Friday, April 07, 2006
6:26 PM
Hand Evaluation – Bidding Skills
PITBULLS:
Playing
with players the caliber of Tom Gandolfo , Kiz Fung
& Klimo as opposed to less experienced players ,
I find the biggest difference in their game are hand evaluation skills. The standard way of evaluating a hand
for most is via HCP’s .
Experts use HCP’s also but they are way down
the list in priority. There are many more factors that
experts consider more important than just using an abacus & counting up
your HCP’s. Bridge bidding is not just totaling HCP’s.
The
nature or type of HCP’s is a huge factor in hand evaluation. Not all HCP’s are created equal . Controls such as Aces & Kings are more
important than queens & jacks. Experts put more weight on these cards for
evaluating an opening bid or judgment whether a hand should be opened 1NT. Hands are frequently being promoted or
being demoted based on this
criteria. Totaling HCP’s alone are a very
poor criteria for opening
bids. Opening bids need defense measured in quick tricks.
Another hand evaluation
skill is taking distribution into consideration. Not all
distributions are created equal. Distribution means what types of hand
patterns you hold. There are “death distributions “ that do
not play very well. 4-3-3-3 is the all time worst followed by 4-4-3-2 , 4-4-4-1 , and 5-3-2-2 , 5-4-2-2 , 5-4-3-1 , 6-3-2-2 and
even 7-2-2-2 . On the flip side 5-5-2-1 , 6-4-2-1 ,
6-3-3-1 , 7-3-2-1 and more wild distributions are worth a lot in playing value.
Experts promote these
distributions while demoting the others for hand evaluation
purposes. Having a long
suit is a plus even in NT where a 5 card suit should get
promoted for hand evaluation purposes. Experts use hand patterns for hand evaluation purposes. The art of
“balancing” is predicated on applying
patterns extracted from the
opponents bidding. Is partner expected to hold length in unbid
suits ?
Competing or not competing
is quite often based on applying hand patterns. How many of the opponents suit is
partner expected to hold on the auction ? Do the hands
fit well ? Bidding is done by visualizing
hand patterns.
Location , location and Location are the 3 main factors of real estate. In the game of Bridge also Experts use location in their hand evaluation. Location is defined in
two ways. Bridge is played in a clockwise order .
If you are behind an opening
bidder or a takeout double , your HCP’s get evaluated upward because of the excellent location
where finesses are bound to succeed. If your HCP’s are in front of a big hand , your HCP’s are downgraded
because the majority of the opponents points are behind you.
Location is also important in
where your HCP’s are located in your hand.
HCP’s in your long suits are more valuable than HCP’s in your doubletons or
singletons. If your HCP’s are in “quick trick” combinations
promotes your hand. AK , AQ or KQ are quick trick
combinations as opposed to Kx KJx
& unsupported queens & jacks. “Duplication of value” is an expression used
where your HCP’s are located badly relative
to your partner. Badly means opposite partners known singleton or void. A lack of HCP’s
& shortness in the opponents suit are promoted upwards as
an example of hand evaluation. Whether your cards in a suit should be onside during the bidding is a hand evaluation
skill. You are in effect making a finesse before the
bidding is over.
Fits or lack thereof is a
huge hand evaluation skill . Fits detract from your defensive capability so
should be the overriding consideration for pulling penalty doubles. ♠Axx ♥Axx ♦KJxx ♣Qxx , you open 1♦ & partner bids 1♥ . They bid 2♠ and partner re-opens with a double do you leave it in ? Not a chance as you have way
too many cards in partners suit & a lack of “duplication of
value” in theirs. Your HCP’s being located in the suit which you announced by bidding is a hand evaluation skill for
leaving in a penalty double. Location is important there also.
Suit
quality is another hand evaluation skill. Spot cards
, length & sequences are important when making
pre-emptive decisions or overcalling decisions. I played with someone who had
poor hand evaluation skills when dealing with pre-empts. Vulnerable vrs not , she pre-empted 3♦ in IMPS with ♠x ♥Kxx ♦KJxxxxx xx . The lack of spots
in the diamond suit meant that this bid was just attempted suicide that did not succeed. Add spot cards &
the hand & suit gets promoted considerably. QJ10xxxx is a bad gamble vulnerable but add spot cards QJ1098xx and the hand gets promoted.
Experts like all doubles of NT to
be penalty. Why ? This a chance to use hand
evaluation skills. The opponents are bidding NT because they do not have a fit ( misfit auctions ) . If the
cards are located poorly with no fit
, this spells
disaster for the opponents. Kiz & I
played against a player who bragged when she put down ♠Qx ♥xxx ♦xxxx ♣1098x in a 1NTX contract
that she has put down “worse dummys” in 1NTx before.
1NTX in this hand goes for –800 nv but 2♣
actually escapes as you hit partner with KQJx of clubs ! Leaving this double in was just another form of
suicide. HCP’s actually shine for hand evaluation purposes when NT enters the picture. I doubled 1NT & an experienced
partner held ♠xx ♥AQxxx ♦xxxx Jx but bid 2♥
! Yes , we made a
heart partial but 1NTX goes for 800. If I had 16 HCP for my double
, we “outgun” them 23 to 17 HCP . 40 HCP’s in the deck is a bench mark , so you use HCP’s to determine the balance of power.
Evaluating
trumps is another form of hand evaluation. The 4th trump is such an asset that the “law of total tricks” was based on it. Expert players always overbid their trump length in partners suit so quite
often get the auction up real fast ( jumping ) . The
reason should be obvious. Length in partner’s suit detracts from partners
defensive values so the opponents can make something of their own. Your
contract obviously plays better with lots of trump. If you have a lot of trump
yourself in a very long suit , get the bidding up to a
high level quickly for the same hand
evaluation reasons. Opening at the one level & rebidding at the
two level with 8 card suits is
pathetic bidding.
We use the expression “hand
evaluation” loosely almost as a synonym for bidding itself.
The judgment part of bidding ( not systems or
conventions ) is what we include in the term “hand evaluation”. Hand evaluation is also dynamic. The value of your hand changes depending on your partners
bidding & the opponents bidding for all the above reasons mentioned in this
article. Being a slave to the HCP
system is for beginners who have not developed any judgment or
hand evaluation skills yet. Playing systems or conventions without
understanding why you are
playing them is just rote memorization so
is bound to fail in the long run. Systems & conventions are based on hand evaluation concepts. You need to understand
hand evaluation concepts first & move on to systems & conventions. The
other way is backward. It is like giving a gun
to a duck .J