Wednesday, April 28, 2004 11:42 PM

Hand Evaluation – Pressure Bids ( Leeway )

PITBULLS:

There are many auctions where the opponents put the partnership under pressure . This pressure occurs when the opponents are deliberately trying to jam you out of the auction. Examples are when they overcall 4 of a major , raise their partners pre-empt or make tactical psyches over their pre-empts. One of the most common auctions is “spades over hearts” that you need to give partner lots of leeway. Leeway is a hand evaluation concept & part of partnership Bridge.

There was a hand in the Alberta Solvers Club where the idea was to give partner maximum leeway when he was under pressure. ♠Ax ♥void ♦AJ109xxx ♣Kxxx , you open 1♦ LHO bids 4♥ & partner bids 4♠ . What do you do ? Spades over hearts is the most common pressure bid in Bridge . This is an auction where I give partner lots of leeway . I pass so if 6♦ makes I apologize to partner & congratulate my opponents for applying the pressure.

2♠-P-4♠-? ♠ Void ♥x ♦QJ10x ♣KQJ1098xx Do you bid 5♣ ? Of course you do . Partner realizes that you are under pressure so will not blast you into slam unless he is very Ace rich . Maurice says his rule of thumb in these kind of auctions is holding two Aces . I agree with him . Aces should be the criteria for movement in these jammed auctions rather than HCP’s with an unrealistic expectation of lots of values in partners hand. Bids in the sandwich position are quite often done under pressure . Partner decides to put in a lead director or bid a long suit as a sacrifice attempt. OBAR (opponents bid and raise ) was based on giving leeway for a bid in the sandwich position. A double in the sandwich position may also be light if it has the perfect distribution. Give partner leeway in these auctions.

OK. What does this all mean ? D.S.I.P. competitive doubles are based on partner being disciplined & having the values for their bids. Give partner some leeway & reluctantly pass in these jammed auctions instead of trying to force the issue with a D.S.I.P. double. One of the premises of D.S.I.P. doubles is that you have a safe resting spot . If partner made a bid caused by the opponents pressure tactics , he may not have what you expect. Double cards get replaced by green cards, in these auctions. Taking your perceived fix is a prudent strategy.

At a certain level with some auctions , takeout doubles become co-operative/penalty doubles . 3♣-p-5♣-? Is a horrible auction to do anything intelligent . Take your fix quite often by passing as partner had a chance to double 3♣ but did not . The double of 5♣ is co-operative but the best course of action is usually passing the double. This is an example of getting the best possible result rather then the best result possible. Being fixed is not a pleasant feeling but your partners should be applying the same pressure at the other table.

Overusing D.S.I.P. doubles is bad strategy especially at the lower levels . Doubling partials into games is still very much a disaster in IMPS. In IMPS , it is not a crime to sell out to the opponents partial & defend it undoubled. IMPS is not matchpoints. A good rule of thumb for a D.S.I.P. double is use the bid if there is chance for a two trick set or more by partner converting your double with her trump stack . As with all bidding tools , D.S.I.P. doubles should be used with moderation as you are putting a lot of pressure on partner to “do the right thing” . Tom Gandolfo originally labeled these doubles as Do Something Stupid Partner doubles. If you use this tool too often without the appropriate hand , Tom is very right. . No number of systems or treatments will replace common sense or judgment in Bridge . D.S.I.P. doubles are no different . Quite often the Do Something Intelligent Partner starts before the double is made !

Leeway is most common in the world of pre-empts & with the terrorist vulnerability. Giving leeway is defined as deliberately underbidding. Maurice had a good hand to show giving proper leeway in a pre-emptive auction. Pre-empting with the boss suit causes many problems. RHO pre-empts 3♠ & you hold ♠Kx ♥AQJxx ♦Axx ♦Q10x so you have a defensive flat hand. Overcalling 4♥ does not come close to describing this hand. Bidding is describing your hand to your partner not just your suit to partner. A double or 3NT are both better bids so I would choose a double. Anyway , Maurice had the classic hand to give partner leeway. ♠xx ♥10xx ♦KQJx ♣AJxx 11 HCP with a flat hand. Partner will play you for 7 HCP anyway with the rule of pre-empts, so why not give partner some leeway by deliberately underbidding by 4 HCP ? You do not know what the correct contract is but you will need to hit partner with a good hand to make 5 of a minor. If 5 of a minor makes , partner will probably bid it for you. Partner needs about 17-18 HCP for 5 of a minor to make on this hand if no spade shortage. Maurice bids 4♣ & his partner makes an equal level conversion to 4♥ which makes right on the nose. A 5 level contract in the minor went 3 down as they were just guessing at the 5 level with a 5♦ bid. Perhaps partner could have held ♠xx ♥AKQx ♦Ax ♣KQxxx & you get to 5♣ for +400 instead of 5♦ on your 4-2 down 3 . Getting to the correct contract with crowded bidding space is another good reason for deliberately underbidding or giving partner leeway.

This hand also illustrates the archaic use of 4NT to show both minors. I feel that 4NT should be reserved for hands that are too strong to bid 3NT. A quantitative bid I have found from experience, is a far more practical bid. A Q bid shows a two suiter. It is anti-intuitive that a 4-4 is a two suiter but it is. By bypassing 4♥ , your Q bid should say “pick a minor” or else you have a slam going hand. Showing two suits is the default for a Q bid after a T/O double. A jump to the 5 level in one of your minors is a silly single handed guess.

There is a time for not giving partner leeway & trusting her for bid. Partner is vul vrs nv & opens 1♥ . The opponents bid 2♥ Michaels catching you with ♠xxx ♥Kx ♦J10xx ♣Axxx so you pass. They bid 2♠ & partner single handedly bids 3♦ vul at the 3 level. Your RHO bids 4♣ so do you give partner leeway by bidding 4♦ ? There is a lot of bidding at this table. Bidding 4♦ is nonsense & is insulting partner by believing the opponents. You make a slam try by bidding 5♣ but partner declines & bids 5♦. 6♦ fails due to a 4-0 trump break along with a 4-2 ♥ break but +600 is easy.