Source: http://www.pikier.com
Penality Part I Penality Part II
How to calculate Penality ?
The penality is calculated from the bidding with the acronym: LIAR TSAR
Each letter represents a factor influencing the penality. You should start from L and go letter by letter, calculating penality by simple addition or subtraction:
| L | = | Level | the higher the level – the greater the penality |
| I | = | Information | the more information – the greater the penality |
| A | = | Agreements | the more agreements – the smaller the penality |
| R | = | Rescue | If they are escaping – the penality increases |
| T | = | Trapping | the more trapping – the greater the penality |
| S | = | Superiority | If one side is clearly superior to the other in strength… |
| A | = | Artificialidad | artficiality increases the penality |
| R | for mnemonics purpose only – to make it TSAR and help memorizing | ||
Before we have a closer look at those factors, it should be stressed that:
Memorizing all the details is not necessary !
Nothing more than a superficial overview will give us the “feeling” of penality of doubles – most of the time we won’t be wrong by more than 25%. This will assure us – since bidding is a statistical process – a relatively high, although not sensational, degree of efficiency.
We are not obliged to make any agreements with partner !
SAND – like assessing the strength of a hand ! – is a subjective matter. And since it, more or less, complies (!) with intuitive understanding of doubles practiced at the table, mutual understanding in the bidding is almost assured by itself.
Recommendations or declarations like all doubles up to 3
are negative” are not taken seriously even by their authors. When it becomes clear that “the situation calls for it” even low-level doubles become different. Distinguishing between only two extreme penalities (0% albo 100%) is simply inadequate, since for all in-between penalities (occurring very often) a lot of guessing would be involved.
L = Level The higher the bid – the greater the penality
Every Level increases penality by 25% (starting from 0):
1X=0% 2X=25% 3X=50% 4X=75% 5X=100%; Add an additional 50%, if No Trump is doubled !
X = any Suit or NT SAND doesn’t include doubles at the level of 6 or 7
The double of a 1 of a minor opening has, however, 25% ! Since 1 of a minor is opened with 4 or even 3 cards, it is more vulnerable than 1 of a major (normally showing 5+ cards).
The double of the 1NT opening has, as one can see, 50% – optional
With any balanced hand, even very weak, the doubler’s partner should pass.
If it happens that 1NT is unbeatable, running out to a suit (4-cards long!) threatens even greater loss in a doubled contract.
Additional 50% for no-trump bids is a consequence of the fact that no-trump contracts are generally more vulnerable than the suit ones.
On doubles at the level of 6 and 7
SAND doesn’t include doubles at the level of 6 or 7 – basically they are for penalties: 100% penality. There are, however, two situations where double has a special meaning:
Lead-Directing Lightner Double: The double by the opening leader’s partner calls for a lead which, in normal circumstances, would be considered „unusual”. And, in general, all high-level doubles have Lightner flavour.
Sacrifice Suggestion Double:
Situations like this usually call for a very profitable sacrifice in 6 unless… 6
goes down. To solve the dilemma, the following treatment is adopted:
The player first to call (here, South) doubles with 2 tricks and passes with less (0 or 1). His partner sacrifices with 0 tricks, passes with 2 tricks and shows exactly 1 trick by doubling. By analogy, this also applies to grand slams, where tricks are substituted by half-tricks.