1. Improvers Week 14 The Use of Doubles (Part 1)

2. The Use of Doubles You should be using doubles far more You should be using doubles far more We will look at types of doubles for 2 weeks We will look at types of doubles for 2 weeks This week This week Take Out Doubles Take Out Doubles Negative Doubles Negative Doubles

3. Take Out Doubles (TOX) What do you need? What do you need? Cover in un-bid majors (4+ cards) Cover in un-bid majors (4+ cards) Preferably cover in un-bid minors Preferably cover in un-bid minors If not a re-biddable suit If not a re-biddable suit

4. Myths To make a TOX you must have opening points. To make a TOX you must have opening points. NO - you should compete where possible with 9+ HCP NO - you should compete where possible with 9+ HCP To make a TOX you need a shortage in opponents suit(s) To make a TOX you need a shortage in opponents suit(s) IRRELEVANT – If you have something to say then say it IRRELEVANT – If you have something to say then say it

5. TOX Hands The Bidding goes The Bidding goes ? 1 ? You have 12 HCP LTC 6 You have 12 HCP LTC 6 You do not have a 5 card suit to bid You do not have a 5 card suit to bid What do you bid? What do you bid? * Classic TOX shape Classic TOX shape Support for any other suit Support for any other suit Find out what partner has Find out what partner has Your hand is rarely this neat Your hand is rarely this neat AA TT KK 3 QQ JJ 77 77 QQ 66 88 44 33

6. TOX Hands The Bidding goes The Bidding goes ? 1 ? You have 12 HCP LTC 6½ You have 12 HCP LTC 6½ You have a 5 card suit to bid You have a 5 card suit to bid But that would miss the ‘s But that would miss the  ‘s What do you bid? What do you bid? * Partner will know you have 4 ‘s Partner will know you have 4  ‘s If partner bids ‘s you bid ‘s If partner bids  ‘s you bid  ‘s AA TT KK 3 QQ 77 77 QQ 66 88 44 33 JJ

7. TOX Hands The Bidding goes The Bidding goes ? 1  ? You have 13 HCP LTC 7 You have 13 HCP LTC 7 You do not have a 5 card suit to bid You do not have a 5 card suit to bid But you have 4 cards in both majors But you have 4 cards in both majors What do you bid? What do you bid? * Important to look for the major fit Important to look for the major fit Pass if partner bids 2 Pass if partner bids 2  AA TT AA K TT 77 77 33 66 33 Q 8 3

8. TOX Hands The Bidding goes The Bidding goes ? 1  ? You have 13 HCP LTC 6 You have 13 HCP LTC 6 You do not have a 5 card suit to bid You do not have a 5 card suit to bid But you have 4 cards in both majors But you have 4 cards in both majors What do you bid? What do you bid? * Important to look for the major fit Important to look for the major fit Holding in opponents suit so bid NT if partner bids 2 Holding in opponents suit so bid NT if partner bids 2  AA TT AA K 77 TT 66 33 Q 8 3 88 66

9. TOX Hands The Bidding goes The Bidding goes 1? 1  ? You have 11 HCP LTC 7½ You have 11 HCP LTC 7½ You have a 5 card major You have a 5 card major But you have 4 cards in the other major But you have 4 cards in the other major What do you bid? What do you bid? * If partner bids re-bid the ‘s showing 5 of the suit and 4 ‘s If partner bids  re-bid the ‘s showing 5 of the suit and 4  ‘s Good way of showing the shape Good way of showing the shape AA TT AA Q 77 TT 66 JJ 8 5 4 3 33

10. TOX Hands The Bidding goes The Bidding goes 1? 1 P 2  ? You have 10 HCP LTC 7½ You have 10 HCP LTC 7½ What is your bid? What is your bid? * Hand does not look great but your side may well have a fit Hand does not look great but your side may well have a fit You have good support for the other 2 suits You have good support for the other 2 suits This is your only chance to get into the bidding This is your only chance to get into the bidding AA TT KK 3 QQ 77 77 JJ 66 88 44 33 TT

11. Bidding TOX’s You often pick up fairly balanced hands You often pick up fairly balanced hands Then get stopped from bidding when opponents bid a suit Then get stopped from bidding when opponents bid a suit On many occasions a TOX would get your side into the bidding On many occasions a TOX would get your side into the bidding Finding a fit you would otherwise miss Finding a fit you would otherwise miss Or just getting in opponents way Or just getting in opponents way Pass makes it easy for opponents Pass makes it easy for opponents Make sure you have 4+ in un-bid majors Make sure you have 4+ in un-bid majors

