Friday, April 08, 2005 12:39 AM

Hand Evaluation – Tactics ( Natural Bidding )

PITBULLS:

Natural bidding is superior to artificial systems in my mind for a number of reasons. Natural bidding allows us to show where we live , pattern out , indicate whether our values are “soft” or controls & show fits immediately. Bidding naturally is defined as showing your hand pattern to partner. You can take advantage of being a passed hand by bidding naturally. A player held ♠xxx ♥AQxxx ♦x ♣Kxxx & partner opened 1♦. He responds 1♥ , partner bids 1♠ so now what 1NT or 2♣ ? He chose 2♣ , which I feel is the best bid to describe his hand. He does not have “soft values” described by bidding NT or a 4 card heart suit which 1NT would imply. Partner bids 2♦ so since he has heard the bidding & knowing I could hold shortness , I pass & not over rule her decision. Partner held ♦AKQxxx so definitely wanted to play it there.

Bidding naturally helps judge how hands fit for slam purposes. Bad fitting hands need 33+ HCP to make as there are no tricks . Tom Gandolfo had a hand tonight that shows natural bidding being used to stay out of a bad slam. He held ♠KJxx ♥x ♦Axx ♣AJ10xx , heard his partner open 1♥ . Of course you do not distort your hand by responding one spade as you have 13 HCP & enough to force to game. You bid 2♣ , partner bids 2NT. This 2NT bid shows either a minimum or a balanced hand in the 18-19 HCP range. Partner can have 4 spades so you bid 3♠ . Why ? because it also describes your hand naturally thereby giving the partnership an indication of how the hands fit.

Partners hand is ♠A10x ♥AKJxx ♦Kxx ♣Kx 18 HCP evaluating to 19 HCP. He cannot just bid 3NT as that shows the lower range of the 2NT rebid hands. He bids 4NT natural & quantitative to show the range with the doubleton club. Knowing the two hands do not fit well , even though we have up to 32 HCP between the two hands , we stop in 4NT which makes +630 A disaster is prevented by avoiding an ill fitting slam. Whenever partner bids 4NT or jumps to 4NT without establishing a fit earlier , it is not Blackwood but quantitative. Natural bidding that makes up for a lack of SJS’s by responder & opener.

What if Tom held the same hand but throw in some extra HCP’s ? ♠KQJx ♥x ♦AJx ♣AQJ10x he would bid the same way but now he would make the quantitative bid. Over his 3♠ bid , if I bid 3NT he would bid 4NT to show his strength. If I had a good 14 with some HCP’s in the black suits, I would bid 6NT. Tom has described both his shape & HCP’s so I can now make an intelligent decision. HCP’s are not just the only element for slam bidding . Where these HCP’s are located & how the hands fit is the ingredient for slams to make.

Here is another auction that natural bidding assists us in getting to a nice slam . Tom held ♠K109xx ♥A ♦AQ10xx ♣xx & opened 1♠ . I had ♠AJx ♥xxx ♦Kxx ♣AKxx , since I was too strong for a forcing NT , I “showed where I lived” by bidding 2♣. Tom bid 2♦, I bid 2♠ . Tom bid his hand naturally showing his 5 card diamond suit by bidding 3♦. Here is where the location of your HCP’s are paramount. I have AJx & Kxx in Tom’s two suits so I liked my hand. I bid 4♣ , Tom bid 4♥. I have heard enough so I bid 4NT & Tom made +1470 when the spade queen came down doubleton. Neither one of us bid the “serious 3NT” so we were just groping for slam throughout the auction. The reason why slam made on 28 HCP’s was due to the fit & having the HCP’s in the correct location.

Reverse’s are a nice natural bid showing both HCP’s & distribution with one bid. Do not forget that reverses show extra when partner as a passed hand bids a 2/1. A player held ♠AKJx ♥xxxxx ♦AJ ♣xx & opened 1♥ . I bid 2♦ as a passed hand so he must pass as 2♠ would be a true reverse. If I were not a passed hand ( 2/1 forcing) , a 2♠ bid is not a reverse. Passed hand bidding is natural standard bidding.

Bidding naturally means describing all balanced hands with a NT bid. This has an immediate effect of when you do not bid NT , you are bidding naturally. The 1^st suit is longer than your 2^nd & you are showing suits. A concept I like is natural bidding is stronger than artificial bidding like relays. Relays are used to fix holes in Standard bidding but the ultimate result is that natural bidding is stronger. The Wolffe relay concept is better understood if you just think natural bidding is strong & the Wolffe relay is an escape or to show no slam interest. This relay is same as the entire Lebensohl relay concept.

How hands fit for slam purposes is why my partner’s & I use relays to assist us in slam bidding. If we bid naturally it is strong so partner knows how the two hands fit . If we do artificial things like relays , we are not interested in slams. Bid naturally to show both your distribution & strength.