Tuesday, May 23, 2006 10:29 AM

Hand Evaluation - Pushing Opponents

PITBULLS:

Pushing the opponents into a good game , partial or slam where they would never reach on their own is a sign of poor competitive bidding. As usual , this is caused by ambiguity in competitive bidding. Is partner bidding one more because she has something or is she just competing & may want to buy the contract for a small minus ? Also when you have super fit , it detracts from your side’s defensive strength so you announce to them that they have no duplication of value so they bid one more. With a fit but no defense , get the auction up high & let sleeping dogs lay. As Garazzo says , do not enter or continue a fight that you can not win.

A fix for this competitive ambiguity is playing competitive doubles or D.S.I.P. theory. When partner has bid a couple of times but has neglected to make a double to show good defense , you quietly put the pass card on the table. A young good B player pushed the opponents into a couple of vul games recently that were not about to reach thereby ruining his partner’s competitive bidding. BJ Trelford opened 1♦ , they overcalled 2♣ . BJ’s partner passed , they bid 2♥. BJ backed in 2♠ so they competed to 3♣ . BJ’s partner came alive by bidding 3♦. They bid 3♥ so around to BJ’s partner again. What has not happened at the table ? BJ after bidding twice did not double to show a defensive hand. This was ignored , BJ’s partner bid 4♦ so the opponents bid again & were rewarded with a cold vulnerable game.

Not playing D.S.I.P. doubles kills your ability to compete. Partner reads that you have a good hand solely because you bid twice. Nonsense , he was just competing so by his failure to double , he is announcing that he is just competing. There are other ways of realizing that partner is just competing. This is the negative inference on what partner has not done earlier in the auction.

A Tormentee held this hand ♠KJx ♥QJ ♦xxx ♣AKxxx , everybody vul they opened 1♥ so around to her. You have some defense with a tolerance for the unbid major , so most players would double. The Tormentee bid 2♣ which is a more ambiguous bid ( weaker , longer clubs , no major tolerance ? ) . This brought 2♦ by the opening bidder & I passed. This was corrected to 2♥ so around to me again. I bid 2♠, it went 3♥ so do you bid again ? Partner never overcalled 1♠ nor did he compete over 2♦. He at no time made a competitive double. The Tormentee bid 3♠ , all passed so down 3 vul on a ruff. We ended up with an above average board because the field was getting to their +650 in hearts. In the absence of competitive doubles , you should be worried that you will push the opponents into a cold game. By partner bidding spades , he has ruined your hand defensively with the QJ of hearts being doubleton will be a welcome surprise for them. As Kenny Rogers says “know when to fold them” & use the green card. 3♥ making 5 would be a top our way. Hand evaluation & reading the table is a huge part of competitive bidding. Listening for partners competitive double that never came is a clue.