Takeout Doubles" The Perfect Apology" by Marti Ronemus

Some bridge players are convinced they are always right and never have to say they're sorry. If you're among them, read no further. For the rest of us, I've got great news: Researchers at Ohio State University have identified the factors in the perfect apology. They are:

1) Regret. 2) Explanation. 3) Acknowledge Responsibility. 4) Promise to Repent. 5) Offer to Repair the Damage. 6) Ask Forgiveness.

Write those steps down and carry them with you always.

Meantime, today we are reviewing Takeout Doubles. What do you promise? Shortness in the opponents' suit, no more than two. Four cards in any unbid major (unless overcalling a minor, then 4-3 is okay. Opening-ish points... don't forget you'll be dummy, so you can add dummy points immediately.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A Q 4 3
♥ 8
♦ K J 3 2
♣ 10 9 8 7

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♥
?

A: Double: But WAIT, you cry. I only have 10 HCP (High Card Points). True enough, but, you've got a singleton in their suit. That's worth 3 pts as dummy, giving you a lovely 13 pt hand. And you've got the rest for sure... shortness, four in the other major, tolerance for any suit. You don't need to apologize for this one.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ A 3 2
♥ 6 5 4
♦ 4 3
♣ A K 10 9 8

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♥
?

A: 2♣: If you double with this one, you'll need to apologize. You've got length in "their" suit, can't tolerate all suits (Diamonds) and a very biddable suit of your own. Name your great suit.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♠
?

A: Pass: This is an example of how sometimes the best hand at the table has to pass. We've got the wrong shape for a double and no suit to overcall. The good news is that Pard will be aware that a Pass in the overcall seat doesn't mean "I don't have ANYTHING." It means "I don't have a BID" and he will take some sort of action.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ 4 3 2
♥ A 9 8 7 6
♦ A K 9
♣ A K

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♠
?

A: Double: Yes, yes, yes. It's all wrong for a Double, but the hand is too darn big to overcall with. An overcall shows 7-17-ish points and we've got far more than that. We are making the Big Hand Double. Pard will read us for a Takeout Double, and name his suit. Then we will bid Hearts. He'll know, since we didn't raise his suit, we've got 18 points.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♠
?

A: 1 No-trump: We would open 1 No-trump with this hand, so we would like to overcall 1 No-trump. It hinges on the presence of solid stopper(s) in Their Suit. We've got them, so let's make the perfect bid for this hand.

And now, our 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.
More informations on our website: www.VuBridge.com

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