Doubling cue bids

[Walddk]

Doubling cue bids is a two-edged sword. Your intention is to help ONE partner as to what to lead; I claim that more often than not does it help TWO opponents. In other words: Odds are 2:1 against. Let me explain:

 

Advantages: 1. You give partner a safe, maybe killing lead against the slam the opponents may bid. 2. You (likely) prevent partner from making a possible disastrous lead against the same slam.

 

Disadvantages: 1. You give TWO opponents more bidding room (pass and redouble). 2. You may stop them from bidding the slam they otherwise would have bid and gone down in. 3. You can't be certain that the lead in the suit you double is actually the best lead for your side.

 

I don't know how many of you have noticed that the Italian 3 top pairs never double cue bids. A couple of years ago I asked Versace why. He replied:

 

"Double will help the opponents more than us. Partner is good enough to figure it out anyway". That gives food for thought. I think it's always worth listening to players who are in a league of their own. The Italians don't get much wrong, do they?

 

If you really MUST double a cue bid in order to wake partner, I think you should reverse the meaning of pass and double (the so-called anti-double). DOUBLE when you can't stand a lead in that suit, and PASS if you can or even want a lead in the suit.

 

By doing so, your pass obviously doesn't give opps the extra bidding room they otherwise would have got (if you double). If you have nothing in the suit, the opponents most likely have the controls they need whereby your double doesn't give anything away, but most importantly ......

 

You tell partner that he should not lead the suit unless he can afford it (strong honour sequence).

 

Roland

[Guest Jlall]

A couple of years ago I asked Versace why. He replied:

 

"Double will help the opponents more than us. Partner is good enough to figure it out anyway".

Indeed, they tend to lead very well. But for the rest of us that arent so good with opening leads sometimes we need to help pard

[Chamaco]

If you really MUST double a cue bid in order to wake partner, I think you should reverse the meaning of pass and double (the so-called anti-double). DOUBLE when you can't stand a lead in that suit, and PASS if you can or even want a lead in the suit.

 

If we talk of control cuebids in uncontested auctions (not cuebids of opps suit), the "Don't lead it" double has the big danger of being redoubled to play.

Then the matter depends on whether you have a suit to run to, and at which level the cuebid was.

 

Of course the risk of a redouble is close to zero if the cuebid is in a suit that defenders have bid.

[TimG]

Disadvantages: 1. You give TWO opponents more bidding room (pass and redouble). 2. You may stop them from bidding the slam they otherwise would have bid and gone down in. 3. You can't be certain that the lead in the suit you double is actually the best lead for your side.

I think these are arguements in favor of doubling less often -- only those times where you think it's critical -- rather than for never doubling.

 

If I'm partnering Varsace and he asks me never to make a lead directing double, I'll be happy to oblige. But, I won't be insulted if he makes a few to help me,in fact I'd appreciate it.

[pclayton]

Agree with Roland (and Bocchi, Lauria.... :) )

 

My regular partnership plays that a double says "consider another lead".

[flytoox]

Double is fine if you play it as asking pd to lead the lowest rank of the remaing unbid suit. I think this is Lawrence's suggestion.

 

Playing it as leading the suit being cued is indeed not very useful.

[ArcLight]

>Double is fine if you play it as asking pd to lead the lowest rank of the remaing unbid suit. I think this is Lawrence's suggestion.

 

I could be mistaken, but I think Lawrence suggests that for doubling Splinter bids, not for general cue bids. (He talks about it in hid book OPENING LEADS)

[luis]

Well, about 7 years ago in a big event my pd showed the black suits over a strong club auction when his LHO bid 4c (cuebid) he passed, they landed in 6h I held 9xx of spades and 7xx of clubs. I lead a club through the cuebidder and pd had AQ over the K so the slam was down one.

They asked my pd why he didn't doubled 4c and he replied "If I double 4c you don't play the slam".

Why did I lead a club? Because I noticed the cuebidder was really nervous when he bid 4c and he was very nervous before the lead (he was going to be dummy) so I decided it could have been a phony cuebid.

[flytoox]

>Double is fine if you play it as asking pd to lead the lowest rank of the remaing unbid suit. I think this is Lawrence's suggestion.

 

I could be mistaken, but I think Lawrence suggests that for doubling Splinter bids, not for general cue bids. (He talks about it in hid book OPENING LEADS)

u r right, i misread it. thx for correcting me.

[Gerben47]

We had a nice success once when my opponent doubled a cue bid and my partner bid the slam in a split second. The guy who doubled was on lead, though, and did no longer feel like leading the suit, which was what my partner was counting on :)

[TimG]

Well, about 7 years ago in a big event my pd showed the black suits over a strong club auction when his LHO bid 4c (cuebid) he passed, they landed in 6h I held 9xx of spades and 7xx of clubs. I lead a club through the cuebidder and pd had AQ over the K so the slam was down one.

They asked my pd why he didn't doubled 4c and he replied "If I double 4c you don't play the slam".

Why did I lead a club? Because I noticed the cuebidder was really nervous when he bid 4c and he was very nervous before the lead (he was going to be dummy) so I decided it could have been a phony cuebid.

Isn't this one of those situations you'd prefer to avoid, especially if you are considered the stronger team? You don't want the opponents to bid a slam that requires you to guess which of two suits to lead to beat it. That's sort of a coin flip for 13 IMPs.

 

Tim