Responsive Doubles

Responsive Doubles

In its simplest form, a Responsive Double occurs opposite a Take-out Double, after the opponents have bid and raised a suit, as in the following auctions:

South West North East South West North East

1♥ Dbl 2♥ Dbl 1♦ Dbl 3♦ Dbl

In both of these auctions the second Double is Responsive, showing some values and looking for co-operation from Partner in finding the best spot.

When They Bid a Major

South West North East

1♥ Dbl 2♥ Dbl

West, the Take-out Doubler, is presumed to have the unbid major, so, if East has 4 or more Spades he will simply bid them to the level indicated by the strength of his hand. Therefore, in this sequence, the Responsive Double is for the minors. Perhaps East holds this hand:

♠ T7

♥ 875

♦ QJT4

♣ KQ65

As East is forcing his Partner to bid at the 3-level, this is about as weak as he should be for the bid.

How about this hand, is this a Responsive Double?

♠ T7

♥ 875

♦ QJT74

♣ KQ6

No, it is not! Opposite a Take-out Double this hand just wants to play in Diamonds, so, over their 2♥ it’s a simple 3♦ bid. We only use the Responsive Double to offer a choice.

When They Bid a Minor

South West North East

1♦ Dbl 3♦ Dbl

When they are bidding a minor, we use the Responsive Double to offer Partner a choice between the two majors. For example:

West East

♠ QJ97 ♠ K842

♥ AT7 ♥ Q853

♦ K8 ♦ 72

♣ K743 ♣ AJ6

West makes a Take-out Double, and East has support for both majors. But rather than just guess which one to bid, he makes a Responsive Double, offering a choice of the majors. This gets the partnership to their 4-4 major fit with certainty.

How about this one?

West East

♠ QJ97 ♠ K8

♥ AT7 ♥ Q8543

♦ K8 ♦ 72

♣ K743 ♣ AJ65

East has two of the unbid suits, but he has only one major, so this is a 3♥ bid.

How High?

Responsive Doubles are usually played up to the 4-level, typically 4♦.

South West North East

1♦ Dbl 4♦ Dbl Responsive … East has both majors.

1♥ Dbl 4♥ Dbl Penalty-oriented.

How Strong?

The strength needed for a Responsive Double depends on the level to which Partner is being forced to bid.

South West North East

1♦ Dbl 2♦ Dbl West is being only to the 2-level, so East may
have as few as 5 or so points.

1♠ Dbl 2♠ Dbl Now, West must bid at the 3-level, so East
should be in the 10+ zone.

1♣ Dbl 4♣ Dbl Even higher, now East needs game-going values.

Other Situations

South West North East

2♦        Dbl      3♦        Dbl                  General practice is to play that Responsive
                                                            Doubles are still on if their opening bid was a
                                                            preempt.

1♦        Dbl      1♠        Dbl                  This is not normally played as Responsive. It
                                                             is more common for the Double here to show 4
                                                            cards in their (Spade) suit. After all, it’s not unheard
                                                            of for North to psyche in this situation, and doubling
                                                            to show 4 in their suit helps to expose that.

1♦ 1♠ 2♦ Dbl Yes, you can also play Responsive Doubles after

your Partner has overcalled. Here the Double

simply shows the two unbid suits.

1♦ 2♠ 3♦ Dbl But, in this auction, Partner has preempted, so the
Double is penalty.

1♦ 1NT 2♦ Dbl And, it’s also for penalty if Partner’s overcall was
1NT.