Page 29 - ABF Newsletter August 2024

WORKSHOPS WITH WILL with Will Jenner-O’Shea
UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT TYPES OF DOUBLES
This month’s bidding workshop covered various types of doubles. Most of these doubles have ap- proximately the same meaning, “please bid some- thing partner”, however the specifics vary based on the situation.
The first type of doubles is the most common, and applies to the overcaller who doubles a suit bid by the opponents. This is a takeout double and shows three- or four-card support for each unbid suit, and also opening points. If the opponents open 1{ or 1}, then a takeout double might only have three cards in an unbid major, there are three suits that the doubler can tolerate. If the opponents have bid two suits, such as 1} - pass - 1[, then a double usu- ally shows four spades, and 4+ clubs. Note that the overcaller would usually prefer to overcall a decent five-card major rather than double.
If your partner opens the bidding, and there is a suit overcalled by the opponents, then a double by the responder is called a Negative Double. Since there have been more suits already bid, a Negative Double is promising 4+ cards in each unbid major. The key difference is that a double by the respond- er only promises responding points – around 6+ at the one-level, 8+ at the two-level, and 10+ at the three-level. There are some specific situations if the opponents has overcalled at a low level. If partner opens a minor, and the opponents overcall 1[, then you can use a Negative Double to promise precisely four spades, and a 1] bid to promise 5+ spades, which is very useful if the auction gets contested. If partner opens a minor, and the opponents over- call 1], then a 2[ bid promises 5+ hearts, and 10+ points. A Negative Double instead shows 6+ points, and 4+ hearts, but won’t be suitable for a 2[ bid.
If your partner makes an overcall or takeout double, and the opposition responds something, then you can double to ask partner to bid something. This double by the Advancer is called a respon- sive double and shows enough points and cards to want to compete. For example, if the auction begins
Australian Bridge Federation Ltd. Newsletter: August 2024
1} - double - 2} and you are responding to your partner’s double, then you could bid a suit with 4+ cards and around 8+ points. If you had 4+ cards in both majors, then you could double to ask partner for their longer suit, remembering that their takeout double might have four cards in one suit, and three in the other. The other useful responsive double sit- uation is the auction 1[ - double - 2[, where you are next to bid. With 4+ spades, I recommend just bidding spades. If you don’t have four spades, but you have a few points and minors, then double to ask partner to pick something.
All of these terms just describe the situation that a double occurs, but all of them have roughly the same meaning. They all ask their partner to bid something. Some people just use the term “takeout” to describe them all. The specific number of points and cards you need change slightly, but they are all very useful.
One thing we haven’t covered is when a double is actually for penalties, and the answer is “not very often”! If there is any doubt, a double is probably more likely asking partner to bid, rather than pen- alties. Doubling a notrump opening or overcall bid is often showing more points than they have, and the stronger team usually wins more tricks are no- trumps. Doubles at the four-level are usually pen- alties, though partner might bid on with a very shapely hand. Doubles after we have agreed a fit can be used as penalties, since we have already found our best suit to play in.
There are a couple of doubles that are conventional, however the alerting rules say that no doubles are alertable. If opener has opened with a suit, and re- sponder has bid a major at the one-level, showing 4+ cards, and there is an overcall in between, then a double by opener on the second round, is com- monly played as a Support double, and it promises three-card support for responder’s major. This helps responder know what to do next, since they might only have four cards, but often have 5+ cards and now know that there is a fit.
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