Here, you might feel like you can do anything in the bidding. But you can't, because there's the Double. What is it?
Instead of passing or bidding a contract, you can also double. This means: "OK, you will play your contract, but in my opinion, you won't win. So we will increase the scores."
In practice, when you play for example 4 and go down, you lose 50, 100, 150, 200 points etc (50 per missing trick).
When you play 4 doubled, you lose 100, 300, 500, 800 points etc (300 more per missing trick after that). Not the same music.
You are considering a sacrifice that will go down three tricks doubled. The opponents would score 420 by playing their game. Which result costs your side the least?
If you make a doubled contract, you score more of course. For example for a game, you score roughly 600 instead of 400.
So you see, when you bid too high, the danger is there: getting doubled and going down. You may remember that a game is worth about 400 points. So when opponents can make a game, letting a doubled contract go down by 1 or 2 trick(s) on defense is a good plan since you only lose 100 or 300 points. But if the doubled contract goes down by 3 tricks, you lose 500 points: that becomes bad.
Here's an example, look:
| SouthS | WestW | NorthN | EastE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 41 |
| ? |
- EastE 4
(1)
- It's the law of trump: support at the 4-level with 10 known trump
- So South is in a tough spot. What should be done?
Take the time to see what happens at 4 and at 4:
- At 4, North-South lose 1 Spade and 2 Clubs. Just made.
- At 4, East-West lose 2 Hearts, 1 Diamond and 1 Club. Down 1.
So let's study the scenarios:
- If North-South play 4, they score around 400 (the game).
- When East-West bid 4, the North-South side can:
- Pass: they score 50 points
- Double: they score 100 points
- Outbid to 5 : they lose 50 points (or 100 if doubled)
Moral: East-West were right to bid 4, and the best choice at this stage for North-South is to double.
In another example, the expected results for your side are: pass +100, double +300, outbid +420. If these results are certain, which choice scores the most?
4 doubled for down 1, 100 for North-South, is the score that will be achieved if everyone bids (and then plays) optimally.
Par, when everybody is right
The optimal score of a deal is called the "par". It is very important because it represents more or less "what is normal" on a deal. Your side does better? That's good. Your side does worse? That's bad. But still, par is often a quite theoretical result that would require knowing all 4 hands to be achieved.
A software indicates that a deal can theoretically score +420, but this result requires a finesse in a direction impossible to determine with your information. You followed another reasonable line and obtained -50. Which conclusion is justified?
Go practice and decide whether to pass, double, or outbid.
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