Wednesday, October 20, 2004 1:40 PM

Hand Evaluation – Forcing Passes ( Sacrifices )

PITBULLS:

An excellent hand came up in the IMP league which shows what forcing pass theory is all about . Forcing pass theory was originally just conceived to combat opponents’ sacrifices , but they have grown into much more than that over the years. The opponents were NV against vul & opened the proceedings with 1♠. Tom G passed , RHO bid 1NT which I doubled. I had ♠xx ♥AKQJxx ♦AK109 ♣x with the opener now bidding 2♣ . Tom passed , RHO bid 3♣ which brought 4♥ by me. RHO decided to sacrifice in 5♣ so I made a forcing pass around to Tom. The vulnerability & the plain fact that they are sacrificing turn on forcing passes automatically.

If Tom held ♠Axxx ♥xx ♦Qxxxx ♣xx , we are cold for +1430 . If Tom had as little as ♠Kxxx ♥xxxx ♦xx ♣xxx , we are cold for +650 . My forcing pass says I want to bid 5♥ , but I am short a trick or so. Over to the small hand to make the final decision via the transfer of captaincy. With people not used to forcing pass theory , the big hand always does the bidding for both sides of the table. This is very wrong. If the partnership is disciplined , the small hand should have input into the decision also . I could double 5♣ but that is a redundant bid to the strength I have shown already. Everyone at the table knows 5♣ is not going to make. The decision to be made is if some number of hearts will be the final contract. This is where expert bidding skills come in .The small hand has to now bid both hands at the table. Partner has passed him information but expertise is still required to make a good decision.

Tom actually held ♠QJxx ♥xxxx ♦xx ♣xxx so decided that 5♥ was not going to make & doubled. 5♥ , of course , cannot make & declarer was lucky not to go for –300 . The 1NT bidder had ♠Kx ♥x ♦Jxxxx ♣QJ109x so took out insurance for a nv 5 ♣ sacrifice against a vul 4♥ game. At the other table , Lee Barton bid 4♥ directly with the strong hand without doubling first. This is a bad bid for a number of reasons. Non vul opponents open & respond light against vul opponents as a tactic. Tom could easily hold cards where 6♦ is cold Axx xxx QJxxxx x . The main deterrent to bidding 4♥ is that it is a single handed bid which takes partner out of the decision making process. If the opponents bid again at the 5 level , how can partner visualize a two suited 6-4 with 17 HCP ? The big hand now will have to take control of the auction thereby making a decision for both sides of the table. Just because you have a huge hand, does not give you the right to own the auction by yourself.

O.K. what of the pre-emptive value of a 4♥ bid ? It might jam the opponents out of a good minor suit sacrifice ? This may be true on some hands but it also might make it easier to find your sacrifice. The 1NT responder held ♠Kx ♥x ♦Jxxxx ♣QJ109x so hears a vul 4♥ bid around to you in the pass out seat. Is a 4NT bid not good insurance against 4♥ making ? Give the vul 4♥ bidder the 10 HCP’s in hearts ( partner did not double ) so we are playing with a 30 point deck. Give partner his 13 HCP so we have 20 of the 30 remaining points. 5 of a minor certainly cannot get hurt too badly & may even go for –100. Now the 4♥ bidder has fixed himself , so he must double the sacrifice single handed Partner with an Ace will never bid the cold 5♥ as he can never dream the type of hand that brought about the 4♥ call.

This hand brings up a matter of style. There are some auctions if you feel that partner has nothing over there , just shoot to your game. If the opponents were vul , the odds that partner has anything is very remote. Leaping to 4♥ might have some merit as it jams them . This is not my style though , as I am always blood thirsty looking for a big set via a penalty double by partner converting or doubling when I have such a good hand. What if Tom held ♠QJxx ♥xx ♦xxx ♣QJ109 ? The opponents can get into serious trouble after a double , so Tom will start wielding the axe whatever they bid. A forcing NT quite often signals a misfit auction. If partner leaps to 4♥ instead, the opponents may escape some sort of set . Adding insult to injury , 4♥ goes down at least one !! Bridge is a partnership game which is one of the reasons forcing passes were invented !!