Doubling their four-level bid after our redouble

The question

Partner opens, the next player doubles, and we redouble to show 10 or more points. The doubler’s partner runs to a suit, opener passes, and the doubler raises it: for example 1♠–(double)–redouble–(2♥)–pass–(4♥). The redoubler has shown the strength but has no fit to bid. Should it pass or double? The sources say the redouble shows 10 or more and that opener should pass to let the redoubler act, but none says at what level the redoubler’s double should be for penalties.

The deals

The app dealt 200,000 deals at random and bid them on three settings: the default, every convention switched on, and one club player’s own settings. Each deal that a rule below bid differently was played 200 times, with the opponents’ cards redealt each time and all four hands visible. The figures below are for the default settings; for the rule adopted (four level or higher) the three settings gave the same results. That rule was then checked on 200,000 new deals.

The results

Each row is compared with passing. The “±” figure is the margin of error; a result smaller than it counts as no difference. Doubling at any level makes no clear difference: the doubles of their two-level bids lose, because the opponents often make a two-level contract, and that cancels the gain at the four level. Doubling only at the four level or higher gains clearly, and gains by about the same amount on the new deals. At that height the opponents are usually sacrificing against our game.

What BidMaestro does with this

After our redouble, when the opponents bid at the four level or higher over opener’s pass, the redoubler doubles for penalties. Below the four level it passes.

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