible.

That being said, what's interesting about this hand is that you consider Jacoby 2NT, but don't even consider a very normal bid. The obvious start is 1♥-4♦ splinter, neatly avoiding support doubles.

[Quartic]

This is a 4♦ splinter WTP for me too.

[blackshoe]

One of my partners insists on having J2NT on our card. She's equally adamant about "no splinters, I don't know them". That said, with any of my other partners, this is a splinter.

[nigel_k]

You have to support immediately, preferably with a 4♦ splinter otherwise 2NT. You get into all sorts of problems otherwise and the spades aren't even very good so you don't want to discourage partner if he has a singleton spade.

[Cthulhu D]

Really why do you want to get your Q empty spade suit in the picture when you have a perfectly servicable 9 card fit to the AK. A diamond splinter is obviously best but Jacoby 2NT is still better than bidding spades.

[Zelandakh]

I would have responded 4♦ for which this hand is a maximum. Change the ♠Q to the king and I would use the 2♠ gadget that Don alluded to.

[JLOGIC]

The problem here is not the support double. You would have problems no matter how the auction continued after 1H p 1S. You will often have to get into fourth suit forcing, heaven forbid if partner raises spades that you convince him to play hearts, let alone describe the key features of your hand (4 card heart support, game force, diamond shortness). 1H p 1S is a very difficult auction since it does not create a game force, which you have to do later, which is why many people are now responding 2C on GF hands with 4 spades in order to create a cheap GF and have better auctions, but to do so with 4 hearts when you don't even have to create a bid is criminal.