12. Responding to Partner’s TOX TOX is forcing TOX is forcing If opponents Pass you MUST bid If opponents Pass you MUST bid Even with 0 HCP and LTC 12!! Even with 0 HCP and LTC 12!! You can only Pass if you are converting the TOX to a penalty * You can only Pass if you are converting the TOX to a penalty * This means you are assuring partner that the opponents bid is almost certain to fail This means you are assuring partner that the opponents bid is almost certain to fail

13. Responding to TOX The Bidding goes The Bidding goes 1? 1  * P ? What can you respond? What can you respond? You have 5 HCP LTC 10 You have 5 HCP LTC 10 You know your side has a fit You know your side has a fit You must bid 1 You must bid 1 Showing a fit and a weak hand Showing a fit and a weak hand Partner will probably compete to the 2 level Partner will probably compete to the 2 level AA TT 77 J TT 77 77 33 33 T 8 3 22

14. Responding to TOX The Bidding goes The Bidding goes 1? 1  * P ? What can you respond? What can you respond? You have 9 HCP LTC 8 You have 9 HCP LTC 8 You know your side has a fit You know your side has a fit You must jump to 2 You must jump to 2 Showing a fit and a bit better hand Showing a fit and a bit better hand With a fit and > 8 HCP jump bid to pre-empt With a fit and > 8 HCP jump bid to pre-empt Difficult for opener to re-bid Difficult for opener to re-bid AA TT 77 K TT 77 77 33 33 Q 8 3 22

15. Responding to TOX The Bidding goes The Bidding goes 1? 1  * P ? What can you respond? What can you respond? You have 9 HCP LTC 8 You have 9 HCP LTC 8 You have a fit in both majors You have a fit in both majors You should bid 2 You should bid 2  Partner must Alert Partner must Alert Showing a fit in both majors Showing a fit in both majors Asking partner to select the suit to play in Asking partner to select the suit to play in Also pre-empting opponents Also pre-empting opponents AA TT 77 K TT 77 77 33 33 Q 8 3 44

16. Responding to TOX The Bidding goes The Bidding goes P 1 P 1 P 2  * 2 ? * 2 ? Can you respond? Can you respond? You have 4 HCP LTC 9 You have 4 HCP LTC 9 You have a fit in the other 2 suits You have a fit in the other 2 suits You should bid 3 You should bid 3  You are very weak so pick the known 9 card fit You are very weak so pick the known 9 card fit Major not so important as you are not going to game Major not so important as you are not going to game JJ 88 KK 9 55 77 99 6 5 44 66 55 33

17. Responding to TOX The Bidding goes The Bidding goes P 1 P 1 P 2  * 2 ? * 2 ? Can you respond? Can you respond? You have 4 HCP LTC 9 You have 4 HCP LTC 9 You have a fit in the other 2 suits You have a fit in the other 2 suits You should bid 2 You should bid 2  And with a 9 card fit compete to 3 And with a 9 card fit compete to 3  JJ 88 KK 9 55 77 99 6 5 44 66 55 22

18. Responding to TOX The Bidding goes The Bidding goes P 1 P 1 P 2  P 2 * P P 2 * P ? What can you respond? What can you respond? You have 10 HCP LTC 7 You have 10 HCP LTC 7 You have both opponents suits You have both opponents suits You should Pass You should Pass Converts TOX to penalty Converts TOX to penalty And if RHO rescues in 3 double again And if RHO rescues in 3  double again TT 88 66 A AA 44 8 6 5 QQ 88 55 44

19. Responding to TOX The Bidding goes The Bidding goes 3 3 P P * P ? P ? What can you respond? What can you respond? You have 6 HCP LTC 8½ You have 6 HCP LTC 8½ Partner must be quite strong Partner must be quite strong You should bid 4 You should bid 4  Does not look great but trust in partner having a good hand Does not look great but trust in partner having a good hand 99 88 TT A QQ 44 99 88 55 44 55 33 22

20. Responding to TOX The Bidding goes The Bidding goes 3 3 P P * P ? P ? What can you respond? What can you respond? You have 9 HCP LTC 8½ You have 9 HCP LTC 8½ Partner must be quite strong Partner must be quite strong You should bid 4 You should bid 4  Much like the previous hand but you make 1 less and 1 more Much like the previous hand but you make 1 less  and 1 more Close to a 3NT try Close to a 3NT try 99 88 TT A QQ 44 99 88 55 55 33 22 K

