Thursday, May
13, 2004 2:51 AM
Hand
Evaluation – Forcing 1NT ( Dbls )
PITBULLS:
The
forcing 1NT bid & D.S.I.P. theory are a good mix . A forcing NT generally but not always means a misfit auction. In misfit auctions, a lucrative source of IMPS is doubling
the opponents for penalty. What a minute ! I thought
that the basis of D.S.I.P. was that trump stack doubles do not exist ! Yes , that is correct , but doubles certainly can be converted.
In all the years I have played Bridge , my partner has rescued opponents from impending doom
innumerable times by bidding in front of me before I could make
a penalty double . It was quite frustrating how they escaped their bad bidding
time after time . Tom Gandolfo introduced me to
D.S.I.P. doubles after forcing 1NT’s
to correct that problem.
Essentially this is an application of the over/under rule. Re-opening dbl’s are not penalty even in a misfit auction.
Tom
says in a forcing NT auction whenever the opponents bid in the sandwich position up to &
including 3♠ , a double is D.S.I.P. showing good defense but not
a trump stack double. If you have a trump stack double ,
you must pass so partner must bend over backwards to re-open with a double .
With an unsuitable distributional hand , the 1NT
bidder can still bid but there could be a trump stack over there. A free bid by the opener shows a
distributional minimum if at the two level . We play
the good-bad 2NT in these forcing 1NT auctions ( Dbl
shows cards) . A 2NT bid is a relay to 3 clubs so you show a distributional
minimum. A free bid at the 3 level shows a distributional good hand. Even with 4♥ say ♠AKxxx ♥AKxx ♦xx ♣xx , the auction goes 1♠-P-1NT-2♦ you should
double . Partner has ♠xx ♥xx ♦J10987 ♣AKxx
so
converts the double for penalty & gets 2♦ x for +800 against
no game making our way.
I
will give you a few hands that show this principle in action. Playing with Tom
in the Penticton CNTC’s , I pickup ♠A1098 ♥AKxxxx ♦x ♣Kx
, non vul
vrs vul I open 1♥ . Tom bids a forcing 1NT , RHO bids 2♠ . I can not
double for penalty so I pass hoping that Tom can re-open with a double . No such luck as the 3♣ card hits the table.
Much to my surprise RHO bids 3♠ ! My double
ended the auction & they escaped for +800 . They
were in 4♥ down 2 at the other table for a huge pickup.
You
can also take an inference that partner opened a dog thereby avoid getting into trouble
yourself . You hold ♠xx ♥Kxx ♦xxx ♣AQ10xx , partner opens 1♠
so you bid 1NT . LHO bids 2♦ , RHO bids 3♦ . What do you do ? You are not being talked out of anything here as
partners pass is a dog or a diamond penalty double. On this auction I just pass , hope we beat it as we have nothing more than a
partial our way. If partner doubled 2♦ , they bid 3♦ , a double by me is
D.S.I.P. showing cards so throws the decision back to partner. We may find our
4-4 heart fit that way or just pass & lead a trump.
I
held this hand playing with Tom . ♠AKxxx ♥Axxx ♦void ♣AKxx , opened 1♠
& Tom bid 1NT with young Chris bidding 3♦ . I made a D.S.I.P. double , Tom bid 4♥ . I bid 6♥ so Tom chalked up 1430 . We were the only pair in slam with all sorts of
diamond contracts doubled . Without a D.S.I.P. double
I would have to make a 4♦ Q bid so LHO jams with 5♦. What does my Q bid mean opposite a forcing
1NT bid ? One
thing it does do is remove an option ( converting for
penalty ) from the partnership . What if LHO made an undisciplined pre-empt
& Tom had a trump stack in diamonds ? The set
would offset any slam as they were vulnerable. A 3 suiter
is a defensive hand so if partner
converts that is happiness. Tom knew I
had diamond shortness with my D.S.I.P. double so probably a 3 suiter.
Change my hand to
♠AKxxx ♥xx ♦KQ109 ♣Ax , Tom would re-open with a double ♠xx ♥AKxx ♦xx ♣QJxxx or something similar so I could convert..
The D.S.I.P. double allows
getting the overcaller in the sandwich
position to play it doubled from both sides
of the table . This is a huge advantage over traditional methods. In
a misfit auction , go for the throat first & your
contract second. It works
!!