Monday, November 29, 2004 3:16 PM

Hand Evaluation - D.S.I.P. Doubles For Dummies

PITBULLS:

I have written a great deal on this subject. All auctions in Bridge are either owned by your side , the opposition or neither side. To break the subject down to its “bare bones” means there are only a few key concepts to remember. D.S.I.P. doubles are competitive doubles. I repeat D.S.I.P. doubles are competitive doubles. This means we are competing but do not own the hand as in forcing pass theory. Nor do they own the hand for D.S.I.P. doubles to apply. This means that both sides must be actively competing for partials , games or slams. The D.S.I.P. double is an “insurance bid” saying I have defense so I am requesting partner’s permission to compete again. If you have an unsuitable hand with duplication of value in their suit , convert for penalty instead. Do not rescue opponents by bidding again in lieu of doubling. A double keeps your options open. If we drop out of the auction but subsequently double , it is for penalty.

The rules for competitive doubles are strict. Trump stack penalty doubles do not exist during the competitive auction as an initial double. The D.S.I.P. double has a different meaning . The double says I want to compete further but I have defense so I am deferring the decision to partner in case she wants to convert for penalty. If we “own the hand’ , forcing pass theory takes precedence over D.S.I.P. competitive doubles. The pass in D.S.I.P. theory might represent a trump stack in their suit hoping for a double from partner. Bidding again in competition means I have distribution with a distinct lack of defense. There is no ambiguity with the penalty double as there is no trump stack. You do not want to sell out in competition nor do you want to rescue them. A double brings partner into the picture & announces your intentions.

D.S.I.P. doubles apply to initial action only in an auction. If partner has already made a D.S.I.P. double or non pass , penalty ( trump stack ) doubles apply later in the auction. This is a fundamental of penalty doubles. Once partner has reasonably described her hand , the other partner is captain of the ship for penalty doubles. You cannot compete again after partner’s pass with a defensive hand without doubling first . However, after other bids by partner including an earlier D.S.I.P. double or a bid , the green light is on for penalty doubles.

These doubles formally discard the “trump stack mentality” in competition. A double means you are maximum for your previous action whether it be an opener , an overcall , a T/O double , a negative double or some toy. If you have a trump stack , bid NT or take your plus with a pass. These are “card showing” doubles. These doubles are not T/O doubles per se but partner is required to take some intelligent action. All re-opening doubles are never for penalty no matter how the auction went. They demand that partner takes some action.

When the opponents balance , we play the “over/under’ rule. If we are in front of their suit , the double is D.S.I.P. If we are behind the suit , the double is a trump stack penalty double unless you have limited your hand. If our side pre-empts or makes a systemic pre-emptive bid or leaps to game , penalty doubles apply due to “captaincy” not D.S.I.P. doubles. If the opponents pre-empt , the doubles are negative thru 4♦ , higher levels they are D.S.I.P.

If partner overcalls or doubles followed by a 2^nd double , the doubles are D.S.I.P. showing a good hand defensively. They are not single handed “enforcer doubles” with a trump stack in their suit. D.S.I.P. doubles are not designed to combat horrifically bad bidders. If the opponents leap to game after finding their fit , all of our doubles are D.S.I.P. & not penalty trump stack doubles. If the opponents bid like they own their suit , we believe them. We do not insult them. Our doubles show “cards” based on the context of this particular auction..

D.S.I.P. doubles are quite often “balance of power” doubles indicating that your side has most of the HCP’s. They indicate a maximum for your previous bid whether it was a negative double , responsive double , overcall or takeout double , opening bid or response . It is never a “trump stack” double in direct competition. Trump stack doubles are only made by converting partners double or after partner has described her hand with a D.S.I.P. double or bid.

A thorough understanding of forcing pass theory is needed to play D.S.I.P. doubles. You must know the cues that turn on forcing passes ( ownership ) as D.S.I.P. theory kicks in otherwise. Good judgment is required to know when to pull doubles or to convert. Lebensohl is used when pulling doubles at a high level. D.S.I.P. doubles ( like splinters) show a lack of duplication of value in the opponents suit. Accordingly D.S.I.P. doubles prevent pseudo sacrifices as you double in front of partner rather than bidding in front of partner who may have a trump stack in their suit.

What is defense for the purpose of D.S.I.P. doubles ? These are “quick tricks” as opposed to HCP’s. If our defensive tricks by the overcaller or T/O doubler is within ½ trick of booking the contract , we have a D.S.I.P. double. If responder who has limited her hand , doubles a minimum of 1 ½ defensive tricks are required. Biting the bullet is quite often necessary when partners double causes problems for your side . Just let the opponents make their doubled game is sometimes the prudent approach. The alternative might be too gruesome so –4 IMPS for them making the doubled game is not the end of the world.

D.S.I.P. doubles can apply right up & including 4♠ , if we do not own the hand. At the 5 level with us competing , doubles are trump stack penalty. If the opponents own the hand , doubles are trump stack penalty unless we have been in their auction with the terrorist vulnerability. The double in that case would be “permission to sacrifice”. If the opponents voluntarily bid a slam and we were competing , a double by the opening leader says we do not have any defensive tricks. This is similar to the double /undouble convention.

Perry gave me this hand & asked if his double was D.S.I.P. / Co-operative or for penalty. He held ♠Kxx ♥xx ♦Kxxxx ♣xxx , partner opened 1♣ & they overcalled 1♥. Perry passed , they bid 2♥. Partner bid 3♣ , they competed to 3♥ which Perry passed . They bid 4♥ around to Perry again. Perry doubled so what does that mean ? As usual with “depending on context” bids , you must read the bidding to get your answer. Perry had a chance over 3♥ to compete to 4♣ but did not. Therefore , the needed element of competition to define a double as D.S.I.P. was not there. Perry’s double should look like ♠Kxx ♥QJ109 ♦xxxxx ♣x or the like. If Perry did bid 4♣ with his real hand of ♠Kxx ♥xx ♦Kxxxx ♣xxx ,his double now is clearly D.S.I.P. You give partner an option of bidding 5♣ but since you competed this round the double cannot be penalty. You must have dropped out of the auction , for a subsequent double to be penalty. A competitive double is a “depending on context” double which needs experience to interpret correctly.