Thursday, September 28, 2006 2:15 AM

Counting HCP'S II

PITBULLS:

With years of experience in the game of Bridge , counting HCP’s is a routine skill. More advanced counting of HCP’s is during the hand as declarer or on defense. This is called being a “human odometer” as you keep track of HCP’s as they are being played. This skill can also become routine with practice . This skill is assumed if you are a Bridge expert.

The last domain for the counting of HCP’s is during the bidding . This is called quantitative bidding. You add partners announced bids to yours and make partial , game & slam decisions. Balancing is adding expected HCP’s that the opponents have shown and weighing the risks of entering the auction.

Counting HCP’s is a way of a check back for leaving in penalty doubles of your 3NT doubled. A bid I like which was invented by Meckwell apparently is the XX expressing doubt. Your partner makes a bid that shows a particular HCP range & lands in 3NT. You are not sure if the contract will make or not. A pass says partner lets play it in 3NT. A XX says “I have doubt” whether 3NT can make but I do have some values or I would be running. If you have extra , lets play it here. A solid partnership understanding for handling 3NTX contracts..

Counting HCP’s can assist you in making a decision whether to leave in your doubled 3NT contract. Perry opened 1♥ with ♠xx ♥KQJxx ♦KJx ♣K10x and they overcalled 2♣. I bid 2♦ and Perry bid 2NT as would every Bridge player on the planet. I carried on to 3NT and this was passed around to the overcaller who doubled. I did not pull 3NT but I passed saying lets play this contract. Should Perry believe the doubler and pull ? No , a simple count of HCP’s makes passing clear cut. Partner has no HCP’s in clubs or he probably would have XX’d. Partner has shown 13-14 HCP’s on the bidding so where are they , looking at your hand ? The Ace of hearts & AQ of diamonds is not enough as that is only 10 HCP’s and not consistent with the bidding. Partner must have spade cards also . The doubler is gambling on a club lead , getting in with the spade Ace and running his clubs. You have a surprise for him as you can count 11 tricks before he leads ! You XX and they are in serious trouble as they are vul vrs not. An unmitigated disaster for them as you took the time to count partners HCP’s.