Saturday, July 31, 2004 6:53 AM
D.S.I.P. - 2nd
Double
PITBULLS:
Bob, for your arsenal on DSIP's
Cavendish 2004 Miller/Wold vs Hamman/Zia Both Vul
Miller
AK7653
AJ98
Q10
4
Zia Hamman
10942
QJ
63
KQ102
K75
A642
10972
AK3
Wold
8
754
J983
QJ853
P(Wold)-P-1♠-D
P-2♣-2♠-D
P-?
In my opinion, the 2nd dbl by Hamman is DSIP showing a "flat" 19+
hand with less than 4 clubs. Zia can
pass & collect 500 or 800 . He actually bid 3♣ , collected -300 when mercifully Wold passed. Strange, from
a player like Zia, who is known for saying that there aren't enough doubles in
IMP's
. For the
Cavendish, as much as about 60*25 = 1500 imps swung on this single DSIP
hand. The current half-time leaders have some 1900 imps in total.
The 2nd
double should always be D.S.I.P. showing extra HCP’s , never a trump
stack double. I think the “trump stack” mentality for the 2nd double
came from bad bidding in the first place. Many players made
“take out” doubles with a trump stack in the opponents suit because they had a good hand. They did not like to trap with the opponents suit. I find these kind of takeout doubles repulsive. Takeout doubles
are just that , wanting partner to pick the unbid suits not someone else’s suit
.. The only time you double with the opponents suit is if you are too strong
too make a NT bid . You have so much strength anyway in these hands they
qualify for a 2nd double.
Maurice
& I had an auction against the Bartons that shows the 2nd double
in action. . ♠x ♥xx ♦KJ109xx ♣AKxx it went 2♠-x-2NT-x , Maurice correctly doubles first to show his HCP strength. The opponents bid 4♠ so partner doubles again
with a flat 16 HCP ♠xx ♥AKQ ♦Axx ♣QJxxx . This is the 2nd double principle in action
at a higher level then the Hammon/Zia auction.
. Since Maurice has the stiff spade & now knows partner has a good hand with his 2nd double , he bids 4NT saying pick a
minor partner. Partner bids 5♣ so Maurice tries 6♣ which makes for +1370. This was an excellent sequence as the 2nd belated double conveyed enough information
to attempt a slam. If partner does not make a 2nd double, the slam would not be reached ! Say Maurice bid 3♦ or 4♦ over 2NT .
Is this based on strength or distribution ?? Does it show 2 suits or one ? You
can never find your club fit . The double followed by 4NT over the expected 4♠ by the opponents
describes your hand perfectly. A
good hand with the minors so you used the opponents as a stepping stone to show
your HCP strength. Partner will
always assume you are weaker & more distributional when you fail to double any NT contract when you had the chance. This applies
even if they never intended to
play it there.
Ok. What if you did make
an original takeout double with some wastage
in spades . Say you held ♠AQx ♥AJxx ♦KJ10x ♣xx , the auction went the same way. This
time you would pass 4♠ . Partner
in the re-opening seat will re-open with a double if he wants the auction to continue. A double in the pass out seat
is never penalty but
shows shortness & wants partner to bid. With this hand , a conversion tales
place so they play 4♠ doubled.
Even not playing D.S.I.P. theory , you throw out “trump stack” doubles in the
pass out seat in these auctions.
All the opponents have are trump & their bidding is such that they are daring
you to double them with their huge fit.
This is the “depending on context” aspect of the penalty double, if you do not subscribe to D.S.I.P.
theory.. In these auctions , the only way you can “punish” the opponents with a
trump stack double is by converting partners
double.
Having the 2nd double defined as D.S.I.P. has
its advantages. The double becomes a “support double” with 3 trump as you would
always choose a Q bid
with a huge hand & a 4 card or better fit. You hold this hand ♠AJx ♥x ♦AKxxx ♣KQJx , double 1♥. It goes
pass , partner bids 1 spade & opener bids 2♥ . You double
again to show your strength but more importantly your lack of 4 card trump support. Re-opening doubles
follow the same principle . You open 1♦ , it goes one spade so
it gets passed around to you again
♠x ♥KQ10 ♦AKxxx ♣AKxx , you re-open with a double. Partner bids
2♥ , RHO crawls in with 2♠ . You double a 2nd time to
show your strength & the lack
of a 4 card fit for partner.