When our first bid is a double of their one of a major, it is takeout, and it disturbs the auction.
| West | North | East | South | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | |||||
| dbl |
| West | North | East | South | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | pass | 1 | |||
| dbl |
| West | North | East | South | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| dbl |
overcall exactly as an opening, so the double shows a hand that would have responded 1NT but does not have a stop in spades.Continuations after a takeout double are considered under disturbed auctions, but it is worth considering here on what sort of hands you should use this double.
Because we have lost the strong openings, any strong hand will have to start with such a double, and the doubler can then make another strong move after any minimum response.
Weaker opening hands will double when no alternative is available. Over 1, we can bid six-cards suits, and we can show a balanced hand with 1NT. The double will be useful then for two- and three-suited non-balanced hands (continuations after a Chilli takeout double cope with the possibility of a two-suited double).
The only hand to beware is a 5-4 minor two-suiter with no tolerance for hearts. A double will unsoundly force the bidding to the three-level if partner responds 2. With this hand you should either 'bend' the hand into two of a minor or pass.
If we follow this advice, then we have the very useful corollary that a double of 1 will always show at least three hearts.
Over 1, we will overcall with 1 if we have four of them, so curiously the double here shows at most three spades (unless the doubler is strong). And because partner's minimum response is 1, we can afford to double with a minor two-suiter even without spade tolerance.