Double Their Artificial Bids - Use Your Enemy! Part 2

You must be in the right position for this to work:

3. You

♠ 5 4                LHO           Partner          RHO           You

♥ 8 7 5             2♣               Pass              2♦                Pass

♦ J 9 6                              

♣ A Q J 9 4

               

You want a club lead, but are in the wrong position to ask for it. If you double, you’d be indicating a diamond suit. And if you bid 3♣, you’re asking for trouble!

Double Their Artificial Bids - Use Your Enemy! Part 1

Here is one area of bidding that the average bridge player totally ignores. What a waste!
Here is your new toy in a nutshell:

When an opponent makes an artificial bid, double that bid to show you have length and strength in that suit.

You open, LHO bids, Partner Passes

The bidding goes:         You            LHO          Partner         RHO
                                   1♠               2♦               Pass             Pass
                                   ?

You should make every effort to bid unless you have 13 to 16 points (minimum opener) and 3+ cards in the opponent’s suit.  

Don’t forget your partner may have a decent hand with as many as 9-10 points but was unable to bid after the overcall.

There are five different bids the opener can make:

Double

If you opened and partner passed, you can double for takeout. You need support for the two unbid suits. Opener can double with a minimum point count - it does not show extra points.

You
♠  K 10 8                You          LHO          Partner        RHO
♥  A Q 8 6              1♦             2♣              Pass            Pass
♦  A 9 8 7 4             Dbl
♣  2           

You are showing support for hearts and spades.  Your partner must answer (unless his RHO bids) by bidding hearts, spades, NT or raising diamonds. 
Note: If partner is convinced their bid will go down, he may pass, converting the opener’s takeout double to a penalty double.

Rebid a 6-card suit

You may not rebid a 5-card suit, but 6 or more should be rebid:

You
♠  A K J 8 6 4         You           LHO        Partner        RHO
♥  6 4                      1♠             2♦             Pass             Pass
♦  9 5                       2♠
♣  K Q 5     

You have a good chance of making 2♠ or you may even push the opponents too high. If you had a stronger hand - let’s say another ace - you should jump to 3♠ to prod partner if he has some values.

Look for the next "Roberta's Blog" for three more options!

© 2013 Roberta Salob

Card Showing Doubles

This is a neat gadget to solve an uncomfortable problem.

The bidding:

Partner        Opp.        You         Opp.
1♦               Pass         1♠            2♥
Pass            Pass         ?

Your hand:
♠ A J 9 6 3    ♥ 4 2    ♦ Q 8    ♣ K 8 4 2

What a dilemma! Your choice of a rebid are all bad:

1. Rebid your mediocre 5-card spade suit (only perverts repeat 5-card suits!)
2. Bid 3♣, an anemic 4-card minor suit
3. Bid 2 NT with no heart stopper

But if you and partner play "card showing doubles", you would double in this sequence, showing a decent hand (10+ points) with no convenient bid. Partner will know it is a takeout double, not a penalty double.

© 2013 Roberta Salob