Penalty Doubles

 

Here we cover various Penalty Double situations, including the passing of Takeout Doubles, and also how to escape from the wrath of the enemy Double.

        

3rd January, 2007             Board 9      Dealer North       E-W Vul

 

 

Do you pass hoping to extract a worthwhile penalty?  Or do you bid 1NT?  One important parameter here is the vulnerability, and here we have the worst situation of all, we are and they are not.  This gives rise to the following thoughts:

-         If we cannot make game then surely we can make a part-score, and we’ll probably need to beat 1♠ doubled by two tricks in order to compensate

-         If we can make game, then we must hold Declarer to a paltry 3 tricks in Spades, a tall task indeed when we consider that North holding just ♠ AK987 and a side-suit Ace opposite a complete Yarborough will be enough for her to scrape up that all-important 4^th trick (provided that she does not try to draw trumps).

 

Yes, we’d be a lot happier passing the Double if they were vulnerable, and also if we had better Spade spots … when you have 5 trumps fighting against 5 trumps, the 4^th and 5^th rounds of the suit become important and the lowly Sevens and Eights grow in stature!

 

So our guess (and these situations do involve quite a bit of guesswork) would be to bid 1NT, which on the actual hand makes +120 with normal play.  How about 1♠ doubled?  Down one or two, it’s hard to predict, though as it happens North can escape to the safety of her 5-card Heart suit.

 

While we are on this subject, let’s look at a couple of other Penalty Pass situations from this week’s hands.  First, South on Board 20:

 

            ♠ A65

            ♥ A72

            ♦ 97

            ♣ QJ762

 

West    North   East     South

1♣       Dbl      Pass    ??

 

Here both sides are vulnerable, so at least the Penalty Pass has the upside of a potential +200 on a part-score hand.  However, two reasons not to make the Penalty Pass are the weakness of our Clubs and the fact that we are so close to making game ourselves.  We’d bid 2NT here, and on the actual board that gets our side to 3NT making 3 for +600.  And 1♣ doubled?  Down only two, not enough!

 

Finally, we look at North’s hand on Board 28:

 

            ♠ 85

            ♥ AK8

            ♦ KQJ98

            ♣ JT2

 

West    North   East     South

1♦        Pass    Pass    Dbl

Pass    ??

 

So far, our attempts to nail the opponents at the one-level have not been a great success, but surely this time we’ve got them!  4 trump tricks, side-suit AK, opposite a Partner with some values, this one rates to be a slaughter!  Not so fast!  First of all the vulnerability is red versus white, so, as we saw before, we’ll need to hold them to 3 tricks if we can make game.  And secondly, as the Double was in the balancing seat, Opener’s partner gets the chance to escape to another suit.  Nonetheless, on this one we would elect for the Penalty Pass.  The bottom line?  N-S cannot make game (South has a light balancing Double), so down two is all that is required for a good result … that is achievable in 1♦ doubled, but East will escape to 1♠ doubled which is down two only on the right opening lead (which, in these situations, is often a trump).

 

So, there ends our brief tour of Penalty Pass situations, handle them with care!

 

13th September, 2007       Board 16      Dealer West       E-W Vul

 

 

There’s not much to this one, West has little choice but to pass here and hope that he can beat 2♥.  Actually, he should be quite optimistic about beating it, and, if not exactly drooling, he should be passing with positive expectations.  The point here is that, playing matchpoints, most players just don’t double enough for penalties, fearing the occasional -470 or -730.  Fear not, the occasional disaster is more than compensated for by the lovely succession of +200 and +300 scores, and we know that Partner will be there with comfort and solace when it turns out to be the occasional -470 (well, maybe).

 

But let’s not be too trigger-happy, here are the ideal conditions for low-level Doubles:

-         no fit with Partner

-         game unlikely

-         quick tricks in the side-suits

-         strength over their side-suit

-         trump tricks (slow trump tricks such as QJT9 give more bang for the HCP than AK2)

Happy doubling!

 

 

4th October, 2006             Board 9      Dealer North       E-W Vul

 

 

We think that South should risk a Pass, and here are the reasons why:

-         There’s no guarantee that 2♥ is a good contract, Partner might well have only three, and our own Hearts are less than robust

-         We have shortness in Partner’s first suit, which usually augurs well for the defense

-         They are vulnerable, so down one will be the magic +200

-         We have decent trumps, and we just love our T8 in the suit (and, as it happens, it’s the T8 which prove to be the difference between +200 and -180)

Passing the Double won’t always work, but it looks like a good bet to us.

 

 

3rd January, 2007             Board 28       Dealer West       N-S Vul

 

 

North has made a Penalty Pass of 1♦.  Do you sit for it, or do you run for cover?  We would bail out with an SOS Redouble, hoping to find more placid waters elsewhere.  Suppose that Partner now bids 1♥ and they Double one more time … well, we would redouble one more time!  SOS again, saying “Let’s try Spades or Clubs”. 

 

There’s no guarantee that bailing out will find us a better spot, but what often happens in these situations is that the opponents are unable to find the Double even when it is right.

 

 

20th December, 2006        Board 17      Dealer North        Vul None

 

 

Attempting to penalize non-vulnerable opponents at the one-level is an iffy business, the main danger being that we’ll nip it by just one trick scoring +100 when we had more productive part-score contracts available.  And if we can make a game our way (non-vulnerable on this board) we must score no fewer than 9 tricks on defense if we are to get a good board.

