Most experienced partnerships work out a set of rules but it seems that there are so many different auctions that the odd wrinkle, or rule confusion, can occur. I know that my regular partnership spends a lot of time clarifying sequences that either occur or, more often, pop up on Vugraph.
One of these happened yesterday at the Camrose:
What is the final double? Penalty or takeout? Was East's pass of two clubs forcing and what would double by East have meant? Can you differentiate between a full-bloodied double, for example when one hand holds four good clubs, and those times when you are 3-3 in their suit or even just 3-2?
This auction also raises questions about how to wriggle when the double of one spade is left in. For an expert view, you can do a lot worse than read Kit Woolsey's thoughts in his latest article on bridgewinners.com.
And just to note that the Scottish pair, Sam and Stephen, did know what they were doing on this auction when they took +800 from two clubs doubled, gaining four imps.
Thanks so much for your posts.
ReplyDeleteHas your sheet of competitive auctions (ending with a double) been published anywhere?
I'd say that one is pretty clear cut. There have already been two penalty doubles in the auction (1s-x for takeout, converted to penalty, and then the x of 1N suggesting defending something). If we want to offer partner choice of the reds, we can just bid 2D here.
ReplyDeleteHi Robert,
ReplyDeleteI don't publish my bidding tests because I can't remember which ones I have plagiarised from books and which I made up.
I know you cannot copyright an auction, but I don't think it's fair to take them straight from a book. For example, Robert Hughes has a few in his thirty questions quiz in his excellent book, "The Contested Auction".