Monday, May 15, 2006 12:51 PM

Hand Evaluation – Tactics ( Taking Out Insurance )

PITBULLS:

One of the very first articles I wrote to the Pitbulls was explaining the IMP concept or tactic of “taking out insurance”. I tried to emphasize this concept as it is unique to rubber Bridge & IMPS, as opposed to matchpoints. In some respects , matchpoints is a much tougher game because you do not have this luxury. In matchpoints , you do not have the option of possibly deliberately going for a minus to take out insurance against a possible loss of big IMPS . You must be accurate & always go for the plus in matchpoints.

What is insurance ? You pay a small premium as insurance against a big loss. The probability of the loss is calculated by actuaries & the premium is set on that basis. In Bridge ( IMPS ) , it is no different . You are willing to pay a small premium –50 to protect against maybe a big loss –950 , -750 or a possible +980 or +450 your way. A hand that drives home the difference between the two games , IMPS & matchpoints came up in the recent GNT team event.

Nv vrs vul partner opens 3♠ . On this one vulnerability , discipline is quite often sacrificed so partner may not have the perfect hand for this bid. Leeway is assumed. The opponents overcall 5♣ vul against not , you hold ♠AQ ♥AQxx ♦KQJ10x ♣xx so what is your bid ? In matchpoints , you have a tough problem because you do not want to get a minus. If partner has the worst hand possible , ♠KJ10xxxx ♥xx ♦xx ♣xx you are going for a deliberate minus of –50 , a matchpoint disaster. To make matters worse they can not make 5♣ so you would have picked up +200. However it is IMPS , so you start thinking insurance policy. The almost worst set possible is you going for a –50. What is the worst possible scenerio ? The opponents having an 11 card , 10 card , 9 card club suit with partner holding a void so that 6♠ makes and 5 or 6 clubs makes the other direction.

Location of cards is another disaster that you can “take out insurance” against. The location of the heart honours is an issue with the above hand. If KJ10 of hearts comes down on the board behind you it is a disaster defensively but not offensively as lead considerations come into effect. The actual hand in this auction was ♠void ♥1098x ♦A ♣AKQJ1098x . If the board comes down with as little as ♠xxxx ♥KJx ♦xxx ♣xxx 6♣ is cold & you make 6♠ with a non heart lead. Just a double slam swing ! You risk the premium of –50 to take out insurance against a big loss as the scoring system in IMPS differs from the scoring system in match points. IMPS take into consideration the “long run” so one disaster takes a long time to recover in IMPS , but it is only one board in match points.

The difference between offense & defense is another issue that you can take out insurance against. Being declarer is like being the “house” in a Casino. Defense is tougher & you are forced to make the first move of the opening lead possibly blind. In addition , defense is tougher so bidding is insurance against a possible defensive slip up. By bidding one more , you transfer the disadvantage of having the opponents now make the decision , they make the correct opening lead & they finding the correct defense.

Taking out insurance by inviting vulnerable games crops up in many situations. You are vul vrs not with ♠KJxx ♥Axx ♦Axx ♣Kxx , RHO bids 1♦. You decide a 1NT overcall is best so RHO bids 2♦ & partner freely bids 2♠ vul. Lee Barton said it best with these hands. I am not good enough to know that a vulnerable partial is the exact spot to play this hand ! Taking out insurance by inviting cannot lose. Even if you play partners range as 0-8 by freely bidding vul , you take out insurance by inviting. You are either sacrificing for the hands that partner does not have his bid & getting to game if partner is in the 5-8 HCP hard to invite range of hands. Simple hand evaluation skill determines the strength of this hand in support of spades. Passing is arrogant saying that 2♠ is the right contract as I have determined from my side only that you have nothing for your bid.

Bidding misunderstandings crop up with established partnerships. This comes with the territory of having a complex system built up over the years. There is a way of handling bidding misunderstandings. Take out insurance against a disaster. Partner on the terrorist vulnerability held ♠KJ10x ♥QJ10x ♦x ♣KJ98 so he decided to open 1♣. I responded 1♦ so partner decided to bid 1♠. I reversed by responder to 2♥ so now what ? We play XYZ so is it a true reverse ? We have not discussed this before so lets take out insurance by bidding 3♥ . We may blow a partial by being in 3♥ but since this is IMPS , if you guessed wrong you are throwing away a game as opposed to a partial. I had a huge hand & made 5♥ . Why make the decision for the partnership with a possible bidding misunderstanding ? You can invite to clarify if a misunderstanding actually exists.

Penalty doubles & leaving in penalty doubles are the ultimate in taking out insurance. This thinking combines two concepts “playing the vulnerability” & “taking out insurance”. The opponents are vul & you are not ♠J10xxxx ♥Jx ♦xxx ♣xxx , partner opens 1♦. You do not play WJS’s so you make a tactical nv psyche of 1♠. They overcall 2♣ & partner makes a support dbl which is an unlimited hand. They bid 3♣ followed by 3NT which partner doubles so around to you. Even if partner says she can beat 3NT , you only leave penalty doubles in when you hold what partner reasonably expects on the auction. You do not have a response & how badly can 4♠X be hurt nv vrs vul ? You are setting partner up for a disaster by passing , so you take out insurance by bidding 4♠. You either make this or go one down depending on the quality of defense. Leaving it in , partner plays you for some HCP’s consistent with your response so –750. Setting the partnership up for a disaster came true.

A hand in Beijing brings up many concepts in taking out insurance. Whenever the opponents announce to the table that they own their suit , give it to them. This means the 30 HCP in the deck rule is in effect. The auctions goes 1♠-P-4♠-X so what do you do with ♠xx ♥Qxx ♦xx ♣KJxxxx equal vul ? This is a hand built for taking out insurance. With your nice long suit & no duplication of value in their suit , you should not get hurt by bidding. Reason this way , partner has a void or stiff spade on this auction. If the opponents have two outside Aces to cash ( 8 HCP’s ) to book a 5 level contract , partner only needs 30 HCP – 8 HCP – 6 HCP ( my hand ) or 16 HCP to make game our way ! We are probably gambling –50 to take out insurance against them making their contract. We play Lebensohl in these auctions so I would bid 4NT intending on passing the 5♣ response. If I do not play that toy , I would bid 5♣. It turns out that partner would “break the relay” & bid 5♥ which makes. By passing 4♠x without duplication of value in trump , you are making a too unilateral decision as partners hand is the “great unknown’”. By bidding , you are giving partner one more chance to describe her hand. Convert for penalty with disappointing cards for partner i.e. in their suit. Double game swings really hurt. In matchpoints , I pass 4♠x hoping for a plus rather than bidding at the 5 level for a possible minus. Do not confuse the two games.

In rubber bridge , the same type of thinking applies. At 5 cents a point you are risking very little money to protect against shelling out a substantial amount of money for a possible disaster. In IMPS or rubber Bridge, you bid one more just in case it makes or just in case they have a freak that makes. Leave the pin point doubles to the matchpoint hounds who must make the right decision. You do not have that accuracy obligation as the game of IMPS allows you the luxury of not taking the chance. Taking out cheap insurance is exactly that – cheap insurance.