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Doubling after opponent overcall
- Question 1
(of 12 on this page)
You have this hand
K Q 3 2
A 6 4 3
10 5 2
4 3
Your partner opened 1 Diamond. Your RHO overcalled 1 Spade. Would you reply, and what with ?1. pass
2. 1NT
3. 2 Clubs
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 Spades
7. doubled
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- Question 1
(of 12 on this page)
You have this hand
Answer K Q 3 2 A 6 4 3 10 5 2 4 3
Your partner opened 1 Diamond. Your RHO overcalled 1 Spade. Would you reply, and what with ?
7 ). doubled
A so called negative double indicates 4-cards in the unbid Majors, which is what you have. In this case the unbid Major is Hearts. Rather than call 2 Hearts, which promises a 5-card Heart suit and 10 HCP, neither of which are true, you could either pass or double. You have also kept the bidding low, so your partner can for example rebid clubs without going up to 3.
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- Question 2
(of 12 on this page)
You have this hand (the same as in Quiz B0123, question 1).
K Q 3 2 A 6 4 3 10 5 2 4 3
This time your partner opens Diamonds again but the RHO overcalls 1 Heart. What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 Spade
3. 1NT
4. 2 Clubs
5. 2 Diamonds
6. 2 Hearts
7. 2 Spades
8. doubled
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- Question 2
(of 12 on this page)
You have this hand (the same as in Quiz B0123, question 1).
Answer K Q 3 2 A 6 4 3 10 5 2 4 3
This time your partner opens Diamonds again but the RHO overcalls 1 Heart. What should you bid ?
8 . doubled
A so called negative double indicates 4-cards in the unbid Majors, which is what you have. In this case the unbid Major is Spades. You could call 1 Spade, or you could double. In this case, with 4-cards, double.
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- Question 3
(of 12 on this page)
You have this hand
K Q 10 3 2 A 6 4 10 5 2 4 3
This time your partner opens Diamonds again and again the RHO overcalls 1 Heart. What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 Spade
3. 1NT
4. 2 Clubs
5. 2 Diamonds
6. 2 Hearts
7. 2 Spades
8. doubled
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- Question 3
(of 12 on this page)
You have this hand
Answer K Q 10 3 2 A 6 4 10 5 2 4 3
This time your partner opens Diamonds again and again the RHO overcalls 1 Heart. What should you bid ?
2 . 1 Spade
A so called negative double indicates 4-cards in the unbid Majors. In this case the unbid Major is Spade, although it's a 5-card suit. You could call 1 Spade, or you could double. In this case, with 5-cards, bid the 1 Spade, giving your partner a length count.
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- Question 4
(of 12 on this page)
You opened 1 Club. Your LHO overcalled with 1 Spade and your partner immediately doubled.
Which suits does your partner have, how many cards in each case, and what is the range of points in his hand ?1. Hearts, 5 card, 6-9 points
2. Hearts, 4+ card, 6-9 points
3. Hearts, 4 card, 6-9 points
4. Hearts, 5 card, 6-15 points
5. Hearts, 4+ card, 6-15 points
6. Hearts, 4 card, 6-15 points
7. Hearts + Spades, 5-card, 6-9 points
8. Hearts + Spades, 4-card, 6-15 points
9. Hearts + 1 minor, 5-card, 6-9 points
Hearts + 1 minor, 4-card, 6-15 points
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- Question 4
(of 12 on this page)
You opened 1 Club. Your LHO overcalled with 1 Spade and your partner immediately doubled.
Answer
Which suits does your partner have, how many cards in each case, and what is the range of points in his hand ?
5 . Hearts, 4+ card, 6-15 points
A negative double only means two suits when two minors or two Majors have been bid. Otherwise it only promises the missing Major. In this case, your partner wanted to bid 1H, and would have done so had there been no overcall. Therefore his hand promises the same as that bid would have done, namely 4-cards and 6-15 HCP. You are merely promising 6 HCP, since the overcallers bid is in effect "transparent".
