[mikeh]

 The_Badger, on 2014-December-03, 10:08, said:

What players forget is that doubles are either takeout or penalty, or lead directional occasionally (Lightner doubles, etc).

I think you would find that many would disagree with you. Double, in the modern game, is one of the most flexible calls around, with multiple meanings. I once worked out that in one partnership we had 11 flavours of double

I'll agree that leaving aside conventional gadgets, doubles historically were takeout or penalty, but nowadays a very large subset of the double is 'card-showing' or 'action' or 'DSIP', wherein the doubler has no particular takeout or penalty intention and is merely showing a certain set of values and asking partner to make that takeout or penalty decision.

[aguahombre]

 mgoetze, on 2014-December-03, 08:39, said:

This is a generic takeout double for me. It's exceedingly rare that I would bid it with any number of hearts other than 2, though.

What you seem to be doing is redefining "support double" from 3 pieces to two pieces when the guy across has shown 5 of the suit. This is not a bad thing. The corollary would be, of course, that PASS is strong penalty suggestion with Zero-one card for partner's suit.

[gordontd]

 aguahombre, on 2014-December-03, 10:53, said:

What you seem to be doing is redefining "support double" from 3 pieces to two pieces when the guy across has shown 5 of the suit. This is not a bad thing. The corollary would be, of course, that PASS is strong penalty suggestion with Zero-one card for partner's suit.

I played a few times with someone who used double to show two-card support in auctions like 1m - (1H) - 1S - (2H) - X where the 1S bid showed five or more.

[ArtK78]

 mikeh, on 2014-December-03, 10:25, said:

I think you would find that many would disagree with you. Double, in the modern game, is one of the most flexible calls around, with multiple meanings. I once worked out that in one partnership we had 11 flavours of double

I'll agree that leaving aside conventional gadgets, doubles historically were takeout or penalty, but nowadays a very large subset of the double is 'card-showing' or 'action' or 'DSIP', wherein the doubler has no particular takeout or penalty intention and is merely showing a certain set of values and asking partner to make that takeout or penalty decision.

A sometime partner of mine, Arnie Fisher, refers to these doubles ("card showing" "action" "DSIP") as bridge doubles.

[aguahombre]

 gordontd, on 2014-December-03, 11:01, said:

I played a few times with someone who used double to show two-card support in auctions like 1m - (1H) - 1S - (2H) - X where the 1S bid showed five or more.

Yeh, that would be similar; the big difference, though, is that here we both know we are in a g.f. or penalty position and in yours Pass would not even be forcing to make it work.

[steve2005]

del

[pawovado]

For me is a double a good hand 15 or more points with no heart fit

[SteveMoe]

Cooperative penalty showing ♥ shortness and likely 2 or more cards in ♣. We are in a GF. No takeout doubles here. Not just a pure penalty double (H(H)xx(x)) with 4 or more ♣ cards because that's too rare.

[aguahombre]

 pawovado, on 2014-December-04, 10:53, said:

For me is a double a good hand 15 or more points with no heart fit

Actually, it is possible for the double to NOT have a very good hand ---suggesting we might want to rethink our game-force commitment and just take the penalty.