Let’s play along with the experts. At favorable vulnerability, you hold 
Q 
K J 10 9 6 
Q 7 5 
K 9 7 6. RHO opens 1D in first seat. You venture a 1H overcall, and lefty bids 1S. Your partner passes, righty raises to 2S, and lefty raises to game. Two passes to you. Your call.
You passed? Nice try. The winning action is to double! Sure, it looks like you hold, opposite a mute partner, one defensive trick, maybe one and a half. But that fails to account for the stiff trump queen, which is a potent weapon opposite partner’s K109xx. You think it’s impossible for partner to hold five spades when the opponents have shown at least eight and you have one yourself? Think again, hombre: it’s called table feel. These are the actual hands.
N/S Vul
MPs
Dealer: South
Lead: 8
| kash A J 4 3 A Q 7 5 10 6 3 5 2 |
||
| Maestro Q K J 10 9 6 Q 7 5 K 9 7 6 |
![[W - E]](http://gee.aaronhaspel.com/files/2012/10/t.gif) |
shyuhy K 10 9 5 2 8 2 K 9 8 J 8 3 |
| a-yummy 8 7 6 4 3 A J 4 2 A Q 10 4 |
| West
1 |
North
1 |
East
Pass |
South 1 2 Pass Pass |
500 of course wins all of the matchpoints. The STCP™ can complain all he likes that North’s bid shows five spades, not four, that South’s opener is dubious in the first place, that North’s raise to game is also questionable, that if either North or South has her bid the spade game is cold, and that if both of them have it there are probably overtricks. There is no substitute for expert psychological insight. Shyuhy, at least, understands the fundamental truth, that the good bid is the bid that produces a good result. “Nice double,” he says to Gee after the hand. “Thanks,” replies Gee modestly.
Shyuhy did not make his obvious double since he is the captain, and that would be a forcing double, the cousin of a forcing pass. He was playing with an expert pard, and knew G would balance with a double. Note that G’s double is not forcing, because he is the crew and could not force.
I would have overcalled 1h also. But I would not have been proud of it. Certainly, not enough to x. I wonder where the doubler thought the setting tricks were coming from.
Even a blind hog uncovers an occasional truffle, as a more typical N/S holding on the auction is: AJxxx,AQxx,xx,xx opposite Kxxx,xx,Axxx,AQx. Such a hand would yield N/S a pleasant upberry for +990. Other possible N hands could include a stiff in one of the minors, whence a strip pinch, toss in, and endpickle might get a reward of +1190, surpassing even the legendary stix & wheels. Since it happened at the table one must compliment Gee for seeing through the backs of the cards and diagnosing the one time in a thousand that both opponents held only flat limit raise hand types and still not only opened the bidding, but also drove to a game without even a courtesy invitation along the way. Nowhere in Gee’s book is there advocacy for such unilateral conversations, and he was entirely correct to punish them. Perhaps Gee could add a chapter, with hand examples, showing lesser experts how to diagnose these situations. It would be a welcome revelation to the field of defensive bidding.
I recall once musing about a situation I called “Retawdlog” or, reverse Goldwater. As most of you probably know, Goldwater’s rule, somewhat paraphrased, says that: “if an opponent makes a lead out of turn, tend to accept it, since if he doesn’t know whose lead it is, he probably doesn’t know what to lead.” The corollary referred to above, Retawdlog, was similar: “if your expert opponent makes a lead out of turn, and you are a moron, make sure you either become the dummy or forbid the lead.” What has this to do with today’s hand? Well I think we may have uncovered the Senob Principle, which is, of course the anti-Bones principle. Whereas the Bones principle states that one should double almost without consideration any contract where a moro — er, Gerard will be declaring, the Senob Principle states that: “If the opponents are about to declare a contract, and you are a moron, double it anyway as you may get lucky and beat it thereby getting back to even with the field that beats it two undoubled. And if not, your inept defence was going to allow them to score a top anyway.” So many levels to this game….
It seems from this discussion that the Senob Principle applies to matchpoints only. Is this true?
Is there a Bones principle redouble? If Gee is going to start making doubles like this opponents will find use for it.