♠10 9 ♥J 4 ♦Q J 10 7 ♣A Q 8 7 3
| West | North | East | South |
| Pass | |||
| Pass | 1♥ | 4♠ | ? |
What’s your call?
| 4NT | ||||
| 5♣ | 5♦ | 5♥ | 5♠ | 5NT |
| 6♣ | 6♦ | 6♥ | 6♠ | 6NT |
| 7♣ | 7♦ | 7♥ | 7♠ | 7NT |
| Dbl | Pass |
Maybe they’ll go down. You can’t be sure you can set them, so you pass, right? Your side has more than half the points, so you must double, right? The best action is pretty much a guess, and the votes show this.
What do doublers say?
Meyers: “I have too much to pass.”
Sanborn: “Double shows some values. If they make it, it’s not the end of the world.”
Stack: “I have values and shortness in partner’s suit. If partner pulls, this won’t be a disappointing dummy.”
Cohen: “Double, and lead a trump if partner leaves it in. Yes, partner could be light in third seat, but I have too much to pass.”
Gordons: “While Bridge Bulletin Standard plays negative doubles through 3♠, it’s fairly standard for high-level doubles to have a cooperative aspect and just show values as opposed to a trump stack”
Lawrence: “Yes, partner may have opened light, but you can’t hide when partner opens in third seat.”
Boehm: “Double, but without enthusiasm and in tempo.”
Ten experts pass. The choice between pass and double might depend on how light your partner opens.
Meckstroth: “I don’t have enough defense to double.”
His partners open light.
Joyces: “Not enough values to double. We just hope to beat it.”
Their partners, too.
Walker: “BBS says double is penalty, but I don’t know that I can beat it. Maybe if I pass, partner can reopen.”
Colchamiro: “My values are too soft to double. If my ♦ Q J were the ♦ K, then I’d double.”
Falk: “This is a problem?”
Kennedy: “I pass. Maybe they’ll go down.”
Robinson: “Double shows values and partner would remove it with an unbalanced hand. The question is: Do I want my partner to bid with a weak, unbalanced hand? Because I don’t, I pass.”
Sutherlins: “We don’t know whose hand it is.”
Coopers: “We don’t have two sure defensive tricks.”
Kennedy summarizes the thinking of the majority: Maybe they’ll go down, or maybe they won’t.
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