BiddingThis one means business.
Penalty Doubles
Novice
36 min · 2-part series
About this lesson
Is that double takeout, or is it penalty? Lorna works through the auctions where the answer is penalty and shows you how to read each one. Part 1 covers what the bid promises and the weak-two auction where partner has already defined their hand. Part 2 runs the rest: doubling a 1NT opening, doubling after both of you have bid, the four-level split where 4♥ is takeout but 4♠ is business, and what the scoring actually pays.
What you'll pick up
- What a penalty double says: we have the trumps and the high cards to beat this contract
- The four situations that make a double penalty rather than takeout, from a limited partner to a game-level auction
- Why doubling their 1NT opening is a business double for most partnerships, and when a convention takes that away
- Doubling after both partners have bid, and why partner can still pull it with a shapely hand
- The four-level rule worth agreeing: double of 4♥ is takeout, double of 4♠ is penalty, and 4NT is your takeout instead
- Reading the doubled scores so you know when down 500 beats letting them make 620