[EugeneLS]

I'm sitting East with this - in last Friday's Acol individual tourney (matchpoints).

---

Probably I was wrong to redouble: I was thinking of a reverse ♣-♦ but I still felt I could make something of 1♣x or even xx.
I didn't expect South to chime in with 1♥ but so they did, and it ended up with 2♠ played by my partner.

When I saw partner's hand:

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I couldn't suppress a sigh - but partner managed at least to scramble home five tricks for minus 150. I did gently chide my partner for not supporting my clubs, if they were to bid in the first place.

Then the score came up. 100%. "There must be some mistake," I thought. "They've got the scores swapped over, it should be 0% to us."

Then I looked at the other scores (8 tables in all):
3♥N+2 ... 200 to NS
5♣E-4 .... 200 to NS
5♣Ex-2 ... 300 to NS
4♥S= .... 620 to NS
4♥N+1 ... 650 to NS
4♥S+2 ... 680 to NS
4♥Sx= ... 790 to NS

Fluke? Good sacrifice? or terrible bidding?

Whatever - I'd better not complain to partner ever again...

[EugeneLS]

I should have shown the full deal - with the 3-0 club break:

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[pescetom]

Terrible bidding by South, timid by West.

But it's a fun game.

[mike777]

Excellent lesson hand in many ways especially for North
/ South.

1. What does the double by North show?
2. What does 1H by South in this auction show?
3. What does 2H by North in this auction show?

[JeffMorrow]

OK, I’ll bite at this apple even though I do not know Acol.

First, I’d assume that North’s double covers a wide range of points but probably does not have a long, strong suit.

Second, as East, I’d not xx. I’d rebid the clubs. In competitive auctions, I really do not want to chance mystifying my partner. In American bidding, my first club bid does not promise much of anything in clubs, and I have lovely clubs. Why make partner guess where my strength is?

Third, I think your good score came from the utter pusillanimity of South. 1H in response to partner’s takeout double with a 5-card major, 8 HCP, and a void in the opponent’s suit is unconscionable. And then to pass when the doubler raises South’s suit. You got a gift, but not from West.

Fourth, I cannot blame partner for “not supporting clubs.” Over your xx, he had no clue as to how great the club fit was. Had you bid 2C and had partner bid 3C, you two would have fully deserved your top. At worst you are down one in three clubs.

[mw64ahw]

mike777, on 2026-September-29, 12:23, said:

Excellent lesson hand in many ways especially for North
/ South.

1. What does the double by North show?
2. What does 1H by South in this auction show?
3. What does 2H by North in this auction show?

1 I see many Acol players using X as an opening hand rather than takeout. I personally prefer to bid a 4-card suit, sit back and defend or wait for a later opportunity to X for takeout.
2 It shows 4+ cards and a point count with no appreciation for playing strength. That may be a function of the non-takeout X
3 A minimum hand with support.
Now South has no idea how to value their hand and passes.
The XX by East is poor - I'd expect ♠ to be bid given the shortage

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

XX should show a strong (semi)bal. hand, this explains partners bidding, he was
assuming a fit in spade.

Obv. you can assign a different meaning to XX, in the end you did encourage
p to get in, in case he sees a fit, he just interpreted the hand you have wrong,
or you had a disagreement.

XX will also generate a auction, that seldom comes up, which increases the chance,
that someone gets it wrong. The colors support, that you are more likely to benefit.

For whats it worth: I made a similar XX, partner got it wrong, we were red vs. green,
but the opponnets were flustered, ..., I had shown a rock solid behavior the boards
before, but undoubled -X being red was still not cheap, but it could have been worse.

[EugeneLS]

I think I've learnt some things from the replies, yes. I know our 'top' wasn't really deserved - but that sort of thing happens all the time!

[P_Marlowe]

EugeneLS, on 2026-September-30, 03:17, said:

I think I've learnt some things from the replies, yes. I know our 'top' wasn't really deserved - but that sort of thing happens all the time!

You dont win by only playing book bridge, but it is important to understand, if it was just a fluke or ...
You could argue, that XX is going for a swing, in case you badly need to catch up.
If you are in need of catching up, going for a swing is not wrong, one just needs to be prepared, that
it will go wrong more often than not, which is ok, if you dont care a lot about the placing in the middle
of the pack.
And if you did go for the swing and it worked, you deserve it, you took the risk.