What type of hand are you showing with your double in these auctions?
LHO Partner RHO You
(1) 1C
1S Pass 2C DBL
(2) 1C 1H 2H DBL
Unlike many of the dual-message doubles we’ve discussed in previous issues, the doubles in these auctions have one clear meaning. The opponents are bidding a suit that you or partner have bid naturally, so this is a type of penalty double. You aren’t suggesting length or strength in other suits and you aren’t asking partner to bid.
Beginners tend to double in these situations just because they have length in the suit, but that has little value. Your RHO’s cuebid is artificial, showing a good raise of his partner’s suit. It’s pointless to insert a double that says nothing more than “you can’t make that contract”. The opponents already know that and they’re going to keep bidding whether you double or not.
The more popular use for these doubles is to play them as showing length and high-card strength in the suit. The purpose is to tell partner something about your hand that he doesn’t already know and help him make decisions in the bidding or on defense. The doubles in the auctions above are often called lead-directing, but they describe other features, too.
The opponents cuebid your suit:
In Auction (1), there’s no need to double just to get a club lead. Partner will probably lead your suit anyway, so the double should be used to describe more than a minimum. It’s widely played as “good hand, good suit”, usually with extra length. It shows at least moderate extra values and encourages partner to compete. You might hold ♠6 ♥AJ4 ♦KQ3 ♣AQ10954 .
Note that some pairs prefer to switch the meanings of Pass and Double and play this double as “anti-lead-directing". They agree that when an opponent cuebids a suit you’ve bid naturally, your double says “Don’t lead my suit”. This lets you warn partner when you’ve opened or overcalled a weak suit, but it forces you to pass or bid a risky 3C when you hold the above hand.
The opponents cuebid partner’s suit:
The standard meaning of your double in Auction 2 is that it shows support for partner’s suit. You may, however, want to discuss how long and strong that support should be. Some pairs agree that it just shows any 3-card support -- a hand that’s worth a raise to 2H but doesn’t have enough playing strength to be pushed to 3H.
Others prefer to play this double as a lead-directing raise that promises the ace or king of partner’s suit. If partner is on lead, he’ll know it’s safe to lead low from a holding such as ♥A10874 or ♥KJ976 .
Yet another option is to define this double as responsive, promising length in the unbid suits. This is similar to other responsive doubles in that it’s made after the opponents have confirmed a fit, but it’s not the standard usage here. After a cuebid raise, most pairs find it more valuable to be able to describe their holding in partner’s suit.
If you like the lead-directing meaning, there are two variations to consider:
1 – You can agree that the double promises one of the top three honors (ace, king or queen) in partner’s suit.
Being able to show a raise with the queen will help partner find a good lead when his suit has the ♥K . The downside is that he won’t know if a heart lead is safe from a suit such as ♥AJ874 .2 – Your lead-directing double can be made with a high doubleton ( ♥Ax or ♥Kx ) .
The logic is that you’ll often be outbid anyway in this type of auction, so it’s more important to get partner off to the right lead than to guarantee “full” 3-card support.
These and other types of lead-directing doubles aren’t usually covered in beginning bridge classes. It’s another one of those bidding treatments that most of us learned at the table, through playing experience or advice from other players. Many of these doubles, though, have standard, widely accepted meanings that you can learn from books – or from upcoming articles in this series.
In the next issue: Profits and losses from doubling conventional bids
© 2025 Karen Walker