"It's My Party" Take Out Doubles by Marti Ronemus

Leslie Gore's teen anthem sings of the anguish of having her party ruined by someone stealing her boyfriend. Poor Leslie... if she were a bridge player, she would have some weapons. When the opponents steal our chance to open the bidding, we have options: We can overcall with a good five-card suit, or make a Take-out Double. And that's what we will decide today. It's OUR party, and we plan on taking action.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A Q 8 4
♥ 5
♦ K J 10 6
♣ K J 8 5

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♥
?

A: Double: This is what a Takeout Double looks like: Shortness in the opponent's suit, four of the unbid major, tolerance for any other suit, and opening-ish points.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ 9 4 3
♥ A 9 3
♦ A K 10 9 3
♣ 4 3

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♠
?

A: 2♦: Totally the wrong shape for a Takeout Double, but perfect for an overcall. We've got a Darn Good Suit and enough points to buy the two level. We've got plenty for our own party.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ 9 4 3
♥ A 9
♦ A K 10 9
♣ 4 3 7 2

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♠
?

A: Pass: We aren't going to this party. Sniff. We don't have the shape for either an overcall or Takeout Double. BUT!! We've got a partner who will remember that a Pass in the overcall seat doesn't mean we are broke... it means we don't have a bid. This is a distinction with a difference.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ K 9 3
♥ A Q
♦ K 10 5 4
♣ K J 8 2

Q: 4 - South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♥
?

A: 1 No-trump: We could double, but with our lovely Heart stoppers, we can bid a very nice 1 No-trump. We're all dressed up and we've got somewhere to go.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ 8 4
♥ A Q J 7 4 3
♦ 4 3
♣ 8 4 3

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♦
?

A: 2♥: We've got enough points for a 1-level overcall (7-17), but with our six-card suit, it only makes sense to tell our entire story in one bid. We've told Pard we will be a Crummy Dummy unless we get to name trumps.

And now that we've got our party shoes on, let's try a hand.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Play this Hand

Now that you've bid five hands, let's see how your play goes.

Overall Results

Your results: out of Average:

What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
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