It Don't Mean Nothin'

Time for a pop quiz: matchpoints, nobody vulnerable.

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♠ A J 9 2  ♥ K 8  ♦ A 10  ♣ 10 7 6 4 2

Partner	RHO	You
1 ♦	2 ♥	?

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♠ Q 10 7 3  ♥ A 6 5 4 3  ♦ K 5 4  ♣ 6

You	LHO	Partner	RHO
Pass	Pass	1 ♦	2 ♣
?

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♠ A Q 7 4  ♥ K Q 9 3  ♦ K J 5 2  ♣ 7

Partner	RHO	You
1 ♦	2 ♣	?

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♠ A Q 10 3  ♥ 10 2  ♦ 8 7 4  ♣ 9 5 3 2

Partner	RHO	You
1 ♦	1 ♥	?

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ANSWERS: Double, on all four hands.

THE PRINCIPLE: A free bid promises at least a decent five-card suit, and appropriate strength as if there had been no overcall. When partner opens and your right-hand opponent overcalls, bidding a new suit is called a "free bid." (If you pass, partner will still get a chance to bid again, hence the term.) A free bid by an unpassed hand is forcing for one round. A free bid at the two level or higher shows at least 10 points; some partnerships prefer to play the free bid as game-forcing.

A negative double does not mean a weak hand. A negative double promises at least some values, just not exactly the right hand for a free bid at this moment.  It means that a free bid would be a misrepresentation of your hand, either about strength or shape.

Most experts today play that a negative double promises at least four-card support for the unbid major. If there are two unbid majors and you can only support one of them, you should have good support for partner's original suit so that you can retreat back to that suit if necessary.

THE EXCEPTION: When partner opens 1♣ and your opponent overcalls 1♦, the negative double promises exactly 4-4 in the major suits. With any other major suit holding, bid as if there had been no overcall.

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

Playing The Common Game

Compare your results against bridge players nationwide! 

Our club is now playing in The Common Game. Through the magic of the internet and our dealing machine, we play the same hands simultaneously with almost 200 other bridge clubs. Every session includes expert analysis on 8-10 hands; Monday afternoon sessions feature special analysis by Lynn Berg for intermediate-level players. There is no cost, but an ACBL player number is required to access the individualized features. 

The Common Game web site has several very good YouTube tutorials explaining the various features of the Common Game results pages. Those tutorials -- each one is six or seven minutes long -- are a far better introduction than I could provide. Well worth your time...