Directionality seems simply to be one more factor amongst all of those which determine and constrain the translator's work in a real situation, just as for example the time or the tools available also do, although translator competence is especially put to the test in this case. The models constructed by the theory of translation continue to respond to the characteristics of translation into the mother tongue. These theories offer the translator considerable room for maneuver when it comes to producing the target text; yet they take as their starting point a relationship between the agents of the communication act which is not applicable to translation into a foreign language. In this paper the author presents a strategic behavior schema characteristic of translation into a foreign language and based on the use of the translator's own resources to minimize the risk involved in decision making.