Support Doubles: Bridge Convention

Support Doubles and Redoubles

If you have bought into the “Law of Total Tricks” emphasizing the importance of the 4th trump for trick taking potential, Support doubles and redoubles come with the territory. Support doubles were defined to assist in competitive auctions where the opponents double or bid in the sandwich position. Memory aid “Support - Sandwich”.

Support doubles rids us of the nasty habit of raising partner with 3 trump in competition. This action adds ambiguity and the decision to compete again is clouded by not knowing how many trump the partnership holds. Penalty double decisions are also confused by not knowing the combined trump the partnership holds. Game tries and slam tries are also thrown off by the doubt created by raising with three trump.

Support doubles and redoubles revolve around sandwich position bidding. If the opponent raises, doubles or overcalls in the sandwich position and partner doubles or redoubles, the bid shows 3 card support but not saying anything about the strength of the hand. Support doubles only apply at the two level and if the bid in the sandwich position forces the partnership to the 3 level, it is not a support double. Support doubles and redoubles only apply with raising majors.

Support doubles are a subset of D.S.I.P. doubles. You do not double the opponents raising their suit in the sandwich position for penalty anyway. Partner is trained to re-open with a double with the appropriate hand. Playing D.S.I.P. doubles, doubling the opponent's overcall in the sandwich is not penalty anyway so why not further define the double as showing 3 card support?

Most people who do not like support doubles object to the redouble showing 3 card support. However, do not forget the redouble can be unlimited strength but with 3 card support. A pass and subsequent D.S.I.P. double is conceptually the same as a punitive redouble anyway, so you really do not lose anything. Just treat the pass as a penalty double or punitive redouble until you find out differently. I actually find support redoubles assist me in penalty doubles. You do not want to double the opponents when partner has 3 card support for you. When partner redoubles showing 3 card support and partner doubles for penalty, you can calmly pass knowing that you have described your hand. With the Good-Bad 2NT to assist in clarifying sandwich position hands you should have no trouble sorting out penalty passes.

1	1	1	2
?

This is an every day auction. If partner has a distributional diamond or club hand the Good-Bad 2NT comes into play. A good hand in the minors is shown by bidding at the 3 level. Partner did not make a support double showing 3 trump or raise with 4 trump. The only hands left are balanced hands or a possible penalty double of spades. You know how to re-open with a double so you lose nothing by playing support doubles. You gain a lot in competitive auctions. At the 3 level, thrump doubles, maximal or D.S.I.P, doubles come into play.

"Experts make very few penalty doubles below game level. Today's opponents are bidding more often and at higher levels than ever before. It is much more important to save the double to describe holdings in partner's suit. Support doubles when the opponents interfere over your opening bids and Rosenkranz doubles when they bid after your overcall are examples."

I got this from the net and in my ongoing crusade to make us more wary of tactics by the opponents (one of which is bidding a lot) I think we should adopt support doubles and redoubles.

Tom and I lost about 7 IMPS against Maurice and Susan at the last Calcutta on this hand.

Tom: KJx xxxx x AK109x

Me: AQxxx xx Qxxx Jx

Tom opened 1 and I bid 1 which Maurice doubled. Tom was reluctant to bid 2 with his minimum and only 3 so he passed. Susan bid a psychic 1NT with virtually no points and no spade stopper. I chose to pass and Maurice raised to 2NT which Susan passed at the speed of light. I thought Tom had their suits for not bidding so I lead a heart. Susan promptly took 4 hearts and 5 diamonds for -150. We can make 170 or 140 in spades and that was the average result in this field.

O.K. a commercial for support doubles and redoubles. Support doubles and redoubles only apply to the 2 level. Shows 3 card support for partner and can be up to a fairly decent hand. Tom can now redouble with these kind of hands and we will bully the opponents with our spade suit. A pass and then a double of the opponents resting spot would show the previous punitive redouble.

For years I was reluctant to play support doubles and re-doubles as I wanted to reserve the double and redouble for a big hand that is hard to bid otherwise. However, double partial swings are more frequent than those type of hands and this means that raises are always 4 card support which is helpful in all auctions.

1	1	1	2
?

Spade Axx Heart x Diamond AKxxx Club KJxx is a classic support double. Don't forget that these doubles are only applicable up to the 2 level. If they bid to the 3 level then the double has a different meaning.

Over overcalls, support doubles and redoubles are called Rozenkrantz doubles and are lead directing. So if the opponents have made a negative double after partner's overcall or bid a suit after partner has overcalled a double shows minimum honour 3rd in her suit. Again this is applicable up to the 2 level only but I am not sure what a double or redouble at the 3 level would mean anyway.

Dbl

ReDbl

Or:

Dbl

xxx xx Axxxx Kxx

What are we giving away here? We are giving away responsive doubles and punitive redoubles in these auctions. Your partnership should decide what is more important to you. Opening leads are so important when the opponents are in the auction and knowing whether partner has a 4th trump is also very important that I would now like to try support doubles and redoubles.

