This Week in Bridge
(557) I Want to Bid Doubles
©AiB Robert S. Todd
Level: 9 of 10 robert@advinbridge.com
General
There are certain auctions where we have made a bid that has “fully described our hand” and we leave the bidding up to partner. In auctions like these, like when we have opened the bidding with a preempt at the 2-level or 3-level, we usually are not very sure of what partner has for their bid and we want to leave any further decisions up to them. But sometimes we have more shape than partner expects or our instincts tell us that is right to bid on. When that is the case we do NOT want to just take over and bid again – we told partner we would not bid any more after our first bid. In an auction like this we can use a double as a conventional bid saying “I want to bid more”. This is called an I Want to Bid Double and it applies in very specific situations. Let’s take a look at these in more detail.
When and Why I Want to Bid Doubles Apply
I Want to Bid Doubles generally apply when the player that makes them has limited their hand and shown a long suit or a fit. Let’s look at some examples to get us used to the thought process.
Example 1
2♠ X 3♠ 4♥
X?
Here the preemptor does not have very much information about the Responder’s hand. Responder could have an excellent hand with a few ♠ or they may have little to nothing and just be using the LOTT (Law of Total Tricks). That means if Opener has some additional shape and thinks it is right to bid 4♠, then instead of making the unilateral decision of bidding 4♠ and guessing what is right, they should double to let their partner know that they want to bid 4♠.
Example 2
1♠ X 3♠ 4♥
P P X?
Responder bids 3♠ to show a weak hand. Later making a double means that Responder wants to bid 4♠, but doubles just in case Opener has a lot of defense and thinks we can beat 4♥. Responder is suggesting a sacrifice in 4♠, but that would be silly if 4♥ would go down.
Example 3
1♥ P 4♥ 5♣
P P X?
Responder bids 4♥ to show a big ♥ fit and about 0-8 HCP (“weak freak”). This is a highly limited hand by Responder and Opener’s hand is unknown in strength. Thus, a double by Responder is not a penalty double, it is an I Want to Bid Double.
Example 4
3♠ 4♥ P P
X?
Here the preemptor may have some additional feature, like an 8-card suit. If Opener’s instinct is to bid 4♠, then instead of just guessing what to do, Opener should get some input from Responder by making an I Want to Bid Double.
♠ QJT86432
♥ --
♦ T832
♣ 5
If we started out with a conservative 3♠ bid, then over 4♥ we should tell partner we want to bid 4♠, but not do so unilaterally.
Example 5
4♥ 4♠ P P
X?
A 4-level preempt is a bit more wide ranging than one at the 2-level or 3-level. This double is penalty, since the 4♥ bidder could have a pretty good hand for opening 4♥.
Example 6
1♠ P 4♠ 5♣
X
This double is not by the limited and weakish hand, so it is a penalty double!
I Want to Bid Doubles should be relatively easy to recognize because it should seem like partner did something illogical. In most of the cases where they are used, partner has shown a weak hand (they certainly have limited their values) and thus making a double, even at a high-level, should seem extremely strange, given that we may or may not have told them much about our hand – weak hands really should not make penalty doubles. This will seem like a “strange” penalty double, which should wake us up that it is not!
Follow-Up Bidding After Partner’s I Want to Bid Double
When partner makes an I Want to Bid Double we know they have a hand limited in values and have even more distribution than they have promised – their hand is more offensivley-oriented and less defensively-oriented. We need to make use of that information to help us making a good decision about how the hand should proceed.
Example 7
2♠ X 3♠ 4♥
X P __?
Here the preemptor is suggesting bidding to 4♠. They either have a seventh ♠ or some additional shape – 6/4 shape is likely.
If Responder’s hand for bidding 3♠ is:
♠ A43
♥ QJT8
♦ KJT
♣ QJ3
then they should pass – we are getting a huge score against 4♥X.
If Responder’s hand for bidding 3♠ is:
♠ A43
♥ 8732
♦ 42
♣ KT93
then they should bid 4♠, suspecting that 4♥ is making and taking partner’s suggestion that 4♠x will be better than letting them bid and make 4♥.
Conclusion
The I Want to Bid Double is a powerful tool to stop us from make a unilateral decision about continuing the auction at a high level. It is particularly useful because many times when we want to bid, we are actually guessing because we do not know what partner has in their hand. Instead of just guessing whether it is right to bid or not (what does partner have?), we should involve partner in the decision – and this gadget does that! If you have a regular partnership, especially one that likes to preempt a lot, you’ll enjoy adding this gadget to your system. The main thing you need to work out with partner is when this double applies and when the double is penalty. Discuss with partner and get to bidding more!