Saturday, May 13, 2006 8:07 PM

Hand Evaluation – Constructive Bidding

PITBULLS:

Discipline or lack of discipline determines your style of playing Bridge. If your style is just bidding to complicate things for the opponents , partner can not read anything into your bidding.

♠K987 ♥x ♦xxxx ♣xxxx The auction goes 1♥-P-P-X

2♦-3♣-?

A disciplined player knowing that partner did not XX or bid 3♦ would not bid. This is a fight that we can not possibly win when partner just bids 2♦. A bid should mean that given my initial pass , I have a hand that may warrant a sacrifice later on. Holding only 4♦ with a stiff in partners first suit that is the last message you want to convey to partner. Assume you do encourage partner by bidding 3♦ with them reaching 4♠. You now have an obligation to undo your previous encouragement & make a penalty double . Do not forget that you have a partner. 4♠X goes for 300 so partner thought he had the green light to bid 5♦ when you passed. This went for a telephone number & it was a pseudo also as they were in the wrong game.

D.S.I.P. doubles have a fail safe built into the structure. If they own the auction, a double says I am “asking permission” to sacrifice with defensive tricks. 4♠X now gets converted so all is well. When bidding is meaningless , all you can do is believe the opponents & pass. Bridge is no longer a partnership game so you may as well go to a Casino . Gambling is a very single handed endeavour. .

D.S.I.P. doubles allow you to play an undisciplined style if you want. The fact that partner did not double after showing a distributional hand , means he does not have a good defensive hand. BJ had a shapely hand . opened 1♦ & the vul opponents overcalled 2♣ . Partner passes , they bid 2♥ so BJ bids 2♠. They bid 3♣ , you now bid 3♦ so they bid 3♥. Pass around to you again. You have the inference that partner does not want to compete with a good hand as he did not double. You pass so they miss a vul game. BJ’s partner bid again to push them into their cold vulnerable game.

Do not forget that forcing passes can be turned on even for a pre-empting partner. If partner opens 3♦ vul , you contract for a vul game with the opponents coming into your auction, forcing passes are turned on . Same with a double after a weak two . This double says we own the auction. 2♠-3♠-X it is silly telling the weak two that you have spade support to invite competing. The double says “let me at them” but more than that it turns on forcing passes & invites the pre-empter to double also.

Garazzo says do not enter a fight that you can not win. If they have the ammunition , do not bid just to hear yourself talk. All it does is help the opponents. They having the bully suit or the majors , you are beat before you start so why bid again ? Good opponents will not let you buy it so you may give wrong information to partner. Pushing opponents into their best spot is a serious Bridge error. Green pass cards have a lot to do with bidding in Bridge. Discipline & the pass card are a good marriage. “Anybody can bray like a Jackass” a wise Bridge player once said. There is an art to passing when it is right.

Splintering at the 4 level with any vulnerability should turn on forcing passes & say we own the hand. Why give information to the enemy otherwise ? If it is their hand , they will buy the contract so you have helped them play the hand. Playing a disciplined style , you need to identify the difference between competing vrs ownership of auction. Otherwise you are just bidding to impede the opponents all the time so that defines your style. A partner is not required playing this style.

Whether you have bought into D.S.I.P. theory or not , you must put partner in the picture. The double is the most versatile bid to say that you want to bid again bit with a good defensive hand or we own the auction for forcing pass purposes. Bidding again removes one of your options & partner does not know if you bidding to compete or bidding again because you have a good hand. Constructive bidding means when you bid again you are doing it for a purpose. D.S.I.P. theory allows you to truly compete better.