November 2005 - 43

doubling is not the way to bid. You
may recall my statement from an
earlier article on takeout doubles.
Here it is again.
There is no dishonor in passing
when your RHO opens and you have
an opening bid that does not have the
right qualities for action.
This hand is not worth a 1NT overcall and it does not have the spade
support needed for a takeout double.
When South doubled 1, he made
a gamble that North would bid hearts
or clubs. North did not do that. North
bid 1, something that South knows
is likely to happen.
Partners try to bid a major suit in
response to a takeout double, and that
is exactly what North did.
So South has the choice of passing
1 and leaving North to play in a
potential 4-2 fit or bidding 1NT and
hoping that North has enough points
to make 1NT a safe contract.
Here is why that thinking is wrong.
When South doubles 1 and then
bids 1NT, his bid promises something
in the range of a good 17 HCP up to
a terrible 20. This range is not quite as
well defined as an opening 1NT bid
because the opponents have opened the
bidding, which adds a little murkiness
to the auction. The one thing that is
clear is that if a 1NT bid shows 15-17,
doubling and then bidding notrump
should show a little more than an
opening 1NT bid. Do not forget this
rule and do not violate it.
Think about this. If you end up in
1NT, your partner will need to have
about 7 HCP if you wish to make
1NT. Your partner, if he has 7 points,
will be thinking you have 18 or 19
HCP, and he won't be passing you in
1NT. He will be raising you with his
7 HCP, and you will be higher than
you wanted to be. In fact, if he has 8
HCP, he should raise to 3NT.
Yikes.
The answer is that you need a good
hand to double and then bid notrump.
You do not bid this way just because
you do not like the suit your partner
has bid. If you know your partner is
likely to bid something you do not
like, then the answer is probably that
you should not have doubled in the
first place.
r
November 2005



Bridge Player's Survival Kit

your stopper.
In the above deal, North-South
have six hearts - 7 - 6 = 1, so
declarer should let East-West
win one trick only. South wins
the second heart trick and leads a
diamond, making two overtricks as
the cards lie.
Let's try another deal (you are
South in 3NT on the lead of the 3):
Dlr: North  9 6 5
Vul: N-S  K 7
KJ832
A 8 3
KJ832
 Q 10 7
N
965
 A 10 8 4 2
W E
765
9
S
95
 Q 10 7 2
A 4
QJ3
 A Q 10 4
KJ64
Result: Making three, plus 600 for
North-South.
South counted his winners: one

spade, five diamonds and two clubs.
"If I hold up in spades and then
force out the A, I can get two
hearts for an overtrick. Leslie says
overtricks rock! Let's see, dummy
and I have five spades; 7 - 5 = 2.
So I need to let the bad guys win
the first two spades ..." South's plan
ran afoul of the math. He couldn't
hold up enough to satisfy the rule
of seven!
If the rule of seven tells you
to hold up more times than
you can, you probably can't
afford to give up the lead.
If South wins the second spade
and loses a trick to the A, East
will have a spade left and East-West
will take five tricks. South's only
hope for his ninth trick is the club
finesse. True, it's only a 50-50
chance, but it's better than
giving up.
r

Masterpoint mystery
Do you often wonder why the masterpoints you earned at the club during
the current month do not appear on your individual record in the next issue of
the Bridge Bulletin? Even when everyone involved in each step required to
process masterpoint records does their part on time, you may still encounter
a delay of one or two months before you receive a written record of your accomplishments. Why?
Cindy Wages, senior clerk in the Club and Member Services Department,
explains: "The ACBL monthly computer cycle runs around the 6th of each
month. Points added to a player's record in between cycles are listed as
'pending' until the next cycle is processed. When the next cycle runs, 'pending points' are added to the player's permanent total and will be shown on the
next printed masterpoint update."
The Bridge Bulletin is sent to the printer around the 10th of the month prior
to publication, e.g., Sept. 10 for the October issue. The masterpoint cycle is
run about the 6th of the same month, so if you earn masterpoints at a club in
early September and the club does not report your earnings well before the
10th, the record of those masterpoints will not be in the October issue.
It has been said that timing is everything! Clubs are required to submit
reports by the 10th of the following month. As this article is being written in
early October, club reports for September are being processed. Those that
were processed prior to the Oct. 6 cycle will be included in the printed statement which will appear in this issue of the Bridge Bulletin. The majority of
players' points won in September will not appear on individual statements
until the December issue.
We encourage you to check the Internet regularly to verify your current
masterpoint holding. This information is updated daily.
This customer service tip is one in an ongoing series. If you have a suggestion for future topics of discussion, please send an e-mail to the ACBL Customer Services manager, Jean Patterson, at jean.patterson@acbl.org.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2005