Dear Mr. Wolff: Is this hand strong enough to jump to two hearts when your partner doubles your left-hand opponent’s one-club opening: ? 6-4, ? K-Q-5-4, ? 8-7-4-3, ? K-9-5?

— Modern Method, Bellingham, Wash.

Answer: Nowadays, many partnerships play a jump advance of a takeout double as showing five cards and 9-10 points or four cards with a little less than an opener. In this style, a one-level bid is wide-ranging, and one heart would be your call on this hand. With the club ace instead of the king, or with a fifth trump, you might consider bidding two hearts.

Dear Mr. Wolff: What happens if my opponents turn up late to a private match or a match at a club?

— Rules Are Rules, Dover, Del.

Answer: There is usually a grace period of 30 minutes or so. After that, boards are taken away with a penalty of around three international match points each. The non-offending side cannot be expected to wait around forever and be forced to play late into the night, after all. The exact penalties depend on the event and the organizers. In situations where one team does not turn up and cannot be contacted, it helps to have an arbiter to contact and to record the facts.

Dear Mr. Wolff: I play XYZ with my regular partner. Should this apply in competition too?

— Checking Back, Greenville, S.C.

Answer: With this convention, a two-club rebid by responder after any one-level rebid by opener is a puppet to two diamonds, to play there or to describe an invitational hand. Two diamonds instead is an artificial game-force. I would keep these bids the same if the intervention were a double, but not if the opponents bid a suit, as you now have a convenient cue bid available. When implementing any new method, the full ramifications should be considered, especially what happens if the opponents get involved.

Dear Mr. Wolff: You hold ? K-J, ? 9-7-6-4-3-2, ? A-6-5-2, ? 4. Would you open two hearts as dealer with no one vulnerable?

— Suit Quality, Grand Forks, N.D.

Answer: I would not consider striking the first blow with two hearts here. With such a bad suit and defense on the side, the extra shape does not get me close to acting. Yes, it is a bidder’s vulnerability, but this does not remotely meet my criteria for preempting. Swap the suits of the heart four and the diamond ace, and I would be far more likely to act.

Dear Mr. Wolff: Do I always need a stopper in the opponents’ suit to overcall in no-trump?

— Kinder Garden, Selma, Ala.

Answer: This depends on context. If the suit has been bid on my right, I would want a full stopper for a one-no-trump overcall, though I might bid it on something like jack-third if the opening is a minor, in which case my right-hand opponent’s suit might not be real. It is a different matter if my left-hand opponent opens the bidding. Then I might balance into one no-trump without a stopper, putting the bidder on lead. If my partner is really interested in a stopper, he can ask for one via a cue bid. If both opponents are bidding, I bid one no-trump without a stopper only if I have 17 or more high-card points.

Contact Bobby Wolff at bobbywolffindspring.com.