DONT
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- This article concerns Contract Bridge and uses terminology associated with the game. See Contract bridge glossary for an explanation of unfamiliar words or phrases.
DONT is a conventional overcall against an opposing 1NT opening bid. DONT, an acronym for Disturb Opponents' NoTrump, was designed by Marty A. Bergen, and is therefore also referred to as 'Bergen over Notrump'. Although the method is often criticized for being too nebulous, it remains fairly popular. The DONT convention was first published in a copy of Bridge Today in Marty Bergen's column in the Sept./Oct. 1989. It was seven pages long and includes more information than is found below.
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[edit] The convention
DONT features the following calls:
- Double – shows any single suit; advancer bids 2♣, after which intervenor corrects to his actual suit
- 2♣, 2♦, 2♥ – shows the bid suit and any higher-ranking suit
- 2♠ – shows spades
DONT is normally applied as a defense to strong notrump opening bids, but some people have created various modifications to DONT to apply them to weaker notrump openings. The difference is that the bidder shows opening-bid values and the partner of the doubler may pass to convert the single-suited hand into a penalty double.
Against 10-13 (Mini notrump) notrump opening bids:
- Double is for penalty and shows 13+ points with any shape.
- 2♣ shows any single suit; the partner should bid 2♦, after which the intervenor corrects to his actual suit
- 2♦, 2♥, 2♠ shows the bid suit and any higher-ranked suit, with clubs as the highest-ranking suit.
[edit] Over strong club opening bids
When the opponents play Precision Club or other strong club system, 1♣ usually describes a 17-19 point hand. Accordingly DONT can also be employed over these types of systems.
- 1NT shows any single suit; advancer bids 2♣, after which intervenor corrects to his actual suit
- 2♣, 2♦, 2♥ shows the bid suit and any higher-ranking suit
- 2♠ – shows spades
A more disturbing improvement of the system calls for the partner of the intervenor to bid his cheapest doubleton when the intervenor has shown a single-suited hand. This relies on the Law of total tricks to find adequate protection at the three level.
[edit] Example
| South | West | North | East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♣ | 1NT | Double | |
| 2♥ | Double | 3♣ | ??? |
In this auction West has a large hand (17+) and East has shown a positive response (8+) so they must be in the game zone. West's double of 2♥ is not clear. It might mean that he has a heart suit, but how long of a suit is it? South is known to have at most two cards in that suit. North and South meanwhile have found a nine-card club fit (North with 6 and South with 3+ clubs). In an auction like this East may just have to bid 3NT and hope for the best. Compare the above auction with the following one:
| South | West | North | East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♣ | 1NT | Double | |
| 2♣ | 2♥ | Pass | ??? |
Here we can see that South has shown nothing about his hand and therefore North didn't have the courage to go on to 3♣ and West was able to put in a 2♥ bid, accordingly East is much better positioned to make an intelligent choice about the final contract.