Systemic (Support Doubles)

One of the basics of Bridge bidding is showing partner your 4th trump. Hand evaluation depends on this information for game tries, penalty doubles and alternative game contracts like 3NT. The 4th trump allows competitive decisions in line with the Law of Total Tricks. The importance of the 4th trump in major suit games can not be over emphasized. The negative inference that you did not make a support double or redouble, warns partner of shortness in her suit.

Meckwell came up with an invention that helped partnerships identify the 4th trump for simple major raises in competition. At very low levels up to but not including 2, a double of a bid in the sandwich position says that I have a simple raise of your major or better but with only 3 trump. This of course, leaves the direct simple raise to show 4 trump. This idea is also extended to doubles in the sandwich position. A direct redouble shows 3 card support also. This convention is easy to remember as there are two S’s (sandwich = support). Partner is trained to re-open with a double in case they have run into a penalty double as in all D.S.I.P./conventional double situations. A support double to show a 3 card fit with partner's diamond suit response makes no sense as they will out bid you anyway. It is best to have a double show cards or even penalty.

Playing support doubles should not be an option in today’s game. They should be standard. Raising partner’s major directly with 3 trump is archaic bidding, passing with 3 card support is not much better. For those who want to cling to the old ways – get over it! Support doubles of majors are now standard Bridge. They are only at low levels because you do not want to force partner to a Moysean at the 3 level.

1	Pass	1	2
Dbl

Therefore this double is not a support double. Doubles of pre-empts remain as penalty in any system.

What about overcalls? Do support doubles apply there also? Yes, but for some strange reason they are called “snapdragon doubles". These doubles promises the 4th suit along with support for partner's suit.

Dbl

I have clubs along with support for your hearts. These doubles differ from “fit showing jumps” in that the support for partner's suit are not as robust. Of course, doubling a forcing bid for penalty is nonsensical.

Since Bridge is played in a clockwise direction, there is only one sandwich position in Bridge. The opponents are “sandwiched” between an opening bid and a response. After partner responds a major to your opener, they bid in the sandwich and you double, the double shows 3 card support. This is not rocket science.

Being a Bridge “purist”, the thing I hate the most in Bridge is rescuing bad bidding opponents. When an opponent bids in the “sandwich” position, she is taking a risk because there has already been an opener and a response. You generally do not want to punish the opponents when you have support for partner which is the basis for support doubles. What about support redoubles though? I think support redoubles “rescues” bad bidding opponents because the switch is not turned on so partner can start doubling the opponents immediately. A 1NT rebid also rescues bad bidding opponents when the opponent has doubled in the sandwich position. By doubling, she is asking partner to possibly get into trouble into partner's nice hand. You open your mouth with no fit and get them off the hook with a 1NT bid. They were about to play the contract vulnerable vs not - doubled. Pity.

I feel a “support NT” should be invented. A 1NT rebid after a double in the sandwich position shows 3 card support. A redouble is the way Goren played it and announces a good hand so let the doubling commence. What if there has been an artificial double in the sandwich position showing support for their overcall? I feel a support 1NT bid can be made in this situation also. You rarely want to play 1NT when they announce a good fit. A redouble here should again be just standard showing a good hand.

If you want to go whole hog with this idea, play support doubles only at the two level after a sandwich bid by the opponents. A 1NT bid shows 3 card support for partner's suit and a double shows the NT hands or penalty orientated hands. This allows partner to pass the double with the right vulnerability and the right hand or bid NT knowing you have the stopper. A D.S.I.P. double rebid at the one level!

The down side to the “support NT” bid is wrong siding the NT if even with a fit we prefer 3NT to the major game. With a balanced hand and 3 card fit for partner maybe a stopper in their suit should also be required. Otherwise have distribution so that you will always refuse 3NT as an optional contract.

For partners who do not like support doubles or redoubles per se, I am willing to switch to support NT bids. Bidding NT in these auctions naturally without a fit is just rescuing the opponents or setting yourself up for a penalty double anyway. I miss the redouble as being a strong hand.

2/1 - Support Doubles

Tom Gandolfo has extended the concept of support doubles to 2/1 bidding. As usual for a memory aid its Sandwich equals Support, if the opponents crawl in our forcing auction in the sandwich position we play support doubles even if the 2/1 was a minor! This means they can only get punished by the 2/1 re-opening with a double. If the 2/1 has a penalty double, she is forced to bid NT or some other bid.

The auction goes:

1	Pass	2	3
?

You have AKxxx AJx xxx xx. This is a double of 3 showing 3 card heart support. The bid works well when they pre-empt in the sandwich position.

1	Pass	2	3
Dbl

You have Qxxx AKxxx x AJx. Partner knowing there is club support with the opening bid tries 3NT with Axx x Kxx KQxxxx.

