I recently opened my email inbox and saw a new message with the subject line “Not takeout AGAIN!" My first thought was that it was a question from a reader who was trying to make sense of all the different uses for doubles. Or maybe someone who was just lamenting the obsolescence of old-fashioned penalty doubles.
I was disappointed to find that the email was trying to convince me to cook at home with deliveries from a meal-kit company.
In the bridge context, though, that subject line is a fairly common reaction to some of the prevailing advice about doubles. Penalty doubles certainly haven’t disappeared, but modern pairs have found more effective meanings for some of them. Adapting to these new ideas can be a challenge for beginners who are making the transition from bridge class to duplicate games and for those who are returning to the game after a long layoff.
In many cases, the standard usage of a double is changed by applying a convention. Negative and responsive doubles are two of the first additions to a beginner bidding system. Their meanings are clear because the partnership agrees to play them and they’re marked on the convention card.
Other variations from standard treatments aren’t as obvious. They aren’t defined by conventions and may not even be discussed in advance, but they’re so widely played that “everyone” (or so it may seem) knows what they mean. Here are some examples:
Partner RHO You LHO
(A) 1S Pass
1NT* 2H (* Forcing NT)
DBL
(B) 1C
Pass 1NT
2H
DBL
(C)
1D 1H DBL* 2H (* Negative)
DBL
(D) 1D
Pass 1H
2S
Pass Pass DBL
If Auction (A) comes up and you're playing with an experienced partner, it's a good bet that he doesn’t have a heart stack. The popular preference for opener’s double is that it shows extra values and shortness in the overcaller's suit – a hand such as ♠AQJ84 ♥3 ♦KQ65 ♣AJ8 . This style is so common that it's accepted as "expert standard", even without discussion.
This interpretation isn’t as clear in Auction (B) because partner opened a minor and your natural, non-forcing 1NT response is more descriptive. His double should show extra values, but you’ve already denied length in the majors, so there’s no point in using it as takeout. Unless you've agreed otherwise, this double should be for penalty.
A general guideline for an undiscussed double is that it’s probably not purely penalty if the opponents have confirmed a trump fit and the auction is at a low level. Auction (C) matches that description. Partner is showing the values for a jump to 2NT (or very close), but with no heart stopper.
With 4 spades and extra values, partner would bid 3S or 4S, so his double also denies primary support for your major. He’ll usually have a semi-balanced hand with three cards in your suit (some pairs play his double promises three). He might hold ♠AQ3 ♥42 ♦AKJ84 ♣KJ5 .
Auction (D) isn't a perfect fit for the guideline because the level is a bit higher and the opponents haven’t bid and raised the suit you’ve doubled. The modern treatment, though, is to play this as yet another type of non-penalty double. It could be called card-showing or cooperative, but it’s often referred to by its more inscrutable name, the "Do Something Intelligent" double. More about this in the next issue.
© 2023 Karen Walker