Your right-hand opponent (RHO) opens 1C. What’s your call holding ♠AQ4 ♥Q943 ♦KQ5 ♣653 ?
Beginners are usually advised to pass with a flat, “pancake” hand unless it has the strength and stoppers for a 1NT overcall. It’s a good general guideline, but many experienced players will consider this hand an exception and make a takeout double.
This is not classic shape, but it conforms to what partner expects for a takeout double – opening-bid count and 3+ cards in all unbid suits. Your high-card strength makes up for the flat distribution, and you’ve taken advantage of two of the double’s biggest benefits: you’ve shown your strength at a low level and left further decisions to partner.
The 1C opening offers the best opportunity for this action because there are four possible contracts available at the one-level. The balanced double can be effective over other opening bids, too, as long as you have good high-card strength and your honors are concentrated in unbid suits. Over a 1D opening, a takeout double is reasonable with ♠K102 ♥AJ5 ♦854 ♣AQ73 . It’s a bigger risk if the opening bid is 1H or 1S, especially if you’re vulnerable.
This bidding style reflects the modern tendency to act immediately when you have good values and a fairly accurate way to describe them. You have to judge carefully, though, because there are many situations where the opposite approach will work better. Even with a very good hand, the most successful strategy will sometimes be to pass now and forever hold your peace.
The trap pass. One strategy that everyone learns early is what to do when an opponent bids your best suit. After RHO opens 1H, a few might choose an offbeat 1NT overcall with ♠K ♥AQ975 ♦KQJ ♣9765 , but most still follow the old advice to stay out of the auction.
This is sometimes called a “trap pass”. That’s probably a misnomer, as your goal isn't to set a trap nor even to penalize their contract. Your decision is based more on your assessment of the dangers of bidding and your reaction to the clue that this may well be a misfit deal.
Over their 1NT openers. When the opponents open a strong 1NT, you have no way to describe a semi-balanced hand with good-but-not-great values -- and no reason to even want to bid with that hand. It’s pointless and risky to use a double as just a point-showing call that essentially says “I have 13 points and no long suit. I hope you have one.”
The only practical meanings for a double of 1NT are penalty (usually 18+ points) or artificial, starting the description of hand with one or two long suits. There’s no such thing as a four-suit takeout, so unless you have a powerhouse or have agreed on a conventional meaning for a double, you’ll have to pass with many hands that have opening-bid strength.
Sandwich seat calls. Passing is often the only sensible option when you’re in fourth seat and both opponents have bid. After LHO opens 1D and RHO responds 1S, you have awkward choices with a hand such as ♠AQJ ♥K65 ♦Q653 ♣K74 .
A double here doesn't show just high-card points. It's a takeout for the unbid suits, and 3-3 in those suits is far from ideal, especially since you're forcing the auction to the 2-level. The other possibility is a strong 1NT overcall, which is very aggressive with such a poor 15-count.
Your best course with this hand is to pass -- in tempo, if you can – and let the opponents figure out where the high cards are.
Plan C? Other types of hands are best described with a different strategy. Suppose you hold ♠QJ64 ♥A4 ♦A3 ♣KJ753 and your RHO opens 1D. Do you try to show these values now or pass and hope for a better opportunity to bid later? More about this and similar situations in the next issue.
© 2022 Karen Walker