What should I Bid? - Best enquiry for February 2010

Maura Rhodes made the best submission for the month of February.

Hand: Dealer East, with EW vulnerable, I was North on the following deal:

	1073  KJ74  QJ7  A43
8654  A86532  K65  -		QJ2  109  8  KQ98752
	AK9  Q  A109432  J106

Bidding:	West	North	East	South
			3	3
	3	Dbl

 

Comments:     What is double? Take out or penalty? My partner took my double as take out but I meant it as penalty and we are not sure how best to play it. He thinks it should be take out showing spades- do you agree?

Kieran's Reply:

Maura,

In the old days, everybody played this double as penalty and nobody thought anything of it. It's not clear that they were wrong, either.

However, as with an awful lot of early doubles in the modern bidding canon, I'd regard this one as more like takeout, or cards, or "hey, I'm here". I'd be loathe to describe it as simply showing spades (a 3 bid would do a better job still of showing spades) and the bid might be necessary with all sorts of balanced/flexible hands which can't bid 3NT (for lack of an opponents' suit), but mostly the hand would contain some spades.

With double as some kind of takeout thing, North has two choices. The first is to bid 3NT, but at the vulnerability this does feel like trading +800 for an uncertain +400. The other is to pass (preferably without stopping to think). This might get a bigger penalty than a penalty double, since East might keep bidding, or even raise hearts. (Many players would regard West's 3 as forcing...I wouldn't ask or anything lest East be tipped off that I want him to keep bidding). Even if East passes, your partner is still there - the South hand on this diagram has an easy takeout double when 3 gets passed around, and you can get your 1100 after all. Or 3 might be passed out, down three or four, for a score not much worse than making 3NT.

By the way, words fail me about West's 3 bid - you'd think that most people, vulnerable with a seven count and a void in partner's suit, would just be overjoyed that 3 wasn't doubled. I think that the 3 bid looks somewhat less safe than crossing the road blindfolded.

Regards
Kieran

What to Bid | Home