Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Double Negative Double

Good opponents are always trying to mess with your nice comfortable auctions. What should you and your partner do when the opponents intervene over your strong 2  opening? Do you have an agreement?

The standard treatment is:  Pass is positive, Double is negative.
Both calls must be Alerted.
  • Double is a "double negative," showing a bust hand with no ace or king, and usually less than 5 HCP or so. If your partnership has a way to show a "double negative" after a 2 opening, this is how you show that hand over interference. Opener can pass, bid 2 NT to play, cue bid for takeout, or bid any suit game-forcing.
  • Pass is a positive response forcing to game, showing at least an ace or king, or maybe lots of "quacks." A re-opening double by the 2  bidder is for takeout, usually a 2 NT opener with a poor stopper in the opponent's suit. Any other rebid by opener is natural and forcing to game.
  • New suit: At least king-queen-fifth, forcing to game

THE PRINCIPLE: If you have a terrible hand, defending might be your last best chance for a plus score. Double suggests this might be our best place to play. Partner's 2♣ opening was forcing to game, so forcing passes are in effect when the opponents enter the auction.

Let's look at some examples after partner opens 2, and your RHO bids 2

6 5 4 J 3  Q 9 5 2 J 4 3 2
Double, showing a very poor hand.

 7 5 4  K 3  9 8 5 2 J 4 3 2
Pass: positive, and forcing to game. You have at least a king, so let partner know that. You can bid notrump later if need be.

K 5 4 K 3  Q 9 5 2 K 4 3 2
Pass: positive, and forcing to game. Some might bid 2 NT (natural and forcing) but I prefer to give partner lots of bidding room. We are certainly heading for a slam, but first we need to figure out which slam; partner is in charge.

K Q 6 5 4 J 3  J 5 2 4 3 2
Bid 2 ♠: positive, and forcing to game. Don't bid spades twice, though; partner will know you have five spades.

5 4 3 K J 10 3  A 9 J 4 3 2
Pass: positive, forcing to game. You can bid notrump later. If partner re-opens with a takeout double, you'll have to choose between 4 NT (quantitative invite) or 6 NT. At favorable vulnerability, you might consider passing partner's double to collect the sure profit of at least +500.

BONUS MINUTE: Does your partnership play Jacoby Step Responses or Control Step Responses? If so, use Double and Pass as the first two steps in your response structure. Double shows 0-3 HCP or 0 controls, Pass shows 4-6 HCP or 1 control, the cheapest bid shows the next step, and so on. Remember that any of these calls must be alerted.

-- Ray 
Better Bridge in 5 Minutes. Guaranteed! (or the next one is free)



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