Wednesday, May 21, 2003 9:52 PM

Hand Evaluation – Tactics ( Preserving Space )

PITBULLS:

Kangaroos who do a lot of jumping should be a very rare animal in 2/1 , NMF & 4^th suit forcing auctions. The nature of the game force should deter jumping to show strength . Playing “serious 3NT” even re-enforces non jumps as a strategy. If you do jump in forcing auctions , it should have a special meaning like a solid suit or a “picture bid” with a minimum & no controls to show. Jumps were necessary in old time standard auctions as the 4^th suit or new suit was just a one round force as opposed to forcing to game. 4^th suit forcing to game & 2/1 forcing to game involves similar thinking with regards to keeping the bidding low & attaching special meanings to jumps..

You hold the hand below , open 1♦ & partner bids a heart. In true Edmonton tradition you

A	A	A	x
K	x	K
x	x	x
x		x
		x

bid a quiet spade ( I would bid 2♠) . Partner game forces with 2♣ ( 4^th suit ). Do you now make up for lost time & jump somewhere to show your strength ? Not a chance . Partners bid is not only forcing to game , it is totally ambiguous . It can be a diamond fit , a spade fit , a heart hand or a two suiter with clubs. It may even be a flat 18 with a 4 card heart suit too strong to leap to 3NT . You should bid 2♥ which is in effect a “waiting bid” to let partner describe her hand . She now bids 2♠ . This is not a Q bid in support of hearts but a hand that was too strong to bid 4♠ . If she bid 3♦ , it shows the strong diamond raise. No “implied Q bids” allowed in ambiguous 4^th suit forcing auctions . In this auction , 7♠ should be your goal depending on club duplication of value .

x	K	Q	A
x	Q	x	J
	J	x	x
	10
	x

Different hand this time but same start to the auction . The 4^th suit bidder has the same obligation not to be a kangaroo. Partner opens a diamond , you bid a heart & partner rebids a spade . You bid 2♣ , partner bids 2♥ which may be a waiting bid . You cannot leap to 4♥ as you pre-empt partner. “Serious 3NT” type Q bids now apply so you bid 3♣. Partner takes control so you should reach 7♥ . This is a an excellent hand to show the advantage of the Cabay treatment with flat hands . Partner MUST have 5 or more diamonds in this auction as she is not allowed to bid 1♠ with a flat hand . This information and the slow nature of the auction gets you to a grand slam in hearts. She does not have to splinter to show the singleton club as she already has shown 5♦ , 4♠ and 3♥ !!

The “flat hand” negative inference in these auctions stems from your system that all flat hands should be rebid with NT . In subtle auctions , it takes the guess work out . Knowing that partner has a distributional hand as opposed to a flat hand is invaluable in slam auctions. To win IMP matches at a high level , superior bidding methods are necessary . Going to the next level with expert bidding means throwing out old ideas & seeing the advantages of new methods.