Monday, April 03, 2006 4:48 AM

Hand Evaluation - Standards

PITBULLS:

There are “Industry Standards” for a reason. We adhere to Standards in order to communicate effectively , prevent re-inventing the wheel & to avoid ambiguity. In Rubber Bridge , we play “standard Edmonton” so we do not have to sort out systemic understandings as we switch from partner to partner. The Ross Armour group of Chris Williams . Lloyd Sullivan , Curtis Stock , Sue Schwam , Scott Brinsmead , Paul Ericson & myself play “Standard Dictator” . This is the system devised by the “dictator” Ross Armour in which we all play among our particular group. We avoid systemic bidding misunderstandings this way & key on Bridge judgment instead.

You note, the most complicated Bridge bidding problems can be solved by the Master Solvers club via Bridge judgment rather than systems. You do not need a complex system to play at the club level , sectional level or even the regional level. The penalty for forgetting systems more than offsets the advantages of having a complex system in the first place. Memory & repetitiveness go together. By having a common standard , repetition ingrains the understandings into the human memory. Elaborate understandings that only apply to one partnership do not have the repetitive value in order to fully remember all the nuances. Forgetting is just throwing the board away so is not very effective.

If you play with the same partner all the time , having complex systems is a different matter . You have the “repetitive factor” in these established partnerships so elaborate understandings get memorized. These understandings become the standard for established partnerships. Established partnerships are the most effective & dangerous partnerships in Bridge for this simple reason.

I like using the racing car analogy to discuss complex bidding systems. You can win a race without the most powerful & finely tuned racing car. However , you need the best driving skills , character , will to win & luck to overcome a driver with a superior vehicle. At top level races , the differences are miniscule so any advantage is a huge advantage. In Bridge , a complex bidding system is like a finely tuned racing car that is only needed for the big races. This is the extra horse power that is need for the tough going around curves.

The higher the level you play , the tougher the competition gets. Here is where your system is a valuable asset. If a majority of the hands fit your system , it does not matter what the opponents do , you will win the match. Luck should even out in the long run as does declarer play & defensive skills. What determines the match at these levels is the effectiveness of your system. This systemic advantage to win has been proven over & over again at top level play. You level the playing field when playing against experts who also have excellent treatments.

You can not take shortcuts when you play or aspire to high level Bridge. Rodwell & Meckstroth have 800 pages of notes . Even Soloway & Hammon have close to 400 pages. Closer to home, Maksymetz & Jacobs have a reasonably complicated system. The Gartaganis , Klimo & Campbell have binders full of understandings. If you are motivated to play at the highest level , working on your system comes with the territory. You can not just say you will play a robust system , you must take the time to learn the system. This is done by the repetition of reading , discussing & playing with the same partner.

I send “reminder” articles from time to time of understandings that my partners & I have agreed. This is the repetition thru reading that is required to fully understand a reasonably complicated system . Not taking the time to read or discuss them means that you no longer have the aspirations to play Bridge at the highest level. It is absurd when you can read a 350 page book for pleasure in no time but reading one article ( page ) a day is too tough on you. One player who is retired said he was “too busy” to read one article a day ! This same person devours one or two books in a week !! This attitude is admitting that you have no real aspirations to play Bridge at a high level. I define this level as the CNTC , national events , GNT , Calcuttas & WBF events. It is folly to think that you can adequately compete in these events with “Standard Edmonton” circ 1975. Like a medical doctor , lawyer , computer scientist you must keep up with the times. Tweeks , innovations & new understandings to your system are needed to compete at these levels.

If you do not keep up , you are only fooling yourself. Professional sports teams work on their game more often that they play. The competition of the sport demands it. Do not play at nationals or the CNTC if you are not prepared to work at the game. I am taking this year off from high level competition . Why ? because my regular partners through no fault of their own can not afford the time to learn a system that is required to compete at high levels. Once their business settles down so they can devote some attention to the game , we will compete again at the national level. In the meantime, we will play Bridge only socially at sectionals & regionals. Even at this level , I prefer to revert to a Standard system that we do know. Stress of not knowing your system will hamper the effectiveness of the partnership . Playing a system that you do not know adequately , is a disaster waiting to happen. The time bomb will explode at any time & hand IMPS to the opponents for no apparent reason. Let the opponents earn their IMPS J . An inferior system that you do know, is far better than a superior system that you do not.

There is nothing magical about standard bidding understandings. It was invented for the masses & chose simplicity over accuracy. Just because it is a “standard” does not make it right. Standard American is a consensus system where experts must fill in surveys & through a democratic process of opinions , a standard evolves. These standards are just opinions not necessarily the best way to handle Bridge situations. An established partnership makes their own standards via fixes & band aids . Forcing NT for example , has many logical inconsistencies you can drive a truck through. There are many many standard understandings that simply do not work. I have listened to some players saying “that is not standard” as if it were some sort of crime to deviate from standards built for the masses. Remember the roots of standard bidding. They are for the majority of people who play Bridge. Experts form a very low percentage of Bridge players.