Thursday, March 17, 2005 2:58 AM
Hand Evaluation – Tactics ( Hand Types )
PITBULLS:
Bridge
is a bidders game in modern times. This
means in general , use the green card only when you have defensive hands in competition. What do
we mean by defensive hands ?
Patterns
again provides your answer. 4-4-3-2 ,
4-3-3-3 , 4-4-4-1 , 5-3-2-2 or 5-4-2-2 are defensive hands by virtue of their
distribution . If you have these flatish type hands , the odds are
increased that the other hands will be defensive in nature also. These
hands should normally be passed or unless
you have a great deal of HCP’s to justify bidding a NT. Offensive hands are the 5-5-2-1 distributions
( two suiters ) followed by
hands with a 6 card suit or more . Get into the auction with offensive hands ! Lots of
HCP’s are really not necessary when
you have the distribution to
fall back on. Passing with offensive hand types usually means you are a slave to the HCP system. HCP’s are the only way you know how to play the game of Bridge. “How many
points did you have , Gerald “. Bid your hand patterns not just your HCP’s !
My partner held a 5-4-2-2 defensive hand type
with soft values nv vrs vul . I
opened 1♥ & his RHO made a T/O double. With
a defensive hand type partner bid 1NT with ♠Qx ♥109 ♦Axxxx ♣QJ10x & LHO bids 4♠ all pass
making +650 for them. What is the least descriptive bid you can make with this defensive
hand pattern ? A 2♦ bid which shows a weak single suited offensive hand giving partner the impression you may
wish to take offensive action. A 2♦ bid
with this hand is virtually a psyche as how can partner read you for a flat 9
HCP with a porous 5 card ♦ suit ? Now when they
bid their vul 4♠ , partner bids 4NT to setup the ♦ sacrifice . This results in a disaster as the opponents play the
hands in 5♠X for -850 as you now try to describe your original defensive hand
with a double. Too late , as I assume that an
offensive hand type doubling means a trump
stack at the 5 level. Bidding a suit
originally rather than a NT with a defensive hand & soft values
, throws partner off & bad decision making
results.
Playing
with a Tormentee tonight ,
we got some bad results by passing
with offensive hands . You pass with ♠xx ♥AJxxx ♦Q9xxx ♣Q , the auction goes 1♠ by
LHO with 1NT by the opponent to your right. This is an offensive hand ( 5-5-2-1 ) so let’s
crawl into the auction. With two suits ranking below the spade suit you would
like to keep the auction below 2♠, so you double. If partner bids 2♣ you have an easy pull
to 2♦ so partner knows that you have a red two suiter ( equal level
conversion ) . 5-5’s are meant for
bidding & you have the added advantage of partner knowing that you are
a passed hand. Anyway
, you pass ,make +120 but you get a zero as most tables got pushed by
competitive bidding to a spade contract which only makes 110 or down one at the
3 level.
You
pass in 1st seat . The auction goes 2♠, RHO
opponent bid 2NT catching you with ♠void
♥Qxxx ♦AJx ♣K1098xx . This definitely falls in the class of offensive hands. A void in the opponents
suit is gold. I would double 2NT as I have the liberty of being a passed hand
but I have some defense with my playing hand. You pass ,
they exchange information unimpeded so they get +420 for almost a zero for you. Open up the slip , there is a 5♣X making our way. Offensive hand types
are made for bidding .
Same
Tormentee
, you hear the auction go 1♦ to your
right & you have vul ♠Jxx ♥QJ10874 ♦x ♣Axx . This falls into the class of offensive hands . You have a 6 card suit with a stiff in the opponents suit. This is a 2♥
bid in any game at any vulnerability. You paid your card fees so you have a right
to bid . A
pass tells partner you have a
defensive hand or no reason
to enter the auction. A pass is a
descriptive bid that communicates information to partner that you do not have an offensive hand type.
Let
the vulnerability & the Bridge scoring method allow you some risk
taking & your hand type determine how you are going to bid. Do not forget
when the opponents make +650 you have 3 down not vul to play with .
Vul ,
I opened 4♥ against a tormentee
who was in the balancing seat with ♠AQx ♥xxx ♦AKxxxx ♣x . She passed so I made +650
. The problem was that game in spades or diamonds makes her way ! This again is
an easy double
with your quick tricks & distribution. If partner bids 4♠ or converts for penalty you live with it . If partner bids 5♣ , you
convert to 5♦. Since you are in the balancing seat , this bid just means that you do not have clubs. It is not mean a huge hand as equal level
conversion works at the 5 level also. Partner will give you leeway to
bid with offensive hands in these
situations. Doubling & bidding a suit to show a strong hand has gone the
way of the dodo bird.
Penalty doubles with offensive hands do
not work unless you have many
quick tricks. This double gives partner a wrong picture of your hand so
when they run to another spot , he starts to wield the
axe. In a competitive auction , partner doubled 3♣ with ♠xx ♥x ♦AKQJxx ♣Q10xx so when they ran to 3♠ , I doubled . This
contract unfortunately was cold because partners’ points were all in one suit
with a 6-4 pattern is not a
defensive hand.
Partners
judge opening leads , balancing , penalty doubles or
overcalling but what partner did or did
not do . Passing with offensive hands , throws a partnership off. When defending , partner is going to infer that you cannot hold a 5-5 or a 6 card suit or else
you would have bid. This is going to cause partner to make wrong defensive
decisions or opening lead decisions or balancing decisions. Passing too often puts strain on
the partnership to find right opening leads . Passing also gives a “free
ride” for the opponents to find the right spot. Pass with defensive hands
but bid with offensive hands. Conversely bidding a suit with a defensive hand type also throws partner
off. Let patterns & the
quality of your HCP’s be
your guide.