Monday, July 10, 2006 2:39 AM

Hand Evaluation - Playing The Vulnerability ( Leeway )

PITBULLS:

This is an axiom in a partnership game like Bridge. You always trust partner rather than the opponents in competitive auctions , she is on your side. Competitive bidding would be useless if it were otherwise. The opponents could con you and get away with murder as you do not know who to believe. Bridge would be relegated to single handed “taking shots” . You could not double for penalties , or bid one more as partners’ bids are meaningless. We have all been there playing with novice players or Ray.

Having said the above , if you are going to “play the vulnerability” or passed hand status, you need partner’s co-operation. Have you noticed when Osama , Willard , Ray Grace & Barton are bidding how much leeway their partners give them ? They do not trust these “modern bidders” & rightly so. They may be operating , so it is believing the opponent’s time. You do not count on anything for their bidding as they doing their utmost just to con the opponents. Your own constructive bidding takes a beating of course , but that comes with the territory. Penalty doubles or D.S.I.P. theory can not possibly work if partner does not have her bids. You just shrug your shoulders , believe the opponents & put the green card on the table. Leeway is the buzz word to live by.

Unfortunately , if you are going to play the vulnerability , you need an extreme attitude adjustment yourself. You need to be like Gary Karst , Vince Nowlan , Lucille Barton , & Alex Fowlie and “field the situation” . You believe the vulnerable opponents & sell out in hands where it would be normally absurd to do so. If partner is just bidding , it means nothing as they did not Q bid or double. Therefore , they are just making life difficult for the opponents & you also. Just pass or always have extra for your raise. Selling out is the correct strategy.

NV vrs vul is the terrorist vulnerability. The prize of keeping them from their vulnerable game is just too great to not adjust your suit requirement for an overcall. Get in there to disrupt their auctions , compete , set up sacrifices , cause them to make wrong decisions or just to be generally disruptive. World class players do this as a matter of course on this vulnerability. Suit & HCP discipline for overcalls are sacrificed on this one vulnerability , however you need partner’s cooperation. On the other vulnerabilities overcall & openers revert to normal so partner discipline can exist.

There are some techniques to assist partner in giving leeway. My partner held ♠void ♥xxx ♦KQJ109x ♣Jxxx and the opponents opened 1♣ and RHO bid 1♠. Bidding 2♦ with this hand on all vulnerabilities except for the terrorist vulnerability is silly. You are misrepresenting your hand & the odds are that you just going to fool partner. However, on the terrorist vulnerability , partner will give you lots of leeway so why not try 2♦ ? The bidding takes off after your 2♦ bid and RHO eventually bids 4♦. Have a meaning for a double of 4♦. If you have a real overcall , double 4♦ and pass if you are operating. Partner now has a sense of what is happening at the table.

I think partners of terrorists eventually get martyrdom status. You are eventually fully entitled to your 77 virgins or whatever. Unfortunately these tactics seem to work so I am buying in only on the one vulnerability or when partner is a passed hand. I refuse to be a “modern bidder” otherwise.