The key to “ picture” bidding lies in choosing the best bid to accurately describe your hand. For example, look at the following competitive bidding situation and review some of the possible bids a responder has available to best describe their hand: PARTNER 1 Heart; OPPONENT 1 Spade; YOU ?; OPPONENT.

1) PASS  Indicates no desire to compete in the  auction at this time and denies holding or making any of the bids described below.
2) 1NT 6-10 points with a Spade stopper and no more than 2 Hearts and, most of all, the bid is not forcing.
3) 2 CLUBS or 2 DIAMONDS 10 or more points, a decent 5 card suit, and says nothing about your support of partners suit. The bid is forcing for one round.
4) 2 HEARTS  6-10 points and 3 card Heart support.
5) 2 SPADES A limit raise or better in support of Hearts.
6) 2 NT 11-12 points and most likely with a double  stopper in Spades and again no more than 2 Hearts. The bid is invitational.
7) 3 NT 13-15 points and most likely with a double stopper in Spades and  again no more than 2  Hearts.
8) DOUBLE Negative double, with 7-9 points and 8-10 cards  in the minors, asking partner to bid his best minor. It doesn’t promise any Hearts.
9) 3 SPADES Either a Splinter bid in support of Hearts or asking opener to bid 3 NT with a Spade  stopper. Openers first duty is to bid 3NT with a Spade stopper. Without a Spade stopper and holding a better than minimum hand, cue bid an Ace or just bid game in Hearts holding a minimum opener.
The  logic associated with the choice of bids described in the above example bidding sequence can be applied to many other competitive bidding situations. Remember partners next bid will be highly influenced by your responsive call, so paint him a “picture“ that will best guide him on his next choice of action.
I’ll share a “secret” reasoning process which I have preached to my students for years:
After partner has responded to your bid, which he believes best describes his hand based on what you have told him about your hand, mentally review not only the bid he made but also the bids he didn’t make to further guide you in selecting your next choice of action.
– article submitted by Karl Kachadoorian