Double by partner of a 1 NT opener

[jdeegan]

:) Playing in a BBO indy, matchpoints, where SAYC is the default system. You open 1 NT (strong). LHO bids 2♣, evidently natural. Partner doubles. Is this for penalties or negative?

 

How do you play this auction with your regular partners? How come?

[1eyedjack]

With a reg p it would be takeout.

 

With a pickup p in an Indy it is a 50:50 guess. So I suppose I would look at my own trump length and vulnerability to decide what he meant :).

 

Takeout seems to be the more modern trend, and is I think streets ahead in popularity among serious players today. Penalty was certainly the norm some decades ago at club level.

 

If partner intended it as penalty he probably will argue that penalty is "obvious", being from a school not exposed to the modern treatment. If partner intended it as takeout then he will likely be more alive to the alternative interpretation, having likely been converted to takeout from an initial penalty treatment. So if it really is a guess then the interests of long term partnership harmony would appear to indicate treating it as penalty, being the option calculated to cause least friction if incorrect. But then, if it is a pickup indy then there is no long term to cater for.

[P_Marlowe]

I would assume that standard is penalty,

and in my partnership it would be neg.

 

With kind regards

Marlowe

[helene_t]

"Standard" is probably penalty at the 2-level and t/o at the 3-level (unless you Canadian and/or younger than say 30 years) but who plays "Standard" anyway. It's something that's important to agree on with partner. In an indy, it's difficult.

 

It would be nice if indy TDs always refered to some document and/or FD file which should be used by default. I must admit I didn't bother to do so.

[Mr. Dodgy]

stolen (stayman). haven't got around to discussing it with regular partners beyond that.

[the hog]

Undiscussed this should be penalty. As a good rule, anything not discussed is natural.

[awm]

Penalty is standard.

 

I think penalty is still pretty popular among expert pairs, especially those using a strong notrump. Of course I agree that "takeout" is rising in popularity, but I wouldn't say it's the standard yet.