[mikestar13]

Jinksy, on 2014-October-17, 01:48, said:

I like takeout X, but I'm not convinced you get to penalise more often. With X = penalties, after eg a nat 2♠ overcall, you might happily X with KQx xx Axxx xxxx, but you can't be confident your P will find a reopening X opposite that.

Generally the worse the position for them, the more chance of penalising you seem to gain from playing penalties. If opps bid 2♠ on eg QTxxx Axx KQxx x (perhaps showing ♠s and a minor, but we've all seen players who'd make a natural call on worse than that), and advancer is 'unlucky' enough to find a stiff x opposite, then responder, playing takeout X with AKJx in the suit will probably hear the hand passed out if he doesn't bid...

That was Edgar Kaplan's belief and he had forgotten more about bridge than I will ever know about the game by the time he died. My experience tends to confirm, you mileage may vary, but I am quite sure is doesn't lose badly on collecting penalties--and as you point out, it makes competitive bidding much easier. This is a case where you need to play opener's reopening double is virtually mandatory on a doubleton. (Might pass it out with poor defense and dead minimum/subminimum values.)