Friday,
November 11, 2005 12:32 AM
Hand
Evaluation – Partnership Bridge ( doubles )
PITBULLS:
One
of the annoying facets of the
partnership game of Bridge is partner bidding
her hand twice .
This is a basic hand evaluation no no . Once you have shown a
distributional monster vulnerable & partner takes preference
, you now bid it again
thereby gambling that partner has
the right cards. Playing D.S.I.P.
competitive double theory you bid your hand
twice in a different way. Why , because a
D.S.I.P. double says I want to bid again
but I have defense. This way of bidding your hand again brings partner in on the act.
My
partner held the classic distributional monster ♠void ♥AJ10xxx ♦AQJ10x ♣KJ . He opened 1♥ , they overcalled a
spade with the opponents Q bidding 2♥ . Partner bid 3♦ all by himself
with a passing partner who gave preference to 3♥. Not playing
D.S.I.P. theory , I think you might gamble & bid 4♥ as they are bidding your void , so you need almost nothing to
make 4♥. It is a single handed bid though as partner has never been consulted
in this auction. D.S.I.P. competitive doubles are a tool to bring both partners in on the decision making process. You have showed
10 or 11 red cards already, so you can double saying you want to bid 4♥ but you have defense. The auction goes pass, pass & pass.
Partner holds ♠J98x ♥K ♦xx ♣109876x so you beat the
contract one for +200 ( close to 500 ) . 4♥X goes for -800 which happened at quite a few tables.
D.S.I.P.
doubles take getting used to as you can double with offensive monsters that also
have defense. The key being that partner has already heard you
announce your distribution. The
double actually allows you to bid
your hand again but not in a fatal way. You have the best of both worlds
by bringing partner
into the picture who as heard you show the
table that you have a 6-5 in the reds . She
makes the decision from her side.
This way of bidding reflects all good hands. If you want to bid again , do it with a double.
Excellent !
D.S.I.P. doubles are anti-intuitive
. Playing just a standard style you either pass 3♠ as you are all in
with you bidding up to the 3 level all by yourself or you take a calculated risk by bidding 4♥
. I would bid 4♥ like a flash with
that hand not playing D.S.I.P. doubles.
Doubling when you want to bid
with strong distributional hands
takes getting used to but it is sound
in theory. You have described your
distribution to partner already so
now describe the defense with a double.
Change partner’s hand to ♠void ♥AJ10xxx ♦AKQxx ♣xx , he should just bid 4♥ as his defensive
values are concentrated in his suits. Do not leave up to partner what you can
do yourself. Just bid 4♥ so do not make it
too hard on partner. D.S.I.P. doubles , do not leave
home without them. J