Friday, September 24, 2004 1:34 AM

Hand Evaluation – Doubles ( Take Out )

PITBULLS:

Partner makes a takeout double , your side leaps to game but the opponents interfere , what are the ground rules ? There is one classic case . When you leap to a vulnerable game with the opponents bidding not vul , forcing passes are turned on. They are deemed to be sacrificing no matter what your leap to game was based on. What about the other vulnerabilities ? All other vulnerabilities , D.S.I.P. competitive double theory applies. We do not consider a jump to game by our side as a strong hand . The jump is not a pre-empt even though it might well be especially not vul against vul. When we do not know who owns the hand , D.S.I.P. competitive theory applies as the default

What makes this approach playable is partner who jumped to game must double when he wants to bid again holding defense. This “fail safe” gives either side the opportunity to pass for penalty. The D.S.I.P. double wishing to bid again is descriptive so helpful in these auctions. A takeout double quite often starts a competitive auction where pseudo sacrifice & bad competitive decisions seem to be the norm. These bad decisions are quite often “match breakers”.

1♦-X-1♥-4♠

5♦-P-P-? ♠J109xx ♥void ♦xxx ♣AQ10xx D.S.I.P. theory does not apply at the 5 level. I would double with this hand , Maurice held ♠AKQx ♥Kxxxx ♦x ♣Jxx so bids 5♠ . 5♦ X makes & 5♠ X makes our direction also. When Maurice holds ♠Axxx ♥AKxx ♦x ♣Jxxx , he just passes my double ( probable heart wastage ) so they go for a number in 5♦X.

As long as the partner who jumped to game has defense & doubles first before bidding , the opponents can get punished. When the 4♠ bidders hand ( hand above ) is unsuitable ( holding QJ109 of diamonds for instance) he just doubles since they are at the 5 level. I think it’s a bit of a stretch to say the jump to game is “pre-emptive” by our side so penalty doubles apply at the 4 level. . These competitive T/O double auctions are made for D.S.I.P. theory as long as they are below the 5 level. Why is D.S.I.P. theory better than standard methods ? The re-defining of the double in D.S.I.P. auctions saying I want to bid again gives the partnership more options – especially the option to convert for penalty when duplication of value is present. A T/O double is a variable unlimited hand. Just bidding takes away one of our options. Duplication of value may not be present , but the T/O doubler may wish to pass anyway just wanting to get a plus with an unsuitable hand.

When it’s our hand ( vul vrs not ) forcing passes apply , when one of us has really pre-empted ( jump to 4 of a minor , jump over a redouble) penalty doubles apply. In all other cases D.S.I.P. theory applies.

The opponents vul , you are not.

1♠-X-2♠-4♥

4♠-P-P-? ♠xxx ♥KJ10xx ♦AJ10x ♣x The opponents are vul , you are not but you have defense. The likelihood of a singleton spade in partners hand is great so you would like to try 5♥ . You of course double to ask permission. Partner has ♠x ♥AQx ♦xxxx ♣AQxxx so you catch the opponents speeding for +500. What if you were sacrificing with your 4♥ bid ? You cannot get hurt as partner must double when he wants to bid 5♥ with defense. You have ♠xxx ♥KJ109xxx ♦xx ♣x so you pull to 5♥ in any case as a sacrifice.

Do not forget that if you or your partner has invited to game & you have accepted , forcing passes are turned on rather than D.S.I.P. theory . This is true in any vulnerability. When either side Q bids after a T/O dbl , forcing passes are turned on immediately. The takeout double often starts “competitive “ auctions so D.S.I.P. theory is helpful in sorting out the mess initially. The auction may turn into a forcing pass situation later at a higher level when things get clarified.