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- Question 5
(of 12 on this page)
You opened 1 Club. Your LHO overcalled with 1 Heart and your partner immediately doubled.
Which suit does your partner have, how many cards in each case, and what is the range of points in his hand ?1. Hearts, 5 card, 6-15 points
2. Hearts, 4+ card, 6-15 points
3. Hearts, 4 card, 6-15 points
4. Spades, 5 card, 10-15 points
5. Spades, 4+ card, 10-15 points
6. Spades, 4 card, 10-15 points
7. Spades, 5 card, 6-15 points
8. Spades, 4+ card, 6-15 points
9. Spades, 4 card, 6-15 points
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- Question 5
(of 12 on this page)
You opened 1 Club. Your LHO overcalled with 1 Heart and your partner immediately doubled.
Answer
Which suit does your partner have, how many cards in each case, and what is the range of points in his hand ?
9 . Spades, 4 card, 6-15 points
Your partner cannot have a 5-card Spade suit, or he would have bid 1 Spade in this case, assuming he is aware of the use of the negative double bid to tell partner only 4 cards ! In this case, doubling promises exactly 4 Spades, not 5. Also, he could have less than 10 HCP, since without the overcall there is no need to go to the two level.
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- Question 6
(of 12 on this page)
You have this hand
Q J 10 9 K Q 10 8 7 9 7 8 6
You partner opened 1 Club, and RHO immediately overcalled 1 Diamond. Should you bid, and with what ?1. pass
2. 1 Heart
3. 1 Spade
4. 1NT
5. 2 Clubs
6. 2 Diamonds
7. 2 Hearts
8. 2 Spades
9. doubled
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- Question 6
(of 12 on this page)
You have this hand
Answer Q J 10 9 K Q 10 8 7 9 7 8 6
You partner opened 1 Club, and RHO immediately overcalled 1 Diamond. Should you bid, and with what ?
2 . 1 Heart
Bid your longest suit, the 5-card Heart Major
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- Question 7
(of 12 on this page)
You have this hand
Q J 10 9 K Q 10 8 9 7 8 6 4
You partner opened 1 Club, and RHO immediately overcalled 1 Diamond. Should you bid, and with what ?1. pass
2. 1 Heart
3. 1 Spade
4. 1NT
5. 2 Clubs
6. 2 Diamonds
7. 2 Hearts
8. 2 Spades
9. doubled
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- Question 7
(of 12 on this page)
You have this hand
Answer Q J 10 9 K Q 10 8 9 7 8 6 4
You partner opened 1 Club, and RHO immediately overcalled 1 Diamond. Should you bid, and with what ?
9 . doubled
You have both of the unbid Majors, as in the hand for Quiz B.0123 question 6. But this time you two 4-card suits, instead of a bidable 5-card suit. You can tell your partner this with a "negative double", given that you have enough points.
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- Question 8
(of 12 on this page)
You have this hand
K Q 10 8 7 Q J 10 9 9 7 8 6
You partner opened 1 Diamond, and RHO immediately overcalled 2 Clubs. With your 8 HCP, should you bid, and with what ?1. pass
2. 1 Heart
3. 1 Spade
4. 1NT
5. 2 Clubs
6. 2 Diamonds
7. 2 Hearts
8. 2 Spades
9. doubled
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- Question 8
(of 12 on this page)
You have this hand
Answer K Q 10 8 7 Q J 10 9 9 7 8 6
You partner opened 1 Diamond, and RHO immediately overcalled 2 Clubs. With your 8 HCP, should you bid, and with what ?
9 . doubled
You should NOT change to a new suit at the two level with only 8 HCP unless you have exceptional length. So that's not on. But you have both of the unbid Majors. A "negative double" after two minors tells your partner that you have at least 4-cards in the missing Majors, and some values to bid. 8 points is fine, as it would have been enough to reply in either Major at the one level.
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- Question 9
(of 12 on this page)
Your hand contains this Heart suit, which is your "best" suit.
