Tuesday, June 12, 2007 6:13 PM

Hand Evaluation – Clarifying Doubles

PITBULLS:

The power of D.S.I.P. competitive double theory is the ability to clarify your previous bidding. With a double , you announce your intentions to partner & tell her of the lack of duplication of value in the opponents suit. In addition , you announce the nature of your HCP’s ( controls vrs soft values ) & the overall strength of your hand. Your previous bidding has probably announced your shape , so these doubles are just pieces to the puzzle leading to the final solution. This style is in accordance with the modern notion of “shape before strength” of overcalls. The best part of playing D.S.I.P. competitive doubles is bringing the partnership into the final bidding decision.

A double is a descriptive bid showing defense in a competitive auction. The double clarifies your opening bid , overcall , systemic toy or response as showing quick tricks as opposed to distribution. You clarify the nature of your HCP’s to partner. You do not hold soft values. A Q bid or simple bidding also clarifies your hand but more distribution , more of a fit for partner & less defense. A defensive hand equates to a double , an offensive hand a Q bid.

Everybody vulnerable , Susan Culham held ♠AKxxxx ♥x ♦xx ♣A10xx , heard a strong NT to her left & a 2♦ transfer by partner. Susan overcalled 2♠ , LHO passed , partner raised to 3♠. Now partner used D.S.I.P. competitive double theory to his advantage to clarify his transfer bid. He made a balance of power double to clarify his transfer as a game forcing hand as he held 10 HCP. The double gets passed to opener who now bids 4♥. This gets passed around to Susan so now what ?

Susan needs to clarify her hand. She has an excellent playing hand ( stiff in opponents suit) , 3 quick tricks for defense so would like to bid 4♠ either as a sacrifice or to make. Bidding 4♠ is single handed though as partner could have any number of hands. Why not clarify your hand with a double & transfer the decision to partner ? Doubling 4♥ for penalty is ridiculous bidding with the hearts vrs spades competitive element & holding the boss spade suit.. The opponents have bid strongly to their 4♥ game thereby announcing to the table they own this auction. A double in these situations is asking permission to sacrifice holding defense. Another form of “setting up” a sacrifice since they own the auction. Susan chose to pass as she did not know the nature of partner’s hand & did not want to “play hero” when she had the opponents booked. .

It turns out that 4♥ does make for +620 . Unfortunately Susan’s partner holds ♠xxxx ♥xx ♦Axxxx ♣xx so 4♠ is ice cold for +790 their way. It is presumptuous for this hand to bid 4♠ with an Ace & two hearts as the 2♠ bidder can have anything including defense to beat 4♥. Playing D.S.I.P. theory , this hand also gets into the act also to clarify his hand. He doubles 4♥ to clarify his 3♠ bid as offensive in nature & his limited HCP’s as a “transferable value” . He wants to bid 4♠ , but he does not want to do it single handed so he transfers the decision to partner.

This is the first hand from actual play I have seen , that 3 players had an opportunity to make a D.S.I.P. double to clarify their intentions. Only my partner did though , as the opponents rightly did not want to take single handed actions for the partnership. The culprit , of course , is the stupid trump stack penalty double which should have no place in competitive auctions.

Tom Gandolfo had a hand recently where he just wanted to show he had a maximum overcall. ♠xx ♥AKQxx ♦QJx ♣AQx . They opened 1♦ & Tom overcalled a heart. LHO bid 1♠ , I passed & opener bid 2♣. Tom doubles to clarify his overcall & I convert to 2♥. What if Tom Q bid 2♦ rather than double ? Given that all the suits have been bid , I would take the bid as natural. ♠x ♥AJ109x ♦AK109x ♣Ax, or similar hands. A belated double clarifies your hand when you take trump stack penalty doubles out of the equation. A new bid in the vocabulary of Bridge emerges when you rid yourself of enforcer trump stack doubles in competition. You clarify your hand & intentions . What a concept !!

Eventually , all good Bridge players will come around & see the advantage of D.S.I.P. competitive double theory. It is just a matter of time J.