2007-07-25 17:28

Hand Evaluation – Over/Under rule

PITBULLS:

Another reason D.S.I.P. doubles were invented was to remove ambiguity & clarify your previous bid. Opening bids , T/O doubles , Q bids , responses , negative doubles & overcalls have huge ranges. D.S.I.P. doubles help announce defense measured in controls or huge hands via a double. We can convert or double the opponents ourselves based on than knowledge. In other words , we have clarified our initial bid.

Ambiguity is to be avoided in Bridge bidding as in other language. Ambiguity actually helps define D.S.I.P. competitive doubles , though. If the situation is clear & unambiguous with an unlimited hand involved , the double is straight penalty. If the auction is ambiguous & needs a double to clarify the strength of previous bidding , the double shows “cards”. Another clue to assist in identifying the D.S.I.P. double beast.

Hands are either unlimited or limited in an auction . If a hand is unlimited ( yet to be heard from) we are not competing in an auction. The double is penalty in those instances. A limited hand with a fit does not have penalty double rights whether they are in front of the bidder or behind the bidder. This is in accordance with the nature of the competitive double. If they have hit your side suit with your limited hand , hope partner re-opens with a double.

There are certain auctions where we have limited our hand within a very defined range in possible misfit auctions so we modify D.S.I.P. doubles in accordance with the over/under rule . If partner opens 1NT & they balance , we know partners hand pretty well as it is an unambiguous 15-17. Since we have minimum ambiguity to deal with , a double is D.S.I.P. if we are in front of the balancing suit . If we are behind the suit , a double is penalty. This understanding is for NT auctions only.

One of a major & a simple raise gets passed out to a balancing double or suit. Our simple raise limits our hand , so it is reasonably unambiguous . Does the over/under rule apply ?. You double in front of their suit , it is D.S.I.P. However , a double behind the suit is also D.S.I.P. by definition. We do not give a limited hand with a fit penalty double rights which is certainly not standard. In ambiguous auctions , the double is always D.S.I.P. as you have to announce your overall strength first before doubles become penalty later in the auction . A D.S.I.P. double quite often “sets the table” for a penalty double later in the auction. This of course implies competitive auctions where forcing pass theory does not apply.

I was playing with a new convert to D.S.I.P. doubles the other night & Osama opened 1♣ . This was passed around to me who balanced with 1NT. This is a reasonably unambiguous bid as most NT bids are . Osama could not stay out of the auction so he bid 2♥ which got doubled. This double is not D.S.I.P. as you are behind the bidder & we define his 2^nd bid as a balance. In addition , I bid 1NT which is an unambiguous bid . Partner held 12 HCP’s with ♥Qxx so she doubled . Osama went 4 down for –800 & a top for us. D.S.I.P. doubles are useful , but good old fashioned penalty doubles are not extinct. This is the reason for the over/under rule. If the 2♥ bid was passed around to me & I doubled , it would be D.S.I.P. as I am in front of the heart bidder.

Ilya Kuzkin has come up with an idea I like. He says apply the over/under rule with pre-empts also ( weak two or three pre-empt ) . If the opponents balance with a suit & it comes around to you in the re-opening , penalty doubles do not apply as your are over the bidder & took no action in the first place. Thinking that you can set their contract two tricks when you never even bid after the pre-empt is indeed rare. Ilya feels it is more useful to play the double as tolerance for partner’s suit & a request to play the hand somewhere. In rare cases , the pre-empt can even convert for penalty !! What if they re-open with a double after partner’s passed out pre-empt ? RHO bids a suit & partner doubles. The doubler is over the suit in all probability , so this sequence should be penalty. Partner knows the pre-empters hand quite well so let them play the misfit doubled. This is the penalty double defined by captaincy.