A K 10 5
Your partner opened 1 Spade, and RHO immediately overcalled 2 Clubs. How many HCP do you need for a negative double, and what would it mean ?1. 6, I have 4 Hearts
2. 6, I have 5 Hearts
3. 10, I have 4 Hearts
4. 10, I have 5 Hearts
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- Question 9
(of 12 on this page)
Your hand contains this Heart suit, which is your "best" suit.
Answer A K 10 5
Your partner opened 1 Spade, and RHO immediately overcalled 2 Clubs. How many HCP do you need for a negative double, and what would it mean ?
3 . 10, I have 4 Hearts
If the enemy had not interfered, you would need 10 points and 5 cards to bid a Major at the two level. Your "negative double" implies 10 HCP, although it only promises 4 cards.
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- Question 10
(of 12 on this page)
You have this hand
9 7 8 6 5 K Q 10 8 Q J 10 9
You partner opened 1 Heart, and RHO immediately overcalled 1 Spade. With your 8 HCP, should you bid, and with what ?1. 1NT
2. 2 Clubs
3. 2 Diamonds
4. 2 Hearts
5. 2 Spades
6. doubled
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- Question 10
(of 12 on this page)
You have this hand
Answer 9 7 8 6 5 K Q 10 8 Q J 10 9
You partner opened 1 Heart, and RHO immediately overcalled 1 Spade. With your 8 HCP, should you bid, and with what ?
6 . doubled
When two suits have been bid and they are BOTH Majors, then a negative double promises two 4-card minors and 8+ points, which is just what you have. This is somewhat more descriptive and useful than a bid of 1NT.
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- Question 11
(of 12 on this page)
You are South on the table shown to the side. Both sides are vulnerable. You opened 1 Club, your longest suit, which was overcalled by West with a 1 Spade overall. Your partner doubled, showing the missing Major (Hearts) and at least 6 HCP. East passed.
What should you bid, with your 15 HCP ?1. pass
2. 2 Clubs
3. 2 Hearts
4. 2 Spades
5. 2 NT
6. 3 NT
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- Question 11
(of 12 on this page)
You are South on the table shown to the side. Both sides are vulnerable. You opened 1 Club, your longest suit, which was overcalled by West with a 1 Spade overall. Your partner doubled, showing the missing Major (Hearts) and at least 6 HCP. East passed.
Answer
What should you bid, with your 15 HCP ?
1 . pass
In this case you can pass for penalties. You can see that West is in trouble with his Spade bid. Although he has 5 of them, yours are probably better even if he has all the missing ones (Q J 9 x x). And you have all the other suits covered, assuming you can use the odd trump to limit their diamonds if your partner has no stoppers. Any bid of NT is very unsafe for you, with the singleton Dlamond, as you'll probably lose 5 straight off, and you can't be sure of not having the odd Heart loser.
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- Question 12
(of 12 on this page)
You opened 1 Club, which was overcalled with a 1NT.
Your partner doubled. What does he mean, after the NT bid ?1. Double for penalties
2. I've got some points, but not enough to bid at the two-level
3. I've got some points, say 8+, and depending on what you've got they could be in trouble with their 1NT overcall. Pass if it's the later, otherwise keep bidding
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- Question 12
(of 12 on this page)
You opened 1 Club, which was overcalled with a 1NT.
Answer
Your partner doubled. What does he mean, after the NT bid ?
3 . I've got some points, say 8+, and depending on what you've got they could be in trouble with their 1NT overcall. Pass if it's the later, otherwise keep bidding
In a way, all three possible answers are true. Read about this on the page that deals with doubling a NT overcall, page 124.
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| West | |
|---|---|
 | Q J 9 6 4 |
 | K 9 5 |
 | A 10 |
 | 10 6 2 |
| North | |
|---|---|
| 7 5 |
| A Q J 8 |
| Q 9 5 4 |
| 9 5 4 |
| East | |
|---|---|
| 3 2 |
| 7 4 2 |
| K J 7 6 3 2 |
| Q 8 |
| South | |
|---|---|
| A K 10 8 |
| 10 6 3 |
| 8 |
| A K J 7 3 |
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