Playing with your favorite partner, do have agreements about the doubles in these auctions? If they’re undiscussed – or if you’re in a new partnership with an experienced player – what’s your best guess about partner’s intentions?
LHO Partner RHO You
(1)
1S DBL Pass 2C
Pass 2D
(2)
1H Pass 2H
3D DBL
(3)
1C 1D
1S DBL
In situations where you haven’t agreed on a special treatment, your best course is to assume the standard, what-we-learned-in-bridge-class meaning. Partner should do that, too, but problems arise if you aren’t using the same definition of “standard”. An experienced player may believe the default is “expert standard” and expect you to rely on this modern usage to interpret his calls.
Each of the above auctions has a conventional meaning that is common enough that your partner might consider it mainstream. In basic bridge, partner’s auction in (1) – takeout double, then bid a new suit -- is the “big double” hand, showing long diamonds and too much strength for a simple overcall (usually at least 17 high-card points)
Many pairs play a more flexible method called Equal Level Conversion (ELC), which defines this sequence as minimum strength with long diamonds and four cards in the unbid major. This allows you to make a takeout double of a 1H or 1S opener when you’re short in clubs. In this auction, partner might hold ♠94 ♥KQ74 ♦AQ1085 ♣Q3 .
A basic bidding guideline is that double is penalty if you’ve already found your fit. That would apply in Auction (2) unless you’re playing Maximal Game-Try Doubles. This popular convention is used after you’ve bid and raised a major and opener’s RHO makes a 3-level bid that leaves no room to make a help-suit game try below 3 of your suit. In this situation, opener’s double is an invitation to game, not a penalty suggestion.
If partner believes you’re playing this convention, it’s “on” in this auction because the overcall was in the suit directly below your trump suit. Partner might hold ♠A87 ♥AQJ84 ♦3 ♣KJ102 .
As beginners, we learn that there’s no such thing as a takeout double that shows just one suit. That means partner’s double in (3) must be showing a spade stack and some high-card values. You may well be suspicious, though, partly because it’s unusual to make a penalty double at such a low level in a live auction and partly because there’s another possible meaning.
The Snapdragon convention defines this auction (double in fourth seat after three suits have been bid) as a type of takeout that shows the unbid suit and tolerance for your suit. If partner plays this with other partners – or if he believes it’s so popular that it’s an Expert Standard agreement – he may have assumed it’s part of your system, too. He might be trying to show you a hand such as ♠754 ♥KJ965 ♦103 ♣A65 .
If you’re familiar with the conventions and treatments played by experienced players, you may be able to see the potential for misunderstandings. If they come up in your partnership, the best way to handle them is to look for a safe landing spot for now, then agree on the conventional meaning later.
In Auction (1), the ELQ agreement is so widely played that it’s very likely that an experienced partner will just assume that you play it, too. I would be comfortable passing 2D. The possible conventional meanings in the other two auctions aren’t as universal, so I’d leave room for error. In (2) you have a convenient retreat to 3 of your suit and in (3), the auction is so low that you can probably just rebid your suit without worry.
© 2024 Karen Walker