 

Having said all that, this hand appears to be most suitable for such a penalty Double, here are the key ingredients:

-         That KJ9xx is almost a perfect trump holding, with 3 or 4 tricks being produced by a mere 4 HCP’s … this holding is actually more suitable for our purposes than AK432 because it’s likely to provide the same number of defensive trump tricks while being far less suitable for offense

-         The hand has modest values, reducing the chance that N-S can make game

-         North is short in Partner’s suit (usually good for defense, not so for offense)

-         North’s A♥ will be just as powerful on defense as offense (we certainly couldn’t say the same if those 4 HCP’s were not the Ace but a random sampling of Queens and Jacks)

 

So, yes, we would pass smoothly, eagerly awaiting the reopening Double.  Is Partner obliged to reopen with a Double?  There used to be a school of thought which said “Yes! South must reopen with a Double in case North is lying in wait with the so-called Trap Pass”.  But that’s altogether too dogmatic in our view and seems to have faded from the mainstream view.  We’d relieve her of that reopening Double obligation with distributional hands or those with truly appalling defensive prospects.  But more than half the time South will make a reopening Double … she would on the actual hand, and that will be +300.

 

 

30th May, 2007                 Board 1      Dealer North       None Vul

 

 

This is something of a predicament for North.  Here are the options:

-         3NT?  Well, this might work, there are various ways that North’s Txxx could become a stopper.  Any honor from Partner, even the singleton Jack, would be enough.  Alternatively, maybe East has a singleton honor and the suit is blocked.  But, even if North’s Heart holding stands up, it’s still a long road to 9 tricks, we’d have to say that 3NT is something of a long shot.

-         3♠?      That’s a robust 3-card suit, hopefully Partner has 4 of them.  However, this 4-3 fit rates to play badly.  East will surely lead a Heart, and with 4 Heart losers in her hand, North will be obliged to take ruffs in the long hand, losing trump control in all likelihood.  No, let’s forget about the 4-3 Spade fit.

-         Pass?  That seems like the only reasonable option.  There is no guarantee that 3♥ can be beaten and Pass could well lead to an unseemly -530 on the scorecard.  But, it seems like the best chance to us.

 

In real life, Pass is the winner, it’s the only way for N-S to go plus.  It will be down one for sure, maybe two.

 

 

5th September, 2007         Board 16      Dealer West       E-W Vul

 

 

Considering the vulnerability, we would pass here.  The Double is no sure thing and it might well net -670 once in a while.  But it has two ways to win here:

-         N-S might be unable to make more than a part-score of their own, and might be able to improve on that with +200 for beating 2♥ doubled by one trick

-         N-S might make game, but beating 2♥ doubled by two tricks for +500 would score better.

 

How does 2♥ fare on the actual deal?  It’s down two or three, depending upon how Declarer guesses to play the trumps, but, either way, N-S will beat all those other N-S pairs playing in game.

 

 

31st October, 2007            Board 11      Dealer South       None Vul

 

 

The first Double showed general values, now what?  It may be tempting to double in the hope of exacting a worthwhile penalty, but is this really a good idea?  Those low-level Penalty Doubles have a higher percentage of success in the following circumstances:

(a)    We don’t have game, so don’t need a zillion tricks on defense to beat that game;

(b)   Alternatively, if we only have a part-score, life is easier if they are vulnerable, that way down just one is enough to secure a good score.

(c)    We also like some slow trump tricks, that is to say trump holdings such as QJTx or JT9xx, which are worth more on defense than on offense.  Our actual holding of KQ53 only pulls equal weight in 3NT as it would in 2♥ doubled.

(d)   We don’t have unexpected offensive values.  We would say that the undisclosed Club side-suit falls into that category, loads of potential tricks if we play the hand, and precious little defense if they play the hand.

 

All in all, we would say it would be wrong to double 2♥.  Which only leads us to ask the next question.  “Why did we double 2♦?”  If that Double was intended to show defensive values then we would say that it was misdirected.  This hand has altogether too much offense for that, surely it is better to make whatever forcing Club bid is available in your methods.

 

 

Boards 14, 19 and 20    (from 21st November, 2007)

Most of us are familiar with the basic conventional Doubles, such as Take-Out, Negative, Responsive, and Support.  But, later in the auction, do we always know when Partner’s Double is Penalty or merely value-showing?  From this week’s set, we give you 4 auctions, and in each case we ask “What would a Double mean?”

 

            Board 19, West                                              Board 19, North

            South   West    North   East                             South   West    North   East 

            1♠        Pass    1NT     2♦                                1♠        Pass    1NT     2♦

            2♥        Dbl                                                      2♥        3♦        Dbl

 

            Board 14, North                                             Board 20, North

            West    North   East     South                           West    North   East     South

                                    Pass    1♦                                Pass    1♦        Dbl      1♠

            1♥        1♠        2♦        Pass                            2♣       Dbl      Pass    2♠

            2♥        Dbl                                                      3♣       Dbl

 

The guiding principle in these low-level situations is that, when the opponents have bid and raised a suit, Double tends to be value-showing, and when the opponents have no fit the Double tends to be for penalties.

 

With that in mind, West on Board 19 is making a Penalty Double.  The opponents have not discovered a fit, and South no doubt has some Heart strength and length.

 

On Board 19, the opponents have bid and raised Diamonds, so the Double is not for penalties.  Instead it is value-showing, usually a hand with no clear direction, so typically with less than 3 of Partner’s Spades.  The Double may well be converted into a (hoped-for) penalty, of course.

 

On Board 14, East’s 2♦ showed Heart support, so North’s Double of 2♥ is value-showing, and hoping that Partner will do something intelligent.

 

On Board 20, East made a Take-Out Double, showing the unbid suits of course, and then West bid Clubs twice.  This is not exactly the same as “bidding and raising”, but we would say that this sequence agrees a suit and shows a fit, so again the Double is value-showing.

 

 

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