Wednesday,
December 11, 2002 4:08 PM
Hand
Evaluation – Partnership ( Seat Position )
PITBULLS:
Playing
the vulnerability means that the state of the vulnerability governs what you bid . You also should let what seat you are in influence your actions
. 1st and 2nd seat demands discipline in your opening bids as your partner is the “great unknown” . Do not do stupid undisciplined things in 1st or 2nd
seat like pre-empting with outside cards . Chances are
the victim will be your partner
rather than the opponents . Super light openers in 1St
or 2ND without controls also is not good strategy for the same reason . Respect partner !
In 3rd
and 4th seat you have the green light .
Openers can be shaded as you have Drury with a partner that will not punish you .
Make your light openers lead directing
though . Opening light just for the sake of opening
light is a pigeon shooting technique which should have no place in IMPS . You really are not going
to hinder good players by opening your flat
11 HCP .
In fact , you probably just have located cards for
them when they reach their spot . 3rd seat now gives you license to
have some outside cards in you pre-empts .
Partner should not get “sacrifice happy” as you may be operating with your pre-empt
. Sacrificing should be more frequent
after disciplined 1st or 2nd seat pre-empts
.
4th
seat changes the meanings of some bids. The Gambling 3NT is constant in 1st ,2Nd and 3rd seats as
we still have the “opponent factor” . In 4th seat the opponents are
passed hands also so 3NT will definitely have outside stuff and partner should
probably not pull if the contract gets doubled . Lee
Barton sometimes opens 3NT with a flat 10 HCP in 4th seat . Please feel free to pull the double when Lee is your partner J
. Weak 2’s in 4th seat are
still weak 2’s or else you would have opened 1 & rebid your suit . Since you are in 4th seat you are at the
top of the range and even beyond right up to 16 HCPs .
These hands are normally quite distributional ,
lacking in defensive values or else you would have opened at the one level .
3rd
seat at favourable vulnerability you have the green
light for “tactical operations” . You hold ♠xx ♥xx ♦xx ♣KQJ1098x . 3♣ is a little mundane with this hand in 3rd
seat . They certainly have a vul
game their way so why not show your flat distribution with a 1NT bid ? Do not just get
fixated on your hand . Bid your hand in conjunction
with the “table action” . Two passed hands quite often dictates
your actions. Always remember “bidding safety plays “ . If you pass
, the next two bids could be 1NT pass 3NT so –630 for you anyway !!
We
all play 5 card majors . Rules are made to be broken in 3rd seat . Opening good 4 card majors in 3rd and 4th
is a good tactic . They are lead directing as well as pre-emptive .
They cut down on the opponents overcalls & take out doubles .In 3rd
seat with ♠AKJx ♥xx ♦Q10xxx ♣xx I open 1♠ rather then 1♦ . Opening 4 card
majors is not bad Bridge . Charles Goren opened 4 card
majors all his career & he did just fine . You
hold ♠Jxxxx ♥KQJ10x ♦void ♣Kxx in 3rd seat. The rules of
Bridge say open 1♠ but not in 3rd seat. Treat the spade
suit as a 4 card suit & open 1♥. This is to prevent
the opponents bidding 1♠-1NT-P-3NT and
getting the dreaded spade lead.
Also
in 3rd and 4th seat , if I have
a close decision between a one bid & 2♣ opener , seat position dictates that I open the hand
2♣ . I would open 2♣ with all strong two suiters
as the chances that my passed hand partner might not be able to respond is
greater . Have different bids for different
seat positions. A 2♠ opener in 4th
suit is 14-16 rather than the weak two range as we
have 3 passed hands. 2♦ is Roman in 4th
rather than multi etc. Passed hand bids have different meanings like my
partners & I play fit showing jumps
as a passed hand rather than weak
jump shifts. Weak jump shifts as a
passed hand is silly as you would have opened them a weak two in the majority of cases.
Vulnerability effects your decision to trap
or whether you will make a penalty double of their 1NT. If they are vul
&d you are not , do not overcall 1NT with a trump stack in
their suit. That is silly bidding as you just
rescuing them. 1♥ to your right , you have ♠Kx
♥KQJ10x
♦AQx ♣Qxx
. If they are vul & you are not , this is a clear cut pass. If you are vul & they are not , overcall 1NT. On equal vul , I still pass but
others notably the Vinnies do not. If they open 1NT
and you have ♠AKxxx ♥AKxxx ♦Kx ♣x
again your
decision is vulnerability dependent. If they are vul
you double , if
you are vul & they are not , make your systemic bid that shows the majors. On
equal vul
, I again would double as when NT
is bid it is “strength before shape “.
Anyway , always be aware of the seat position and the
vulnerability when partner opens . Take that into consideration so if the
opponents interfere , do not punish partner. Have extra when you compete
, take table position into consideration when you make penalty doubles
& redoubles . Bidding is not just bidding your
hand – it’s bidding your seat
position & the vulnerability also. Give partner leeway &
partner should give you leeway.