2007-10-13 07:36

D.S.I.P. - Known Hands

PITBULLS:

When partner has already announced their hand by pre-empting , a systemic toy , passing an opening bid , not overcalling & backing in later , D.S.I.P. doubles do not apply. D.S.I.P. theory was designed for competitive auctions due to the “great unknown“. An opening bid , overcall , response , T/O dbl varies so much in defensive values & distribution , a D.S.I.P. double is necessary to clarify the situation in competition. The auction following the double has some of the ambiguity removed so accurate bidding can take place.

When partner pre-empts , including jump raises or jumps to games , D.S.I.P. theory does not apply because partner already has announced her hand. You play her for nothing & make your penalty double accordingly. BJ & I had an auction the other night where D.S.I.P. theory does not apply because I had a chance to overcall initially & did not. Lucille opened 2♠ & I passed & Lee bid a 2NT query . Lucille bid 3♦, showing a maximum with a diamond card. I now backed in 3♥ & Lee jumped to 4♠. BJ held ♠xxxx ♥109x ♦J10x ♣AKx so now what with equal vulnerability ( nv ) ? BJ can not make a D.S.I.P. double as I already told him I was not strong by not overcalling 3♥ immediately. Using patterns 6-4-3-0 , BJ knew I was void in spades so down to the 30 HCP deck. The only defense against 4♠ in BJ’s opinion, was the ♣AK . His length in hearts combined with my length in hearts ( 7 or 6 cards) decimated the 10 HCP’s there for defensive purposes. BJ took a calculated risk & decided to bid 5♥. He would like to make a D.S.I.P. double & allow me some input , but I have already described my defense. It was relatively non-existent just as if I had pre-empted.

BJ was criticized for the bid as the 5♥ sacrifice was “pseudo” as 4♠ can not make. However , the cards were so poorly placed for them , they were right for our side & I made 5♥X for +750. BJ took out what he thought was cheap insurance knowing that I held a spade void. If it were a pseudo sacrifice , it would be very cheap maybe –100. If they were cold for +420 , the worst case scenario seemed to be –300 from BJ’s perspective. Sometimes these bids induce a bad decision by the opponents & they bid 5♠ . This is the Poker side of Bridge so I do not agree with the criticism of BJ’s bid.

D.S.I.P. theory can not apply to all competitive auctions , though I wish it could. When partner has all the information they need for a penalty double , they double for penalty. If BJ held 100 honours in spades , he could double as I was “all in” with my initial pass so I was not invited to the party. When I want your opinion , I will ask you for it ( via a D.S.I.P. double) . I had already given my opinion with my initial pass as I obviously was not trapping with spade cards.