Monday, May 12, 2003 6:02 PM

Hand Evaluation - Psychological Doubles

PITBULLS:

Using an article by Zia Mahood as a basis for this strategy

“You love bridge, just like the rest of us addicts. But have you ever thought about which part of the game excites you most? It could be a delight in fine bidding, the indulgent pleasure of a well-played hand, the artistic beauty of a killing defense, or perhaps a combination. They do all have an irresistible charm.

Actually, for myself, there is a fourth, even greater attraction: the psychological game. I find it fascinating. Surprisingly, although countless books have been published on bidding and play, almost nothing has appeared on this subject.

Psychological bridge can come in many guises but the satisfaction from a successful coup is always jumbo-sized. Just ask any player who ever deflected the opponents from attacking his weakest suit by playing it first. Or any adventurer on his way to slam who cue-bid a control he didn’t have and successfully stopped the killing lead.

What bliss, incomparable ecstasy that lingers on long after the event. The great advantage of these plays, unlike improvements to card play technique which can take years to perfect, is that they can be adopted instantly by any average player. This is a psychological penalty double, based not on the evidence of your cards but on ‘other’ factors: the timing, the opponents’ bidding or their table action.

You can use the double whenever the following 5 situations exist, and you have the slightest excuse. “

1. The impossible-sounding auction

As West you hold:

ª 976

¨ 8

§ 10842

South	West	North	East
RHO	You	LHO	Partner
			Pass
1ª	Pass	2ª	Pass
Pass	3©	Pass	Pass
3ª	Pass	4ª	Pass
Pass	DBLE

The opponents stopped in 2ª and now North has punished South for competing. Something went wrong; double them. You have a great lead and the one time in ten they make will be compensated amply by the juicy penalties of the other nine.

2. You want your opponents to run

This is great for poker players. It starts with a familiar auction where the opponents struggle into a contract where you know they are about to get lucky and make: DOUBLE. The fear of a large number will help remove them to a ‘safer’ resting place.

I was playing with David Berkowitz, the American champion, in the Vanderbilt tournament. He held:

ª J43

¨ J104

§ J1095

Sitting East, with South the dealer, he heard the following auction:

South	West	North	East
	Me		David
1§	1©	2©*	Dble
2ª	Pass	3§	Pass
3©**	Pass	3ª	Pass
4ª	Pass	Pass	Dble^
5§	Pass	Pass	Dble^^
All Pass

* Club fit, forcing but denies 4 spades

** Looking for 3NT

^ a complete bluff

^^ much happier

David could see that 4ª on the 4-3 fit would make with the friendly trump break. He also knew that the opponents did not know this, so he doubled. A bad break might mean losing control and conceding a large penalty, so South reasonably ran to the ‘safety’ of the known club fit.

Brilliant — yet all he needed to do was listen carefully to the auction and have the courage to make a Panther Double. You don’t need to look as sleek as a panther to bid like one.

3. Invitational auctions

This is my personal favorite. Whenever a limited hand accepts an invitation, the Panther should be ready to pounce at the slightest excuse. That excuse may be as flimsy as the fact that the last bid was made after a lengthy hesitation, suggesting an overbid, or at least a tight contract.

South	West	North	East
			You
1NT	Pass	2NT	Pass
3NT*	Pass	Pass	Double
All pass

*after a pause

The double, by increasing the stakes, places considerable pressure on the declarer who will proceed to misplace the high cards. In addition, his mind, filled with images of ghosts and bad breaks, will be unable to function clearly.

If the sequence above is for the more adventurous, the more common limited auction where the defender can foresee bad lies or breaks for declarer, is impossible to resist. Now the prey is helpless; it almost feels unsporting to pounce.

Armed with your new toy you decide to sit in on a high-stake rubber bridge game. Naturally you pick up our typical hand:

ª 6

¨ Q1063

§ KJ98

And hear this auction:

South	West	North	East
			You
Pass	Pass	1§	Pass*
1ª	Pass	2ª	Pass
3¨*	Pass	3NT	Double^
4ª