There’s an old joke about a player who had just learned that a jump cuebid overcall could be used to search for 3NT. Eager to try it, he heard his RHO open 1H and he jumped to 3H with a hand that had ♥Kxx and not much else. When his puzzled partner asked him later what 3H was supposed to mean, he replied, “I have a stopper. Do you have a running suit?”
Misunderstandings are part of the learning process when upgrading your bidding system. Your mistakes will seldom be as laughable as the 3H overcall, but they may happen for the same reason. If you expect too much from a new gadget or try to make it work with the wrong type of hand, it becomes a liability.
That’s a common pitfall when adopting new meanings for doubles. Many of the modern “takeout-ish” doubles – including those called "Do Something Intelligent” (DSI) -- can apply in a wide range of situations, so you have to rely more on your judgment than on specific rules to use them correctly.
You can avoid many problems if you know which doubles are definitely not DSI. A double is penalty -- not takeout -- if you’ve found a fit, bid a natural notrump, preempted, shown forcing-to-game strength or made an penalty double or card-showing redouble earlier in the auction.
Those are the relatively clear cases. There will be other auctions where you may not be sure if partner will interpret your double as DSI or if you even have the right hand for that call.
Here are some situations where a DSI double will be unwise or unnecessary:
It’s unlikely you have a good landing spot. Double has to say more than just, "I have some values; I hope you have a place to go". You should have a reasonable expectation that partner has the type of hand that will give you a playable contract. Your best prospects are in auctions where the opponent’s interference took away partner's opportunity to give you a full description of his hand.
You’ve already exchanged adequate information on strength and distribution.
Partner RHO
You LHO
1D
Pass 1H
1S
2D Pass Pass 2S
Pass Pass DBL
This “sounds like" a DSI double because the auction is low and you're in the passout seat, but it isn't.
This auction gave you plenty of room to investigate possible fits and show your strength. Diamonds is the only trump suit under consideration (if you play support doubles, partner's 2D denied 3-card support for your hearts), so there’s really nothing new partner can tell you.
The other variable is that you’ve both limited your hands. A DSI double promises extra values and some defensive tricks, not just the top of the minimum you’ve already shown. If you didn't have enough strength to act over 2D, you don't have enough to make a DSI double now.
You have a clearer alternative. Keep in mind that DSI doubles are intended for situations where you have no other accurate way to describe your hand. If there’s a call that shows your fit for partner or your extra-long suit or your stoppers for notrump, it will usually be preferable to show what you have instead of using a DSI double to ask partner for information.
In the auction above, there are only two reasons you might consider bidding again: You have diamond support and want to compete to 3D or you’re short in diamonds, have good defense against 2S and want to make a penalty double.
Choose one of those options or pass. Even if you believe a double should be DSI or cooperative, don’t expect partner to read it as anything other than penalty.
You’ve already made a DSI double. If you’ve made a DSI double earlier in the auction and partner has expressed his opinion about what "something intelligent" was, you can’t ask again. The next double by either of you is penalty.
© 2023 Karen Walker