Advancing players who hear references to “expert standard” sometimes ask if it’s a new system they should learn. It’s not a complete system, but more of a loosely defined collection of treatments and bidding styles that are widely accepted by experienced pairs. Many of these ideas are essentially unwritten agreements about the best meanings for various auctions.
“Expert standard” can also refer to conventions that are most popular among tournament players. In previous articles, we’ve covered a number of modern uses for doubles. Some of these specialized meanings are so common that if you’re playing with a new partner, you might assume they’re “on your card’ even if you haven’t discussed them.
Others are specific conventions that you agree on in advance but don’t always cover in detail. It’s convenient to skip the discussion and just rely on “expert standard” meanings to handle the follow-up auctions, but they aren’t as universal as the word “standard” might suggest. Bidding styles and methods vary by region of the country and even from club to club. What you consider to be the normal or expert interpretation may be different than what partner believes.
Here are situations that are often undiscussed. You probably suspect that partner is employing an expert treatment, but you can’t be certain of the exact meaning. All bring up questions that don’t have clear answers unless you define them with a partnership agreement.
LHO Partner RHO You
(A)
1C Pass 1D
1S DBL
(B) 1D
1H Pass 2H
3D DBL Pass
(C) 3S DBL Pass 4C
Pass 4D
If you’ve agreed to play support doubles, do they apply after a 1D response? If so, partner is showing 3-card diamond support in Auction (A). That’s a reasonable method, but more common is that support doubles are “on” only after you respond a major. If that’s what partner believes, then his double has a different meaning – and it’s very unlikely that it’s a penalty double of 1S.
The alternate interpretation of the double in this auction is that it shows four hearts. Many pairs play this method, although its popularity has waned with the modern preference for “Walsh-style” responses, where a weak responding hand will skip a diamond suit – even with 5+ cards – to bid a 4-card major. A 1D response therefore shows either a minimum with no major or game-going strength with at least five diamonds and a possible four-card major (which partner will bid later). In either case, there’s little need for a support double.
If you play maximal doubles, do they apply in Auction (B)? The standard use is after you open, partner raises and your RHO bids a suit that takes away your 3-level help-suit game try -- an auction such as 1S by you - Pass by LHO - 2S by partner - 3H by RHO. Auction (B) is different because you've started with an overcall instead of an opening bid, but partner may well assume that the conventional meaning is still "on". If so, then he’s inviting game. If not, he’s making a penalty double.
In (C), is partner promising the “big-double” hand that was too strong to overcall 4D? Or is he assuming that Equal Level Conversion (ELC) applies? If the latter, he’s showing a minimum with club shortness, long diamonds and four hearts.
ELC is considered standard by most experts. It’s most commonly used after you make a one-level takeout double -- if partner bids 2C, the ELC agreement allows you to convert to 2D without showing extra values. Not everyone believes this should apply at the four-level, so you’ll have to decide if partner is one of them.
A further source of concern in interpreting Auction (C) is that another popular gadget is using a direct 4D overcall as “non-Leaping Michaels”, showing a very strong two-suited hand with diamonds and the other major. If partner happens to believe that convention is expert standard, he may think that this double-then-4D auction is the only way he can show a “normal” 4D overcall.
There are many other situations that can cause confusion about the best or standard meanings for doubles or a follow-up bids. You can try to predict and talk about potential problems in advance, but even in a regular partnership, you’ll never be able to cover every possibility. When they come up, the “expert standard” approach is to rely on what you know about partner’s bidding style and experience level, then make some good guesses.
© 2024 Karen Walker