Monday, June 12, 2006 1:22 AM
Hand Evaluation – Tactics ( Vulnerability
)
PITBULLS:
Discipline in Bridge
is defined as sound opening bids ,
quick tricks for opening bids ,
sound pre-empts with no cards on the outside , 2 level overcalls showing a good
suit with an opening bid range , lead directing overcalls at the one level. T/O
doubles are shape with values in the opening bid or higher range. This
discipline imparts partnership trust
& confidence which results in accurate bidding & penalty doubles of the opponents. D.S.I.P. double theory is based on discipline.
Terrorists
who do not subscribe to any of the above ignore partner as their sole objective is to “get the opponents” . They play “single
handed” Bridge with the result justifying
the means. Their partner is the 3rd
opponent who gets in the way of their grand plan to con
the opponents all the time. We all
are aware of this type of Bridge & realize that these tactics only work sometimes. The reason of course is the laws of probability. The opponents may get
you & if they do not, partner will trip you
up in the long run.
However , nobody can argue that these tactics do work sometimes. Getting the first shot
in with a non opening bid quite often throws a monkey wrench in the works. A
bad pre-empt sometimes works as does a bad
2 level overcall or overcall at the one level. You take bidding room away from
the opponents or “luck out” if
you find partner with a huge fit
for your meager suit. You need luck
on your side, so
Bridge is relegated to slot machine status.
I
feel the mathematics of Bridge
justifies terrorism in one vulnerability
scenario only. If you are nv vrs vul, keeping the
opponents out of their vul game or slam at the expense of nv undertricks undoubled or not is a winning tactic. Jerry Marshall & Hendrick
Sharples do not
have it quite right with their two convention card system. They have one
convention card for being vulnerable & one when they are not. I feel you
should have one style & convention card for all vulnerabilities except the one mentioned above.
You
hold ♠x ♥Kxx ♦KJxxxxx ♣xx in 1st
seat nv vrs vul .
This is a 3♦ bid. Yes ,your suit is very
bad & you have an outside king but the vulnerability
makes it the correct bid. On all other vulnerabilities ,
this is a clear cut pass. You have
♠xxx ♥x ♦xxx ♣AKJ10xx , they open vul & you are nv. This all of
a sudden becomes a 2♣ overcall. You are short of
a 2♣ overcall at any other vulnerability but partner must give you leeway at this one
vulnerability. You hold ♠AKQ10xx ♥xx ♦Jx ♣Jxx in 1st with this vulnerability, this is a 1♠ opening despite your
lack of defense. ♠KQx ♥A10xxx ♦Jx ♣Qxx is a 1♥ opener with this
vulnerability & a pass at any other vulnerability.
I
feel that Bridge discipline should take a
beating at this terrorist vulnerability. It already does when the
opponents own the hand or when
partner is a passed hand but this
is the 3rd case. Fielding
partners bids should be the order of the day. Since
partner may not have
the quick tricks normally required for an opening bid
or be very light , D.S.I.P. theory for penalty doubles
is required. However , you should need the opponents
booked in your own hand
for a D.S.I.P. double on the terrorist vulnerability. Rodwell & Meckstroth play this terrorist style on all vulnerabilities due to their forcing club system. They feel that they do
not need a real opening bid as their 1♣ bid somehow protects them. I feel
their style might have some merit in this one vulnerability. Fielding bids &
sniffing the air adds to your worries
on this one vulnerability , but it may be worth the aggravation. I would like to
give it a try.
My
partner is well known for his disciplined openers & pre-empts. However , on the terrorist
vulnerability he bids just like anybody
else. Just last Thurday nite he held ♠AJxx ♥K1098 ♦xxx ♣Ax nv vrs vul.
On some vulnerabilities , he would just pass this hand
becomes opening 1♦ on 3 small is not his style. However, on the terrorist
vulnerability, he opens 1♥ as he has 2 ˝ quick
tricks with both majors. Nv vrs
vul ,
he held ♠xx ♥Axxxxxx ♦xx ♣xx so any vulnerability other than the
terrorist vulnerability, this is not a 3♥ pre-empt. However, on this
vulnerability he opens 3♥ , we get to a fairly
decent 6♥ slam. They need to find the correct opening lead
& if they do , 6♥ needs a 2-2 break.
Not a bad slam. On another board, he held the dreaded 7-2-2-2 again with
♠xx ♥xx ♦QJ109xxx ♣xx . This is not a
pre-empt in accordance with his normal high standards , however he is nv vrs vul
so he opens 3♦. Against one of the Tormentees
at another table ,
this pre-empt worked to keep them out of their cold vul grand slam
as they raised to 4♦ before the auction
started. The end justifies the means on the terrorist
vulnerability.