What is a negative double?
A negative double is, quite simply, a takeout double made after your partner has opened the bidding and the next player has made an overcall. Negative doubles are part of standard bidding and are taught to beginners, so you should assume that your partnership plays that a double of an opponent’s suit overcall is for takeout. Nevertheless, some partnerships choose not to adopt this convention. In the early years of bridge, the understanding was that if you double after your partner has bid it is for penalties. The modern agreement is that a double of an opponent’s suit overcall is for takeout. You cannot double a suit bid for penalties if you are playing negative doubles. But don’t worry that you are giving the opponents a free hand to interfere with impunity, since your partner has a similar weapon available to prevent that: the “reopening double”, which we will cover later. Negative doubles are almost essential if you play five-card majors, or else you will lose a 4-4 major suit fit t