OK you are playing against Steve Willard and hold AKxxx xx KQJ10 Kx. You open 1 and partner bids 2. RHO has paid his card fees so he bids 2. You pass and partner has xx AKxx xx AQJxx and doubles. 2 doubled does not make and you get your 100 honours. Steve plays it well and only goes 5 down.

Standard support doubles are usually not defined for 2/1 bidding. This is due to penalty doubles being effective in front of the suit or behind their suit. If the trump honours are in front of the suit, declarer has no entries to the board to finesse them. This is because your side has 26 + HCP with your 2/1. Playing support doubles after a 2/1 is a trade off depending on frequency of occurrence.

There is a distinct advantage of playing support doubles especially when they pre-empt in the sandwich position. You can double showing support for partner's minor and still allow room for 3NT.

1	Pass	2	3
Dbl

You hold xx AKxxx Qxx KQx. If you bid 4 to show your fit you are past 3NT. If you pass and they bid 4 do you double or bid 5? Getting the support double early in the auction simplifies the bidding.

The 4th trump is a huge card for slam bidding. Partner now knows that when you support her suit you have 4 of them when they bid in the sandwich position. Same hand but add a 4th trump x AKxxx Qxx KQxx and you have a 4 cuebid. Partner has xxx x AKx AJxxxx so you get to an excellent 6. Support doubles are an excellent offensive tool to identify 4 card trump support.

There is no reason not to play support doubles even if you have made a 2/1 in competition.

1	2	2	3
Dbl

Double shows 3 card spade support. Even if partner bids at the 3 level as long as they bid in the sandwich position, it is a support double.

1	2	3	3
Dbl

This double shows 3 card club support. xx xx AQJxx AKxx on this auction you might even cheat and make a support double with 4 trump hoping that partner can bid 3NT!

Support Doubles - Snapdragon

Most modern players play support doubles. Support doubles are a by-product of the Law of Total Tricks. A hand has way more offensive potential when we know partner has 4 trumps rather then 3 trumps. Support doubles are defined when the opponents bid in the sandwich position after partner has responded a major. A support double/redouble shows 3 trump. Are there support doubles defined for the overcalling side? Yes, and for some obscure reason these are called Snapdragon doubles. These doubles make sense as it is a horrible practice to double their forcing 2/1 for penalty or doubling for penalty when they are just announcing a fit.

Dbl

The double shows the unbid suit (clubs and heart tolerance). If you had 4 hearts you would cuebid or jump to 3 depending on the strength of your hand. There is a negative inference in this sequence. If you bid 2 directly, you should not hold any heart support! These support doubles are defined at the 2 level also.

Dbl

This double shows diamonds and spade tolerance. Again if partner bids 3 directly it is just a suit and denies spade support.

The Snapdragon double is not a strong bid. It sets up sacrifices and gives partner information that you do have the 4th suit for “double fit” scenarios. If you had a strong hand with 3 trump and the 4th suit, a cuebid is probably a better bid. You can use the negative inference of Snapdragon to your advantage.

Tom and I had a hand tonight where this inference assisted us in defense.

I held x Axx KQJxxx xxx and bid 3 directly. In the absence of a Snapdragon double, Tom knows I do not have spade support. LHO bid 3 and that became the final contract with me on lead. I chose the diamond king as my lead and the board hit with K109x QJ10x xxx AJ and Tom showed out of diamonds discarding a club. Declarer won his Ace and led a small heart. I jumped with the heart Ace and cashed two diamonds. I then switched to a small spade and Tom won his queen. Tom had no trouble playing the spade Ace and giving me a ruff for the magic +200 and all the match points. Without the “Snapdragon " inference, he might have thought it too dangerous to continue spades (if I held Jxx of spades) and switch to a club.

Some partnerships play that the snapdragon double just shows “tolerance” for partner's suit and may be a doubleton. I prefer the double to show exactly 3 trump as that will help partner make his competitive decisions. In other words, I have modified Snapdragon to be “fit showing” in the unbid but with 3 trump. Snapdragon doubles are defined for the minors also.

Dbl

Double shows hearts and club support

Dbl

Double shows spades with diamond support. Again if partner just bids spades on these auctions do not expect support for your suit!

Hers is an explanation of Snapdragon from the net.

When partner makes a direct non-jump suit overcall and RHO bids a third suit then a double promises 5 cards in the fourth suit plus tolerance for partner's suit, e.g.,

Dbl

Double shows 5 hearts and 3+ support for partner's diamonds.

Dbl

Double shows 5 diamonds and support for partner's hearts.

Dbl

Double shows 5 hearts and 3+ clubs and enough distribution to compete to the 3 level.

Dbl

Double shows 5+ clubs and 3 spades and enough distribution to compete to the 3 level (with 4 spades just cuebid or bid 3 immediately).

Snapdragon doubles are just support doubles after you have overcalled. They have some tactical advantages but a partnership must decide between these doubles and a Rozenkranz lead directing double in these situations. These doubles do not contradict D.S.I.P. doubles they are just a subset of D.S.I.P. doubles. Again a decision for established partnerships.