[sceptic]

Scoring: IMP

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West North East South

 -     1♣    1♦    1♠
 1NT   2♠    Pass  Pass
 Dbl   Pass  Pass  Pass
 

well I x'd here in balancing position, thinking I could have bid 3 diamonds and I wish I had have done

my question is can x here or should x here be for penalities?

[paulg]

Forget the double (which should be penalty oriented), why did you never support partner with 4-card support?

♠Kx is a nice holding in diamonds but it is not really a stop in notrump (as you must win the first round). Just raise partner and await developments.

Paul

[the hog]

The 1D overcall is poor; if it were in H or S I could understand, but here????
The X is takeout, but WHY? Seeing as partner has found this overcall, the least you can do is raise.

[Gerben42]

Double here is penalty. First you show values in ♠ by bidding 1NT. They repeat ♠ and you Double.

More importantly, the 1NT-bid was incorrect. Support partner!

[Mr. Dodgy]

I don't think I would have bid 1NT; 2♣ if that would be understood as a 'good ♦ raise' (or 2♠). Then I'd shut up. X would then be 'points'

If I had bid 1NT, I'd raise ♦s next time around. X here is, gee, 'points'.

The usual caveat applies: My bidding sucks. But it is fun.

[paulg]

I don't think that this is a good raise so I'd be choosing between 2♦ and 3♦.

Would I be happy defending 2♠ (after a simple raise)? No, so I think an immediate 3♦ raise is appropriate at this vulnerability.

p

[1eyedjack]

Whatever the (de)merits of the 1D overcall or failure to raise first time, or of doubling second time round even if takeout in meaning, this thread illustrates the dangers of assuming without express agreement just what a double means. Put me down in the take-out camp.

I like to have fairly simple rules of when a double is take-out or penalty, and I tend to play low-level suit doubles as take-out, especially when they are in a suit that they have freely supported at the two level, you are doubling them into game, you have yet to find a fit, you are not in a forcing pass situation, and there are unbid suits up for grabs (particularly in major(s)). The previous 1NT bid shows a guard but no particular stack of trumps, and the opponents heard your 1NT bid when they chose to bid 2S. I would not expect them to be too fearful of a penalty double.

If you want to play a system that extracts the maximum penalty from rabbits who have no judgement, then a penalty double may be sensible. I find it too much brainache adjusting my system for opposition incompetence, so I try to play a system that will work effectively against the best opponents, and rely on the weaker players chucking it to us in other ways.

[neilkaz]

Support with support !!! Your double clouded the issue here and in a bad way. Ususally when you bid NT over an opps' suit you have better stoppers and when you double that suit later you strongly imply a desire to defend said contract doubled, even at a low level.

You have 4 cards in the suit PD overcalled so you must have at least 9 of them between you ! There is no other suit that you wish to play in here other than ♦.

So just bid 3♦ rather than double.

The real question here is what to bid directly in response to PD's overcall. A 3NT game isn't likely unless PD has an absolute max which isn't likely with both opps bidding. Even if they both are very light, 3NT could fail since the K of ♠ will be knocked out quickly. So forget bidding NT and just raise ♦.

If you have a Q-bid available to show a decent 4 card raise use that, if not your choice is between a direct 2♦ or 3♦.

Anyhow..I'd certainly bid 3♦ as my last call here rather than X.

[HeartA]

sceptic, on Sep 30 2006, 02:03 AM, said:

Scoring: IMP

---

West North East South

 -     1♣    1♦    1♠
 1NT   2♠    Pass  Pass
 Dbl   Pass  Pass  Pass
 

well I x'd here in balancing position, thinking I could have bid 3 diamonds and I wish I had have done

my question is can x here or should x here be for penalities?

You have the best support for pd's diamonds, dbl for what? Did the opps' pay you to play for them?