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Overcalls, Double then bid a suit

Question 1 (of 7 on this page)
When your partner doubles the opening bid of your LHO, what is he promising ?

1. An opening hand, short in the LHO's suit, with strength in all the other 3 suits. Partner, you MUST bid.
2. Double for penalties: long strong cards in the enemy suit, with 16-18HCP.
3. It doesn't matter, partner must NOT bid
4. It doesn't matter, partner MUST bid best suit
5. An opening hand with 3 good suits, one of which CAN be the enemy suit, and one weak suit. Partner, you MUST bid.

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Question 1 (of 7 on this page)
When your partner doubles the opening bid of your LHO, what is he promising ?
Answer
5 ). An opening hand with 3 good suits, one of which CAN be the enemy suit, and one weak suit. Partner, you MUST bid.

Beginners should assume that the bid means answer (1) - An opening hand, short in the LHO's suit, with strength in all the other 3 suits. But the definition is wider in fact. If you respond with the suit that partner is weak in, he can put it into NT. You have to respond unless there has been an intervening bid, because your partner is not really saying double in the penalty sense.

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Question 2 (of 7 on this page)
You are the dealer, and you passed with this weak 10-loser 5-HCP hand

J 9 4 2
A 3 2
6 4
8 7 6 5

Your LHO opened 1 Club which your partner doubled. Your RHO passed. What should you bid ?
1. pass
2. 1 Diamond
3. 1 Heart
4. 1 Spade
5. 1 NT

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Question 2 (of 7 on this page)
You are the dealer, and you passed with this weak 10-loser 5-HCP hand

J 9 4 2
A 3 2
6 4
8 7 6 5

Your LHO opened 1 Club which your partner doubled. Your RHO passed. What should you bid ?
Answer
4 . 1 Spade

Your partner's double is a forcing bid. You have to bid, even with zero points. Your partner is telling you he has an opening hand, and wants to know your best suit. He can cope with anything you bid.

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Question 3 (of 7 on this page)
You are the dealer, and you passed with this weak 9-loser 7-HCP hand

Q J 9 4
A 3 2
6 4
8 7 6 5

Your LHO opened 1 Club which your partner doubled. But this time your RHO bid 2 Clubs. What should you bid ?
1. pass
2. doubled
3. 2 Diamonds
4. 2 Hearts
5. 2 Spades
6. 2 NT

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Question 3 (of 7 on this page)
You are the dealer, and you passed with this weak 9-loser 7-HCP hand

Q J 9 4
A 3 2
6 4
8 7 6 5

Your LHO opened 1 Club which your partner doubled. But this time your RHO bid 2 Clubs. What should you bid ?
Answer
5 . 2 Spades

Well, you don't have to bid because there has been an intervening bid. But let's see. Partner promised a 7-loser hand. You have a 9 loser hand. So you can bid to the 2-level. Let's bid 2 Spades.

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Question 4 (of 7 on this page)
You are the dealer, and you passed with this weak 9-loser 7-HCP hand, the same hand as in Quiz no. B 0105 question 2.

Q J 9 4
A 3 2
6 4
8 7 6 5

Everything proceeded as in Question 2. You bid 2 Spades. Partner replied 3 Hearts. What does he mean ?
1. Although I have 3 nice suits, hearts is significantly better than Spades
2. I have a 6 card heart suit
3. I have a 6 card heart suit and 16 points
4. I have a 5 card heart suit and 16 points
5. I have a 5 card heart suit and 19 points

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Question 4 (of 7 on this page)
You are the dealer, and you passed with this weak 9-loser 7-HCP hand, the same hand as in Quiz no. B 0105 question 2.

Q J 9 4
A 3 2
6 4
8 7 6 5

Everything proceeded as in Question 2. You bid 2 Spades. Partner replied 3 Hearts. What does he mean ?
Answer
3 . I have a 6 card heart suit and 16 points

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Question 5 (of 7 on this page)
You are the dealer, and you passed with this weak 9-loser 7-HCP hand, the same hand as in Quiz no. B 0105 question 2.

Q J 9 4
A 3 2
8 7 6 5
6 4

Everything proceeded as in Question 2 (You passed. Your LHO opened 1 Club which your partner doubled. Your RHO passed. You bid 2 Spades). Partner replied 3 Hearts. What should you now bid ?
1. pass
2. 3 Spades
3. 3 NT
4. 4 Clubs
5. 4 Diamonds
6. 4 Hearts
7. 4 Spades

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Question 5 (of 7 on this page)
You are the dealer, and you passed with this weak 9-loser 7-HCP hand, the same hand as in Quiz no. B 0105 question 2.

Q J 9 4
A 3 2
8 7 6 5
6 4

Everything proceeded as in Question 2 (You passed. Your LHO opened 1 Club which your partner doubled. Your RHO passed. You bid 2 Spades). Partner replied 3 Hearts. What should you now bid ?
Answer
6 . 4 Hearts

Partner has 6-cards in hearts and a 6-loser hand, probably 5. You have a 9-card Major fit. Your combined losers total 15, probably 14. You also have an Ace in his long suit, and a convenient shortage in the enemy suit with some low trumps to ruff them. Go for game.

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Question 6 (of 7 on this page)
Your RHO is the dealer and he bid 1 Club. You have a very strong hand, with 17-HCP and only 5 losers, and a strong 6-card Heart suit

A K 2
K Q J 8 7 6
A 4 3
2

What should you bid ?
1. double
2. 1NT
3. 1 Heart
4. 2 Hearts
5. 3 Hearts

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Question 6 (of 7 on this page)
Your RHO is the dealer and he bid 1 Club. You have a very strong hand, with 17-HCP and only 5 losers, and a strong 6-card Heart suit

A K 2
K Q J 8 7 6
A 4 3
2

What should you bid ?
Answer
1 . double

If you overcall in hearts, or jump overcall in Hearts, your partner will put you with a maximum of 15HCP and you might miss game. What's more your partner might pass ! Better to force your partner to bid with a double for takeout, and rebid your suit next time round to show 16+ and a 6-card suit.

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Question 7 (of 7 on this page)
Your RHO is the dealer and he bid 1 Club. You have a strong hand, with 17-HCP and 6 losers, and a strong 5-card Heart suit.

A K 3
K Q J 8 7
A 4 3
3 2

What should you bid ?
1. double
2. 1NT
3. 1 Heart
4. 2 Hearts
5. 3 Hearts

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Question 7 (of 7 on this page)
Your RHO is the dealer and he bid 1 Club. You have a strong hand, with 17-HCP and 6 losers, and a strong 5-card Heart suit.

A K 3
K Q J 8 7
A 4 3
3 2

What should you bid ?
Answer
3 . 1 Heart

You don't have a 6-card suit so you can't double and bid your Hearts next time. With a 5-card suit you need 18HCP to double, which again you don't have. You have enough HCP to bid 1NT, and stoppers in 3 suits, but Clubs could be a bit of a problem. So you'll have to bid 1 Heart.

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