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Doubles - Negative double
- Question 1
(of 13 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Diamond. Your RHO overcalled 1 Spade. Would you reply, and what with ?You have this 9-HCP 8-loser hand
K Q 3 2
A 6 4 3
10 5 2
4 3
1. pass
2. 1NT
3. 2 Clubs
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 Spades
7. doubled
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- Answer 1
(of 13 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Diamond. Your RHO overcalled 1 Spade. Would you reply, and what with ?You have this 9-HCP 8-loser hand
( 7 ). doubled K Q 3 2 A 6 4 3 10 5 2 4 3
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 13 on this page)
Your hand is the same as in Quiz B0123, question 1. This time your partner opens Diamonds again but the RHO overcalls 1 Heart. What should you bid ?You have this 9-HCP 8-loser hand
K Q 3 2 A 6 4 3 10 5 2 4 3
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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- Answer 2
(of 13 on this page)
Your hand is the same as in Quiz B0123, question 1. This time your partner opens Diamonds again but the RHO overcalls 1 Heart. What should you bid ?You have this 9-HCP 8-loser hand
( 8 ). doubled K Q 3 2 A 6 4 3 10 5 2 4 3
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 13 on this page)
This time your partner opens Diamonds again, and again the RHO overcalls 1 Heart. What should you bid ? You have this 9-HCP 8-loser hand
K Q 10 3 2 A 6 4 10 5 2 4 3
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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- Answer 3
(of 13 on this page)
This time your partner opens Diamonds again, and again the RHO overcalls 1 Heart. What should you bid ? You have this 9-HCP 8-loser hand
( 2 ). 1 Spade K Q 10 3 2 A 6 4 10 5 2 4 3
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 13 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
10. Hearts + 1 minor, 4-card, 6-15 points
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- Answer 4
(of 13 on this page)
You opened 1 Club. Your LHO overcalled with 1 Spade and your partner immediately doubled.
( 5 ). Hearts, 4+ card, 6-15 points
Which suits does your partner have, how many cards in each case, and what is the range of points in his hand ?
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 13 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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- Answer 5
(of 13 on this page)
You opened 1 Club. Your LHO overcalled with 1 Heart and your partner immediately doubled.
( 9 ). Spades, 4 card, 6-15 points
Which suit does your partner have, how many cards in each case, and what is the range of points in his hand ?
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 13 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Club, and RHO immediately overcalled 1 Diamond.You have this 8-HCP 8-loser hand
Q J 10 9 K Q 10 8 7 9 7 8 6
Should you bid, and if so 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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- Answer 6
(of 13 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Club, and RHO immediately overcalled 1 Diamond.You have this 8-HCP 8-loser hand
( 2 ). 1 Heart Q J 10 9 K Q 10 8 7 9 7 8 6
Should you bid, and if so with what?
Bid your longest suit, the 5-card Heart Major
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- Question 7
(of 13 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Club, and RHO immediately overcalled 1 Diamond. Should you bid, and with what ? You have this 8-HCP 8-loser hand
Q J 10 9 K Q 10 8 9 7 8 6 4
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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- Answer 7
(of 13 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Club, and RHO immediately overcalled 1 Diamond. Should you bid, and with what ? You have this 8-HCP 8-loser hand
( 9 ). doubled Q J 10 9 K Q 10 8 9 7 8 6 4
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 13 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Diamond, and RHO immediately overcalled 2 Clubs.You have this 8-HCP 8-loser hand
K Q 10 8 7 Q J 10 9 9 7 8 6
What should you bid?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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- Answer 8
(of 13 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Diamond, and RHO immediately overcalled 2 Clubs.You have this 8-HCP 8-loser hand
( 9 ). doubled K Q 10 8 7 Q J 10 9 9 7 8 6
What should you bid?
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 13 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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- Answer 9
(of 13 on this page)
Your hand contains this Heart suit, which is your "best" suit.
( 3 ). 10, I have 4 Hearts 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 ?
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 13 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart, and RHO immediately overcalled 1 Spade. You have this 8-HCP 8-loser hand
9 7 8 6 5 K Q 10 8 Q J 10 9
What should you bid?1. 1NT
2. 2 Clubs
3. 2 Diamonds
4. 2 Hearts
5. 2 Spades
6. doubled
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- Answer 10
(of 13 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart, and RHO immediately overcalled 1 Spade. You have this 8-HCP 8-loser hand
( 6 ). doubled 9 7 8 6 5 K Q 10 8 Q J 10 9
What should you bid?
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 13 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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- Answer 11
(of 13 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.
( 1 ). pass
What should you bid, with your 15 HCP?
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 13 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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- Answer 12
(of 13 on this page)
You opened 1 Club, which was overcalled with a 1NT.
( 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
Your partner doubled. What does he mean, after the NT bid ?
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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- Question 13
(of 13 on this page)
Your partner opened the bidding with 1 Spade. Your Right Hand Opponent overcalled with 2 Clubs.You have this 11-HCP 8-loser hand
3 2 K Q 8 J 8 3 A J 10 7 4
How should you respond to your partner?1. pass
2. double
3. 2 diamonds
4. 2 Hearts
5. 2 Spades
6. 2 NT
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- Answer 13
(of 13 on this page)
Your partner opened the bidding with 1 Spade. Your Right Hand Opponent overcalled with 2 Clubs.You have this 11-HCP 8-loser hand
( 1 ). pass 3 2 K Q 8 J 8 3 A J 10 7 4
How should you respond to your partner?
Here, you might think that you'd like to "double for penalties", since you are strong in the enemy's suit of Clubs. However, if you double, you will be promising 4-cards in the unbid Major (Hearts). So you should pass, and see what happens.
Your partner will probably be very short in Clubs, and could re-open with a takeout double, requesting you to bid your best suit. At this point you can happily and quietly pass, converting your partner's take-out double into the penalty double you were looking for. Your partner is strong, you have good long trumps, so you will get them down and earn some good penalty points.
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