Friday, November 08, 2002 1:10 AM

Hand Evaluation - Doubles ( Games )

PITBULLS:

On a crusade now to re-enforce penalty doubles of games at IMPS . Penalty doubles of games in Match Points making is a near zero , penalty doubles of games in rubber bridge making hurt financially but in IMPS the scale encourages penalty doubles ! I repeat - the IMP scale encourages penalty doubles of games. Lead directing doubles of games fall into the penalty double category. They have nothing to do with competitive doubles unless we were competing all along. When they go down doubled , you are making a bushel full of IMPS . When they make the contract doubled , you are losing 4 IMPS . When partners are not in the game making , the double will not matter anyway as wrong end of the IMP scale. So double games more frequently. This is a hard habit for match point players to learn I am finding . Get rid of the reluctance to make lead directing penalty doubles of games in IMPS.

These are “lead directing/penalty doubles” when you have not been competing. They own the auction so they have just bid their game. You have been listening to the bidding , they have invited or otherwise have shown nothing extra. You now make the lead directing penalty double of their game . In competition though , doubles of games are still D.S.I.P. competitive The double of a game in IMPS is more than just extracting a penalty, the double is giving information to partner . Your non double is also giving a message for partner . You have a minimum or duplication in their suit so you just want partner to pass. I had a hand tonight that encourages the penalty double of games concept . With competition , the doubles of games are not enforcer doubles saying that “opponents you have bid badly”. We will leave that up to partner to decide.

♠x ♥Q1098x ♦AJ10xx ♣Kx Partner opens 1♣, Mr. Fowlie overcalls 1♠ . I make a negative double , LHO Mr. Willard leaps to 4♠ so around to me . Both vul – what now ? Should you bid 4NT to force partner to pick one of your suits. No , you are playing into the hand of the 4♠ pre-empter. The 2^nd double is not penalty but shows a willingness to play the hand somewhere but you have defense also. You are just deferring the decision to partner & giving him an option. 4NT takes away one of partners options which is to pass.

When your negative double was based on distribution but very little defense , now you can back in 4NT . ♠x ♥Q1098x ♦KQ10xx ♣xx is a vulnerability dependent 4NT. What if the opener has a good hand & wants to bid something ? These auctions bring out D.S.I.P. theory even when you do not play these concepts formally. With a good hand & defense why guess at the 5 level ? Double to say you want to bid but will leave the option of a penalty conversion open. What if the opponents are insane with you having a huge trump stack ? Grit your teeth & pass ! Partner will re-open with a double when he can. When he cannot , just take your plus.

When the opponents leap to game , the definition of penalty doubles change even not playing D.S.I.P. double theory. The double shows a good hand with the message , I am fixed holding HCP’s . Forget about trump stack penalty doubles in these jump to game auctions . They simply do not exist. With game bidding in competitive auctions , lead directing & D.S.I.P. cannot co-exist. Lead directing penalty doubles only apply when we have not been actively competing as they own the auction.