Friday, November 11, 2005 12:32 AM

Hand Evaluation – Doubles ( Rebidding your hand )

PITBULLS:

One of the annoying facets of the partnership game of Bridge is partner bidding her hand twice . This is a basic hand evaluation no no . Once you have shown a distributional monster vulnerable & partner takes preference , you now bid it again thereby gambling that partner has the right cards. Playing D.S.I.P. competitive double theory you can bid your hand twice in a different way. Why , because a D.S.I.P. double says I want to bid again but I have defense ( quick tricks ) . This way of bidding your hand again brings partner in on the act.

My partner held the classic distributional monster ♠void ♥AJ10xxx ♦AQJ10x ♣KJ . He opened 1♥ , they overcalled a spade with the opponents Q bidding 2♥ . Partner bid 3♦ all by himself with a passing partner who gave preference to 3♥. They bid 3♠ . Not playing D.S.I.P. theory , I think you might gamble & bid 4♥ as they are bidding your void , so you need almost nothing to make 4♥. It is a single handed bid though as partner has never been consulted in this auction. D.S.I.P. competitive doubles are a tool to bring both partners in on the decision making process. You have showed 10 or 11 red cards already, so you can double saying you want to bid 4♥ but you have defense ( quick tricks ) . The double describes the type of HCPs you hold ( quick tricks ) as you have described your distribution already. The auction goes pass, pass & pass. Partner holds ♠J98x ♥K ♦xx ♣109876x so you beat the contract one for +200 ( close to 500 ) . 4♥X goes for -800 which happened at quite a few tables.

D.S.I.P. doubles take getting used to as you can double with offensive monsters that also have defense ( quick tricks ) . The key being that partner has already heard you announce your distribution. The double actually allows you to bid your hand again but not in a fatal way. You have the best of both worlds by bringing partner into the picture who as heard you show the table that you have a 6-5 in the reds . She makes the decision from her side. This way of partnership bidding reflects all good hands. When you want to bid again , do it with a double. Partner has more options that way . Excellent !

D.S.I.P. doubles are anti-intuitive . Playing just a standard style you either pass 3♠ as you are all in with you bidding up to the 3 level all by yourself or you take a calculated risk by bidding 4♥ . I would bid 4♥ like a flash with that hand not playing D.S.I.P. doubles. Doubling when you want to bid with strong distributional hands takes getting used to but it is sound in theory. You have described your distribution to partner already so now describe the defense with a double. Change partner’s hand to ♠void ♥AJ10xxx ♦AKQxx ♣xx , he should just bid 4♥ as his defensive values are concentrated in his suits. Do not leave up to partner what you can do yourself. Just bid 4♥ so do not make it too hard on partner. D.S.I.P. competitive doubles , do not leave home without them for the other hands though. J