i’ve always overcalled with 10+ pts in a five card suit and doubled with 12+ pts and no five card suit. I thought that the whole purpose of a the takeout double was to manufacture a bid because otherwise with an opening hand and no 5 card suit you don’t have a bid. i looked online and found this to be essentially correct except 1: to double you also need a minimum of three cards in each of the unbid suits. so, what do you do with distributions of 4-4-2, 4-4-1 and 4-4-0 in the unbid suits? 2: in some cases “they” double with a five card suit and 12+ pts. why? “they” claim this is a more descriptive bid but i prefer the overcall because it identifies a five card suit. thank you
