I once had an occasional partnership with a friend who disliked filling out convention cards. He could be pressed to answer a few questions about 1NT auctions and carding, but for most other topics, his reply was “Let’s just play bridge”.
What he meant was “Let’s play good bridge”. That was understood to be a reliance on sound bidding principles and careful judgment, plus a collection of conventions and treatments that are popularly called “expert standard”.
Your partnership might devote more time than we did to talking about your system, but you probably make some of the same assumptions. Many types of auctions have taken on specialized meanings that are now so widely accepted that even established partnerships may not mention them in their system discussions.
This is often the case with doubles. Although the modern meanings can be very different -- or even the opposite – of what we were taught as beginners, many of these usages are now considered mainstream. In addition to the numerous variations of “Do Something Intelligent” doubles, they include:
♣ Partner opens 1NT and RHO overcalls 2C:
Double by you is Stayman.
♣ You open a major, partner responds a forcing 1NT and RHO overcalls (
1S-[Pass]-1NT-[2C] ):
Double by you shows extra values and shortness in RHO’s
suit.
♣
Partner opens and your RHO makes a two-suited overcall (Michaels or
Unusual 2NT):
Double by you is “cards” (9+ high-card points), usually without
support for partner’s suit. All subsequent doubles by you or partner are
penalty.
These treatments often go undiscussed because they don’t have names and aren’t covered by any checkboxes on the convention card. They’re so widely played, though, that an experienced partner may assume that they’re part of your system.
Conventional doubles
There are also several conventional doubles that might be considered “expert standard”. They do have names and should be mentioned when you’re making decisions about your bidding system.
That doesn’t always happen if you’re in a casual partnership or have rushed to fill out a convention card, so it’s a good idea to become familiar with conventions that are popular among players of your partner’s skill level.
Negative and responsive doubles are such obvious inclusions that there should be no confusion about whether or not they’re part of your system. What can cause problems, though, is if you haven’t specified how high they’re “on”. If in doubt, “expert standard” is usually through the four-level.
Other conventional doubles aren’t as universal, but they’re common enough that there’s a potential for misunderstandings. Here are three that may have you wondering if you and partner are playing the same system.
LHO Partner RHO You
(1) 1S DBL
Pass 2C
Pass 2D
(2) 1H
Pass 2H
3D DBL
(3)
1C 1D
1S DBL
Without an advance discussion, you would normally assume the standard meaning for all of these doubles. There are, however, other treatments that are preferred by many modern pairs. If you encounter these auctions – and if you’re playing with an experienced partner -- you may want to consider the possibility that he thinks you’re playing a conventional meaning for his double.
More about these and other expert standard doubles in the next issue.
© 2024 Karen Walker