Real World Bridge 4: Competitive Bidding Part One

In our research, we found large differences between how less experienced players and stronger players use takeout doubles. Here are some of the more striking differences:

• When a less experienced player makes a takeout double, the primary message is “I have high card points”; when a stronger player makes a takeout double, the primary message is “please compete if you have length in an unbid suit.”
• Less experienced players are quite likely to double with balanced hands including a doubleton (even sometimes a singleton) in an unbid major suit; stronger players almost never do this.
• When a less experienced player makes a takeout double, it’s rare that the hand includes a five-card suit; when stronger players double, often they will have a five-card suit.
• Frequently, we see stronger players overcall one notrump on a hand with which less experienced players make a takeout double; we almost never see the reverse situation.
• When a less experienced player doubles and then takes a second call, often it means “I lied, I don’t have support for your suit after all, please pass”. When a stronger player doubles and then takes a second call, it almost always shows extra values (usually, significant extra values).

Because we found that takeout double auctions were problematic for many partnerships, Chapter 4 of Bridge in the Real World 4: Competitive Bidding Part One starts with a relatively detailed discussion of the most frequent auctions that begin with a takeout double.