Action Double

28th May–Board 13. Game All. Dealer North.

Pushing the opponents about is the name of the game and it seldom pays to go quietly. East could have used a rare bid on the featured that would have doubtless shaken his partner for a while until he realized what was going on.

	North: S A K Q 9 8 3 H J 5 D 8 C A K 9 3
West: S J 10 5 H Q 6 4 2 D 10 7 6 2 C 8 5		East: S none H A 10 9 8 7 3 D A Q 9 5 3 C Q 2
	South: S 7 6 4 2 H K D K J 4 C J 10 7 6 4

West	North	East	South
	1S	2H	3S
No	4S	Dbl	No
5H	Dbl	End

There are a number of things to note in the above auction. East might have considered a two-suited overcall of some kind if the point count was right but with a six-carder it was probably better to introduce the hearts first. South’s 3S bid is in essence pre-emptive as with a good hand with spade support he had the opportunity to bid 3H but in any event North would press on to game. East might bid 5D here I suppose but it is much better to double, a rara avis called an ‘action double’, which keeps all options open. With the right sort of hand West might pass but he could also bid 5H (which he would here) or bid 5C or 5D. Obviously over 5C East would convert to 5D showing the true distributional nature of his hand. With the king of trumps singleton East would lose just two tricks in both minors but the consequent loss of 500 would be worth a top score against 650 the other way. (I know that North/South can make 5S but not so easy to determine at the table.)