Tuesday, March 23, 2004 9:35 PM

Hand Evaluation - Demise of Penalty Doubles

PITBULLS:

In the early days of Bridge , penalty doubles were invented to punish bad bidders. The penalty double was ambiguous as it was done on a trump stack or HCP values - it did not matter. The message was “opponent you bid badly” so you are to be punished. In today’s game , in match points & rubber bridge , weak Bridge players & bad bidders still exist . The traditional penalty double should probably be employed in those games.

Should these trump stack penalty doubles in competition still exist in IMPS ? No , for a variety of reasons .1^st reason is that Bridge is a partnership game & penalty doubles are a very single handed bid that can lead to a disaster. Competitive doubles invite “partner to the party” so a joint decision can be made. This competitive double is “taking out insurance” that the contract can in fact be set. Two heads are better than one. The competitive double prevents bidding your hand again & flying solo. You ask partners permission to bid again.

The 2^nd reason for not playing “trump stack” doubles in IMPS is the ambiguity of the bid. Penalty doubles are ambiguous for pulling doubles. Partner does not know if they based on HCP’s which might help his decision to bid more or a trump stack which is bad duplication of value for bidding purposes. It’s a crap shoot on when to pull penalty doubles. Advocates of trump stack doubles usually threatened partner with a “never pull my penalty doubles edict”. This is of course is stupid in IMPS as penalty doubles should be pulled in many situations but it is just a gamble either way. Doubling 4♥ for –300 when you can make +1370 is a huge loss for your side.

The 3^rd reason for not playing “trump stack” doubles in IMPS , is the double simply can be put to a better & more frequent use to show “cards” with a lack of duplication of value in their suit. In good IMP matches , the opponents do not bid badly with bad suits . They take advantage of the “law of total tricks’ so make things difficult for you with minimum risk for their side. Using an unambiguous double just to “show cards” simplifies many auctions for you as they use their fit for pre-emptive value. You do not have your contract “stolen” from you by their bidding. Card showing doubles are good for “anti-terrorism”. The IMP scale itself robs you with huge sets from penalty doubles anyway.

The 4^th reason for using competitive doubles is the clockwise nature of the game of Bridge. With penalty doubles , you may bid in front of partner who has a trump stack. A competitive double allows you to stay out of partners way so a penalty can be extracted by converting. Do not rescue bad bidding opponents by bidding with good defensive hands in front of partner. A competitive double, keeps the partnerships options open.

The 5^th reason for using competitive doubles is that the double can be used for better purposes depending on the context of the auction. The competitive double can be used as a game try , a Q bid or a Western Q bid. A trump stack double is a very narrow use of a good bid. Your bidding accuracy improves with the competitive double.

The 6^th reason for using competitive doubles is that they allow you to compete better . If you bid again without doubling you are truly competing. If you bid again with a double , you have serious intentions. There is no ambiguity that bidding again shows a good hand or just competing as with standard methods. You do not push opponents into games that make due to the ambiguity of your competitive bidding. You can compete better by avoiding going for a number yourself as you ask partners permission to compete again. You can make “negative free bids” in that you did not compete with a double. The over/under rule helps you to compete better.

The 7^th reason for using competitive doubles is the wide HCP range for bids in the modern game. Overcalls , T/O dbls , negative doubles & opening bids have such huge ranges , you need a double to clarify the strength of your hand & not a trump stack in their suit. The double can indicate that your side has the “balance of power” rather than a trump stack in their suit. You use the opponents interference as a “stepping stone” to clarify your own previous action.

The 8^th reason for using competitive doubles is they prevent pseudo sacrifices. If you own the auction , forcing pass theory applies. Sacrificing by you of course does not factor into the equation in forcing pass theory. They own the auction so competitive doubles apply. You can ask partners permission to sacrifice rather than do it single handed. Partner can nix your request with duplication in their suit. Slam undoubles come back in vogue.

The 9^th reason for using competitive doubles is that the double is used like a “splinter’ in that it identifies a lack of duplication of value in their suit. Showing a lack of duplication of value in their trump suit , allows more accurate game bidding & competing for partials. This aspect of the double is the core of competitive double theory.

The 10^th reason for using competitive doubles it that you have an unambiguous structure that parallels forcing pass theory for auctions that you are just competing. New uses for the pass , double & bidding a suit to assist your competitive & game bidding decisions. You have more information with which to work in making your competitive decisions under the 5 level. You handle opponents pre-empts & balances better in that there is no ambiguity regarding their trump suit. Trump stacks are shown via the green card.