Jump to content

Meaning of this double


pclayton

Recommended Posts

MP's, all vul

 

 

 

You.....LHO.....Pard.....RHO

1.....Pass.....1.....Pass

1N.....Pass.....Pass.....Double

Pass.....2.....Pass.....Pass

Dbl

 

Whats opener's double in this sequence?

Does it make any difference if Opener redoubles first?

 

I'm asking because I think there's an intelligent use for it. Thanks in advance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

a ) Since my p's double would be negative my double is also negative. Say, some nice 3253 or 3244 hand. At least this is the way I play it.

 

b ) If my p redoubles first probably he is showing some maximum misfitting hand wishing to penalize. Say, some good 2443 (or 1453 if possible), so I would interpred his Dbl as penalty (if we don't play inverted doubles). But I think this isn't a good treatment cause p can be very weak and spades are obviously behind.

 

Example hand for b ):

xx

AQ10x

AKxx

JTx

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MP's, all vul

You.....LHO.....Pard.....RHO

1.....Pass.....1.....Pass

1N.....Pass.....Pass.....Double

Pass.....2.....Pass.....Pass

Dbl

 

Whats opener's double in this sequence?

Does it make any difference if Opener redoubles first?

 

I'm asking because I think there's an intelligent use for it. Thanks in advance.

At matchpoints, all vul, this is an attempt to get +200, plain and simple.

 

At imps, that is too risky. If you were willing to play 1NT and they bid 2H, the risk of doubling in to game is too great. Even at MP non-vul, you may not want to double here for penalty.

 

However, for me, this can't be "support DBL" with three spades and doubleton heart. Why? Becasue I rasie to 2S immedieatley with those hands. So I have 3343, 2344, 2353 hand here if I get cute and double for some kind of takeout. So at imps and mp non-vul, I would play this double as optional. Somthing like singleton spade, 3/4 hearts, and tolerence for a club contract.

 

Ben

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pure penalty

Well; Opener's hand is relatively well defined. I would prefer not to rebid 1N on patterns like: 1-4-5-3, but sometimes it can't be helped - in old MSC's, the winning call was frequently 2.

 

I don't automatically raise partner's major with 3 trump and an outside doubleton, although I know a lot of the posters here do. It depends on the nature of my hand, especially at MP's, where I want to steer toward NT.

 

I think its pretty doubtful that a 1N rebid has enough firepower to beat down 2 on its own, even with a nice trump stack; so double must convey some sort of cooperative message. Often, there is no guarantee we even have the balance of power in the deck.

 

So where am I going with this? There are a lot of hands where responder simply can't stand the double; but still made the typical MP-distorted pass. I think the best use of the double here is to be primarily penalty; but at least guarantees a side fit for responder's first suit. I think a typical hand for opener should be: Jxx, KJxx, Kxxx, AQ. Opposite a hand like: QTxx, Jx, Qx, Kxxx (low ODR); 2 is getting absolutely hammered. But give responder: KQxx, x, xxx, xxxxx (high ODR); its less likely that 2 is getting set; but 2 has some play.

 

To quote our favorite player to kib: responder is usually the 'captain' in these auctions. Accordingly, if the 'crew' asserts himself, the double should send a message - that the dbl is more than just pure penalty. It should promise a safe harbor as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
With

Jxx, KJxx, Kxxx, AQ. Opposite a hand like:

QTxx, Jx, Qx, Kxxx (low ODR);

 

I think what you get is a new deal.. to many heart jacks for my liking... :-)

Apparently people prefer to report all such hands to some bridge forum/newsgroup (in disguise, under an unrelated topic), instead of redealing. BBO forums are not that bad, actually, but there can hardly be more misdealt hands in real-life bridge all over the world, as there are 14card hands on rec.games.bridge...
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...