When you learned to play bridge, you probably started with a simple, natural bidding system that worked fine in the most common types of auctions. Adding conventions and other artificial agreements came later, maybe after you moved up to duplicate play and realized that Bridge Class Standard didn’t cover every situation.
Upgrading your system can improve your bidding accuracy, but many changes involve tradeoffs. When considering a conventional double, for example, you have to decide if the new, artificial meaning is more valuable than the “old”, standard meaning (penalty).
Experienced players have answered “yes” for many of the modern doubles we’ve discussed in previous articles. They see the loss of the penalty double as a small price to pay for the ability to describe hands that are short in the opponents’ suits.
These include conventions that apply in specific types of auctions – negative and responsive doubles, for example – and the many doubles that are intended as some type of takeout, but don’t have such clear guidelines. They go by vague, sometimes interchangeable names -- re-takeout, cooperative, card-showing, action – but are often referred to by the broader term “Do Something Intelligent” (DSI) doubles.
This lack of definition brings up another possible pitfall that partnerships should discuss when adopting these doubles. A DSI double can be used in so many types of auctions that it’s tempting to treat it as a universal solution or, in some cases, as a substitute for thinking.
Here’s a problem that wouldn’t be a problem if no one had ever heard of DSI doubles:
LHO Partner RHO You
1S Pass Pass DBL
Pass 2H Pass Pass
2S DBL
Partner’s double is for penalty. You’ve both limited your hands and agreed on a suit, so there’s nothing more to investigate.
No matter how clear that is to most players, some DSI disciples will be looking for a subtle takeout message. One expert thought double could be a mild invitation, showing a hand that was almost strong enough for a jump to 3H. Another guess was that it showed moderate support for both minors, in case you happened to have a 5-card minor and only 3 hearts.
This one should be even more obvious:
LHO Partner RHO You
1H Pass 2H
2S DBL
This is another auction where you’ve already found your trump fit, so double is penalty. The doubters, however, suggested it should be “cooperative penalty” or just general DSI. Others thought it was a balanced invitation or a game try with spade shortness, even though partner could have bid 2NT, 3C or 3D to show game-try values
Any of those treatments could be superior, but only if you’ve discussed it in advance. Without a clear agreement, you and partner should assume the standard meaning.
If partner intends his double as anything other than penalty in the above auctions, he’s fallen way too far in love with the concept of DSI doubles. He’s also expecting you to read his mind, which is why some frustrated partners call these DADs (Decision Avoidance Doubles) and TPDs (Torture Partner Doubles).
In the next issue: Balance of Power doubles (or how to know when a cigar is just a cigar)
© 2024 Karen Walker