Wednesday, September 29, 2004 11:05 PM
Hand Evaluation - Match Point Doubles ( Opponents )
PITBULLS:
The more I think
about the trump stack penalty double
in competitive auctions & the misery that goes along with it , I feel this bid should only
apply in matchpoints & rubber Bridge.
The bid is just not needed in IMPs
with the IMP scale as a way of scoring. The IMP scale is a Robin Hood &
takes from the rich & gives to the poor with respect to huge sets. In IMPS, you should be more conservative with
respect to doubling them into game. D.S.I.P. theory goes along with that
objective as both partners have input into the decision. .
D.S.I.P.
theory & match points are not a good mix . There are many
bad bidders in matchpoints. In fact
, bad bidding is a tactic
with many match point players ! D.S.I.P.
theory assumes competent
opponents as competitive decisions are based in part on what the
opponents did or did not
do. If the opponents are very bad bidders they might be in a
partial when they should be in game . A D.S.I.P. doubles may push them into a game
they were supposed to arrive at in the first place. Worse ,
the D.S.I.P. double might get converted , so they make it with their preponderance of unexpected HCP’s or unadvertised
distribution.
Conversely , if the
opponents bid on bad suits & randomly overbid , penalty doubles rather
than D.S.I.P. doubles are the tool of choice.
Penalty doubles were invented in the early
days of Bridge to punish bad
bidders. There is no shortage
of bad bidders in Match Points.
Some parts of D.S.I.P. theory are transferable
to match points but not much. You do not have the IMP scale to protect you when you are
playing D.S.I.P. doubles in Match Points. Other
players in the field are making penalty doubles in certain auctions
so if you do not do the same , a low score for you is very possible.
“Match
Point” doubles are necessary in this game.
If you feel the opponents are stealing your
partial you may make a “match point” double” to protect your +140 . –100 when they go down two undoubled
is a bad score. Again D.S.I.P. doubles
are not a tool for these auctions.
2Nd doubles after making a takeout double are D.S.I.P. doubles. In
Match Points ,
I think they should just be penalty so you have values in their suits. In D.S.I.P. theory ,
doubles are showing values rather then a trump stack.
In match points the reverse should be true
as bad players may have wandered into a hornets nest.
Frequent
penalty doubles in Match Points are a good tactical strategy. Declarers are weak so
will misplay most hands. With the psychological
pressure of a double they sometimes even find a way to go
down. In a tough IMP match , frequent penalty doubles
are a losing proposition. The
tough opponents will play the hands better so end up making contracts that
should have gone down & make them because you
tipped them off . Yes ,
sometimes even good players make bad bids in IMPS but the frequency
does not justify throwing out D.S.I.P. theory. In D.S.I.P. theory , you have the
advantage of converting the double
for penalty if either partner
makes a D.S.I.P. double. Any structure
that allows both partners to make
a competitive decision has to be better than the single handed penalty doubles. Matchpoints is a very single handed game.
You
have ♠KQJ10 ♥Axxx ♦xx ♣xxx , the auction goes
1♦-1♠-X-2♠
P-P-? In
match points you double as 2♠ is not going to
make. In IMPs , playing D.S.I.P. theory you just pass. Partner did not bid the good bad
2NT , he did not make a D.S.I.P. double himself or
make a free bid. He probably has a minimum balanced hand so a partial is the
limit of the hand your way. You take your plus by not offering them an
opportunity for a better contract or having partner rescue them & move onto the next hand.
You hold ♠KQJ109 ♥x
♦xxxx ♣xxx , the auction goes 1♥-4♠-? In D.S.I.P. theory you pass
. so if partner is too weak to re-open with a
double , you just take your plus ,. In match points ,
you might get a zero if many other pairs bid 4♠ & get
doubled. Another example
, in D.S.I.P. theory you overcall
the heart opener with a spade with ♠AKJxxx ♥x ♦xx ♣AKxx , they bid 4♥ & around to you
. You do not want to play single handed enforcer doubles in D.S.I.P. theory , so
you double saying you still want to compete & a desire to bid 4♠. Partner with ♠x
♥QJ10x ♦xxxxx ♣xxx happily passes. The match point
field is in 4♠ doubled going for a
number. D.S.I.P. wins in these types of auctions , as
the D.S.I.P. double brought partner into the
picture.
Another
hand with a similar theme
showing why you should not play D.S.I.P. doubles in match points. You hold ♠x ♥AK10 ♦xxx ♣AKQxxx , you overcall 2♣
to a heart opener. LHO bids 2♥ ,partner passes so RHO bids 4♥ so now what ? In match points you double saying they can not make game but with D.S.I.P. theory you must pass & take your plus. You do not want to encourage partner to
make a pseudo sacrifice by doubling. In fact by not doubling
, partner might take that as a cue to sacrifice in 5♣ in the match
point game. With D.S.I.P. theory, when partner wants to sacrifice he
does so by doubling , we convert
at this end. Playing against top level opponents
, these kind of decisions do not come up much when you have game beat in
your own hand. The D.S.I.P. mentality works much better as the opponents are not bad bidders. In fact
, they are very good & accurate bidders.
Tom
Gandolfo has modified D.S.I.P. theory for matchpoints.
He says just play
D.S.I.P. theory when your side is competing with a fit. This is probably a very
good matchpoint idea. D.S.I.P. theory was designed to
apply in every auction where you are just competing when Forcing Pass theory
does not kick in. Limiting D.S.I.P. theory to just when your side has a fit
& is just competing simplifies things for match points.
D.S.I.P.
theory was invented for IMPS against good opponents. Sometimes we have had too many good results with penalty doubles
so we forgot our roots.
These doubles occurred in Match Point games , an entirely
different game from IMPS. IMPS are predicated on getting to games with good
high level decisions. D.S.I.P. theory assists in both those objectives.
D.S.I.P. theory is a new way of thinking the game of Bridge.