Better Bridge in Barry County
By
Gerald Stein
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North
♠ A K 8 3
♥ A 9 5 3
♦ 10 4
♣ A 7 2
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West
♠ 9 7 6
♥ K Q J 10
♦ A Q 8 7
♣ Q J
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East
♠ Q 10 4 2
♥ 7 4
♦ K 6 5 2
♣ 10 8 4
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South
♠ J 5
♥ 8 6 2
♦ J 9 3
♣ K 9 6 5 3
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Dealer:
Vulnerable:
Lead:
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West
Neither
K♥
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North
Dbl
Pass
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East
Pass
Pass
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South
2♣
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West
1♦
Pass
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Today’s column features another use for the double,
namely, the Takeout Double. Last week we looked at the use of the double in the
Negative Double. Today’s column will look at the fourth of our Eight
Conventions You Should Know, the Takeout Double.
Early on in the beginning days of bridge, Byrant
McCampbell found a better use for the double than for penalty, especially at
the very low levels of bidding. He reasoned that doubling at the one or two
level for penalty was a wasted bid, and that making use of it in another way
was a far better choice. The takeout double was and is one of the most popular
and most used of all of the conventions in the bridge world. Nearly all bridge
players learn the takeout double as part of their early lessons.
Some players, however, are reluctant to use the takeout
double. Perhaps they feel that it is an insult to double your opponent at such
a low level. They should put that thinking behind them and begin to use the
takeout double as a friendly way to compete in today’s bridge world. Any
convention that has been around since 1912 deserves to be considered and, I
might add, used in friendly and competitive bridge games.
Essentially, the takeout double works in this way:
You as the North player hear your Right-Hand Opponent (RHO) open the bidding at
1♦. You know from past bridge lessons and
experience that this bid promises an opening hand and at least three diamonds.
You as North have an opening hand as well, with this exception: you are short
in diamonds, the suit that was just bid. In this case, short means a void, a
singleton, or at most, a doubleton in diamonds. You have support for the other
three suits, and you want your partner to bid.
Enter the takeout double. You pronounce the word
“Double,” or you pull out the red card from the bidding box if you use one,
essentially saying to your partner: “Partner, I am short in diamonds, the suit
just bid, and I want you to name your best suit. I have a hand that is an
opener, and I want you to bid your best suit.” It is important to repeat that
as many a time in the past partners have passed a takeout double bid, saying,
“Sorry, partner, I had zero points and no good suit to bid.” What a travesty!
That is not the way to keep a partner happy.
The words Takeout Double mean just that: “Partner,
take me out of this double. Bid your best suit.” Even with zero points, your
partner is expected to bid her best suit. The only way your partner is off the
hook is if the opener’s partner has put in a bid or a call. To illustrate, a 1♦ bid followed by your takeout double, followed by
either a 2♦ or other bid or a Redouble will
release your partner from the required bid that you had ordered. All other
times, your partner must make an attempt to name her best suit. By the way, no
trump is not a suit. Throwing in a 1NT bid and then trying to explain to your
partner that you had no good suit will not sit well in a partnership. Bidding
1NT promises more than you think. Instead, bid your best suit and be brave.
What happened in today’s hand can illustrate the mechanics
of the takeout double. West opened the bidding with a solid hand of 15
high-card points, and she bid the convenient minor in diamonds. North also had
an opening hand, one of the key ingredients of a takeout double. By the way,
don’t try to fudge that opening count too much; you may put yourself into big
trouble. North was short in diamonds and had support for the three unbid suits.
Confident that partner would not pass, North used the takeout double convention
to inform his partner that he wanted South to bid her best suit.
After a pass by East, South obliged and bid her best
suit, in this case, clubs, and she had to go to the two-level to do so. But bid
she did just as North had required. The bidding stopped at two clubs, and South
was the declarer, hardly expecting to be in that position with this hand. Ah,
the beauty of competitive bridge bidding.
With only five high-card points, South hardly felt
brave about playing the contract at 2♣. It was a grateful South, however, after
West led the K♥, the top of a sequence, that
South saw the dummy for the first time. She drew a sigh of relief, duly thanked
her partner for having the cards and points that he said he had, and South
began to make her plan. Taking eight tricks would not be easy, but it was
doable, especially when South could see that she had five sure tricks. The need
to use a trump on the board for a losing diamond became apparent quickly.
Having the trumps break 3-2 would also help her cause.
South executed her plan, trumping a losing diamond
on the board before drawing trumps, and she successfully made the 2♣ bid,
taking eight tricks. Without the takeout double, South would have felt that she
could not compete on this hand. Ordered to bid by her partner, South bid and
made a fine contract, all due to the popular and useful Takeout Double
Convention.
Gerald Stein
January 31 2013
Number of words: 1085
Bridge Etiquette Tip Number Two: Another important
bridge table courtesy often violated although probably unintentionally is what
I call the “Snapper Syndrome.” For whatever reasons, some bridge players snap
their cards as they place them on the table. This annoying habit can be
distracting to the other players, including your partner. Another easy
resolution to fix: Don’t be a card snapper.
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