21. Responding to TOX The Bidding goes The Bidding goes 3 3 P P * P ? P ? What can you respond? What can you respond? You have 12 HCP LTC 7 You have 12 HCP LTC 7 Partner must be quite strong Partner must be quite strong You should bid 3NT You should bid 3NT Expect a lead but you should come to 9 tricks before they establish ‘s Expect a lead but you should come to 9 tricks before they establish ‘s You can expect opener to have an outside suit entry You can expect opener to have an outside suit entry 99 88 TT A KK 44 QQ 88 55 55 33 22 K

22. Responding to TOX The Bidding goes The Bidding goes 3 3 P P * P ? P ? What can you respond? What can you respond? You have 12 HCP LTC 6 You have 12 HCP LTC 6 Partner must be quite strong Partner must be quite strong You should bid 4 You should bid 4  With partner’s strength this should be easy With partner’s strength this should be easy KK 88 TT A KK 44 QQ 88 55 55 33 22 22

23. TOX TOX can be made over any natural suit bid up to 2 TOX can be made over any natural suit bid up to 2  Or over any pre-empt Or over any pre-empt Any * of a NT bid is for penalties Any * of a NT bid is for penalties TOX does not need to be Alerted TOX does not need to be Alerted

24. Negative Doubles Negative Doubles are a form of TOX Negative Doubles are a form of TOX The only difference is that your side has already bid a suit The only difference is that your side has already bid a suit Says that you do not have partner’s suit Says that you do not have partner’s suit But you do have any un-bid suits But you do have any un-bid suits Often called Sputnik Doubles Often called Sputnik Doubles They do not need to be Alerted They do not need to be Alerted

25. Negative Doubles The Bidding goes The Bidding goes 1 22? 1  2  2  ? You have 11 HCP LTC 7 You have 11 HCP LTC 7 You could bid 3 You could bid 3 But that would be getting high in the bidding But that would be getting high in the bidding And may force partner to 4 And may force partner to 4  Negative double will show the other 2 suits Negative double will show the other 2 suits If partner re-bids 3 you Pass If partner re-bids 3  you Pass QQ 88 AA Q TT KK 88 88 22 T 8 5 4

26. Negative Doubles The Bidding goes The Bidding goes 1 22? 1  2  2  ? You have 11 HCP LTC 7 You have 11 HCP LTC 7 You could bid 3 You could bid 3  But that may miss a fit But that may miss a fit And may force partner to 4 And may force partner to 4  Negative double will show the other 2 suits Negative double will show the other 2 suits If partner re-bids 3 you can Pass If partner re-bids 3  you can Pass QQ 88 AA Q TT KK 88 88 33 T 8 5 22

27. Negative Doubles The Bidding goes The Bidding goes 1 112 1  1 1  2 ? You have 13 HCP LTC 7 You have 13 HCP LTC 7 1NT would show the wrong HCP, 3 would be too strong a bid 1NT would show the wrong HCP, 3  would be too strong a bid Negative double will show the other suit Negative double will show the other suit And still be a weakish bid And still be a weakish bid If opponents get to 3 you should double for penalty If opponents get to 3 you should double for penalty If partner re-bids ‘s you can bid NT If partner re-bids  ‘s you can bid NT AA QQ J AA JJ JJ 88 33 T 8 5 TT 88

28. Negative Doubles The Bidding goes The Bidding goes 1 112 1  1 1  2 ? You have 13 HCP LTC 7 You have 13 HCP LTC 7 1NT would show the wrong HCP, 3 would be OK, but 3 would be a reverse 1NT would show the wrong HCP, 3  would be OK, but 3  would be a reverse Negative double will show the other suit Negative double will show the other suit And therefore 5 ‘s And therefore 5  ‘s If opponents get to 3 you should Pass If opponents get to 3 you should Pass If partner re-bids ‘s you can bid 3 If partner re-bids  ‘s you can bid 3  AA QQ J AA JJ JJ 88 33 T 8 TT 88 33

29. TOX and Negative Doubles Often more descriptive than a suit bid Often more descriptive than a suit bid Gives an extra bid without getting too high Gives an extra bid without getting too high Be sure that you have what you promise! Be sure that you have what you promise! If you make a TOX and then re-bid a major it promises an extra card If you make a TOX and then re-bid a major it promises an extra card Think about your re-bid Think about your re-bid Hands suitable for TOX occur all the time Hands suitable for TOX occur all the time So start to use them So start to use them It makes partner play the hand!! It makes partner play the hand!!