Justin Lall

Dear Justin,

How do I recognize a negative X, takeout X, and penalty X?

Mary T

This is an excellent question that players of all levels struggle to understand. I could write an entire book on this subject, so I’ll just stick to the basics.

Negative doubles are made after an opening bid and an overcall. Almost everyone plays them through at least a 2 overcall, and some play them even higher. A negative double just promises at least 4 cards in the unbid major. If there are 2 unbid majors then it promises 4-4 in both. There are some exceptions to these rules, but they are rare, so I wouldn’t worry too much about them. You want at least 6 points to make a 1 level negative double, and at least 8 points at the 2 level.

Takeout doubles cover much more ground. A double is takeout if:

• It’s a double of an opening bid through 3
• It’s a double of a bid and raised suit
• It’s your first turn to bid in the auction, below 3NT
• You’ve doubled the suit for takeout already

Most doubles in competitive situations are for takeout. Some players play them on at the 4 level as well, but that requires a lot of experience to know when to pass and when to pull.

Penalty doubles are the rest of the situations. They apply when,

• The opponents are at the game level or higher
• You have stopped bidding, then the opponents balance, and you double
• You have passed several times in the auction and then double
• You have bid and raised a suit

Again there are exceptions to these rules, but I wouldn’t worry about them. A lot of experts play doubles that were classically penalty as “card showing” now. This is a modern style that I wouldn’t recommend trying to learn until you feel like you are an advanced player.