Counting points is very good when your hand is balanced (e.g., opening or rebidding 1NT).
In distributional (unbalanced) hands, the number of tricks you can take is a more important indicator.
Ask yourself, what is the shape of my hand? How many tricks can I take?
As West you hold:
A Q T x x T K J T x x x x
You start the bidding and it goes:
West North East South
1C 1H dbl 3H (preemptive)
4S P P P
(Your partner’s double shows 4 spades. South has a weak hand.)
Takeout Doubles:
- with perfect shape (4-4-4-1), may be as light as 10 points to make the TO double. With Axxx, x, KJTxx, Qxx
after a 1H bid, make a TO double.
- Shape is Everything!
- Become aggressive after you’ve found a fit. Before that, go slowly. If your opponents haven’t found a fit,
then you may not have one either.
With marginal hands, determine if your values are well placed (e.g., in your long suits, in your suit fit)
If the bidding goes 1H/S -> 2H/S, try to bid or double. They have half the deck and an 8 card fit. So, you also have half the deck and probably also have an 8 card fit.
Finally,
i. Look for suit quality!
ii. Look for points in long suits rather than in your short suits!
iii. Do you have more than 3 Ts, 9s and 8s?
iv. Look for points in your suit!