September 2022 - 62

Advanced Players
Bidding Matters
Relearning bridge - part 30
M
ost of the people who take
my beginner classes have
little interest in duplicate
clubs and tournaments. They want
to learn enough to play with friends
or join social groups, so I try to teach
" Party Bridge Standard " - Gorenbased
bidding with some modern
changes (15-17 1NT and limit raises),
but few conventions.
Although it's basic bridge, that
system won't be a perfect fit in all
groups. A week after my lesson on
takeout doubles, a couple asked me to
clarify the advice about having support
for unbid suits. They had shared
my handouts with their country club
group and were told that this was not
" real " bridge. In their games, a double
meant, " I have points " or, in some
auctions, " I was going to bid that
suit. "
This is still a common practice
in some party-bridge groups, but
those who move up to duplicate learn
rather quickly that " just points " isn't
an effective way to define low-level
doubles. There are many other myths,
misconceptions and old-fashioned
treatments that can cause problems
in takeout-double auctions. We covered
some of these in the discussion
of overcalls vs. doubles in the June
issue. Here are others that you might
have picked up as a beginner but may
want to rethink:
A takeout double of their major
promises at least four cards in the
other major?
This was once a fairly common
agreement, but it's proven to be impractical.
The idea was that because
you won't always have perfect 4-4-4
distribution in unbid suits, it was
important to guarantee length in the
62 | Bridge Bulletin | September 2022
critical suit. That might help partner
find a safe retreat when he's weak, but
the main benefit was that he wouldn't
have to guess about your fit when he
held four cards in the major.
The problem is that this requirement
is way too restrictive. You'll give
up a lot of matchpoints and IMPs if
you can't make a takeout double of a
1k or 2k opening with:
A J 7 k4 3 lA Q 6 5 'K 10 7 3.
It's true that a double might land
you in a 4-3 spade fit, but it might
also be the only way to find a 5-3 fit.
Most pairs would rather deal with
that uncertainty than pass and let
the opponents have the auction all to
themselves.
A minimum-strength takeout
double promises at least three
cards in every unbid suit?
Not always. It's a good rule for
beginners, but many experienced
players have adopted more flexible
methods with some types of hands.
One of the most widely played is
called Equal Level Conversion
(ELC), which allows you to make a
takeout double of a 1k or 1 opener
when you hold long diamonds and
four cards in the other major, even
with a singleton or doubleton club.
After 1 on your right, you can
double with:
K 4 kA J 10 4 lK Q 9 6 5 '7 3.
If partner bids 2' and you convert
to 2l, it's an ELC, which does not
show extra values. It tells partner you
have a minimum, two-suited takeout
with five or more diamonds and four
hearts.
The ELC meaning applies only
after the clubs-to-diamonds converBY
KAREN WALKER
kwbridge.com
sion. If you double and then make
a new-suit bid in clubs, hearts or
spades, you're showing the standard
" big double " hand (17 or more HCP).
A slightly off-shape takeout can
work in other situations, too. After
1l on your right, many would try a
double with:
K J 10 3 kA Q J 5 l6 5 4 'K 6.
If partner bids 2', you'll have to
pass, but it's worth the risk to show
your strength and get both majors
into the auction.
Even if you do end up in a club contract,
it's not all that likely it's a 4-2
fit. Since partner bypassed hearts
and spades to bid 2', your logical
hope is that he's relatively short in the
majors. That increases the chances
that he has five or more clubs. Your
honor doubleton rates to be good support;
don't try to rescue your partner
by bidding a new suit, which would
show a big hand and a longer suit.
Don't make a takeout double
with a pancake hand (4-3-3-3
pattern)?
This is sound advice, but it has
exceptions, too. More about this and
other modern approaches for takeout
doubles in the next issue.
http://www.kwbridge.com
September 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2022
