Responding to a Protective Double by David Bird

Your right-hand-opponent opens with one of a suit, followed by Pass, Pass, Double.

In this quiz, we will see how you should respond to your partner's protective double.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A 10 7 3
♥ Q 6 3
♦ Q 10 5 2
♣ 8 6

Q: 1 - Your partner has kept the bidding alive with a take-out double. What will you respond?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♥
Pass	Pass	Dble	Pass
?

A: 1♠. If your partner had doubled in second seat, you would respond 2♠, showing around 8-10 HCP. When the double is in the protective position, partner is allowed to be around a King lighter than a normal double. In general, you will therefore 'subtract a King' from your hand when deciding how strongly you should respond.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ A 7 4
♥ 10 6 3
♦ A J 6 5
♣ Q 8 2

Q: 2 - What will you bid here?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♦
Pass	Pass	Dble	Pass
?

A: 1NT. Again, your partner is entitled to be 3 HCP short of a normal second-seat double. If he has doubled on 9, 10 or 11 HCP, you will not enjoy playing in 2NT. You should 'take off a king' and respond just 1NT.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ J 6 4
♥ A 10 6 5 3
♦ J 5
♣ Q 5 2

Q: 3 - This time, you are long in the opener's suit. What will you say?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♥
Pass	Pass	Dble	Pass
?

A: 1NT. It would be a mistake to pass for penalties. Why would you want to play in a likely 5-1 heart fit, with a known bad break against you?

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ K 9 7 3
♥ A 2
♦ J 6 5
♣ A J 6 2

Q: 4 - What will you bid now?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♠
Pass	Pass	Dble	Pass
?

A: 2NT. You have 13 HCP, yes, but partner's double is in the protective position. He may be a king lighter than he would be for a double in the second seat.

You should respond just 2NT. If partner has enough for a normal double, he will give you a raise.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ 10 8
♥ Q 2
♦ A Q 9 7 4
♣ K 7 6 2

Q: 5 - What action will you take on this hand?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♦
Pass	Pass	Dble	Pass
?

A: Pass. Now you are fine to pass for penalties. Your trumps lie over the opener and are reasonably strong. What's more, you cannot be sure of making a game your way. So, the best score may come from defending.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Play this Hand

Now that you've bid five hands, let's see how your play goes.

Play on ANY Device or Computer

Overall Results

Your results: out of Average:

What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
More informations on our website: www.VuBridge.com

Rate yourself:

0 - 40%	We applaud your effort. Review the subject and try again. You'll be surprised how much better you'll do. We're here for you!!
41 - 50%	Buy your mentor a cuppa and ask for clarification on the ones you got wrong. No mentor? Make finding one a priority!
51 - 60%	Nice improvement! One more review and you'll have this down solid!
61 - 80%	What a good job! All that's left is some fine tuning
Over 80%	Wow! It's time for you to become a mentor. Find someone who needs help and share your knowledge!