Double - Penalty Double

What does a bid of "Double" mean in bridge?

This is perhaps the single most difficult question a new or even a more experienced player can ask. Depending on the auction "Double" can mean many, many different things.

I will start with the one that started them all. Double that means penalty.

You hold this hand:
♠A852
♥A972
♦93
♣642

and your opponents have bid up to 6NT. With your RHO opening the bidding 1NT and your LHO bidding 6NT. Pass, Pass back to you. Hmmm. This seems a little too good to be true. You are on lead with two Aces and the opponents are in 6NT. Here you shouldn't feel sorry for these opponents and just Pass. They are not going to make their contract and you know that. You want to extract maximum points for your partnership. You can DOUBLE.

Double is just like a regular bid. Once you double the bidding continues until there are three Passes. So your LHO gets another bid as do your Partner and your RHO.

But on this auction I think it is pretty clear that no one else has anything more to say so the final contract becomes 6NT doubled.

If your opponents make, they will get extra points! Much more than they would have if you didn't double.

However, if you defeat the contract you and your partner get extra points.

Here's a table that shows the difference between doubling and defeating a contract and simply defeating the contract.

Amount of points you will collect

Number of tricks the opponents went down	Non-Vulnerable	DOUBLED and Non-Vulnerable	Vulnerable	DOUBLED and Vulnerable
1	50	100	100	200
2	100	300	200	500
3	150	500	300	800

Pretty much all doubles in bridge that are at a game level (3NT, 4♥ and 4♠, 5♣ and 5♦) and above are penalty doubles. That means that if the opponents double they expect you will play in that contract and they think they can defeat you.

Sounds easy so far? It's really not. Let's take a look at some hands.

You hold this hand:
♠852
♥972
♦93
♣AKQJT

Here your RHO opens the bidding 1NT. Your LHO bids 2♣ (Stayman). Your RHO bids 2♥ and your LHO bids 3NT. Pass. Pass. Back to you. Do you double? Well, SURE! I am on lead and I can win the first five tricks! There is no way the opponents are going to make 3NT! I say DOUBLE to extract my maximum penalty for this hand. So now my LHO Passes, my Partner Passes and my RHO starts to think.

Oh, oh. That's not good.

My RHO now bid 4♠. Can I beat that contract? No. So the opponents were happily playing in a contract I could defeat but when I doubled them they ran to a contract that I cannot defeat. Now I feel very silly I doubled in the first place. I wish I could go back in time and Pass.

Lesson number 1: When you double the opponents for penalty in a contract make sure they do not have a better contract to play in!

Here's another similar hand.

♠852
♥QJT9
♦93
♣7642

RHO opens the bidding 1NT. LHO bids 2♦ (Transfer). RHO bid 2♥. Now LHO bids 6♥. Pass. Pass. Your bid. You have two sure trump tricks. 6♥ is going down. Do you double?

No. Good job. You can defeat 6♥ but you are not so sure you can defeat 6NT!