Sunday, August 20, 2006 11:42 PM

Hand Evaluation – Tactics ( 4th Seat )

 

PITBULLS:

 

            My partners and I have 5 card majors ticked on our convention card. In 3rd & 4th seat we have both 4 & 5 card majors checked off . Why ?  Hand evaluation enters the picture since you are also  taking into consideration  that partner is a passed hand. Game is not impossible when you just have an opener opposite a passed hand but it is remote , so you may not even buy the hand. Experts show where they live for lead directing & hand evaluation purposes ( duplication of value ) . If this involves bidding a 4 card major , this is routinely done in 3rd or 4th chair.

 

            You have this hand in 4th seat ♠AQJ10 ♥xx ♦Kxx ♣KJxx . In 1st & 2nd seat you open 1♣ & let nature take its course. In 3rd or 4th seat opening 1♣ is poor hand evaluation. Your spade suit is where you live so is the focal point of this hand. The quality of the suit allows you to promote it to a 5 card suit . If the opponents buy the hand , you want a spade lead so if partner makes a penalty double , you want her to  be short in spades.

 

            Opening a 4 card major in 3rd/4th seat has a surprisingly pre-emptive value. The person who opened this hand 1♣ was lucky as had the north-south hands had been switched they had a 1♥ overcall . This would have forced the hand to the 3 level as they can make 3♥. A 1♠-P-2♠-P auction makes it too rich for the balancers to crawl in at the 3 level vul. You have Drury sequences in 3rd & 4th seat which can allow you play some nice Moyseans at the two level. This suit actually will make a Moysean a very desirable contract.

 

            Opening 1♣ with that particular spade suit allows you to be susceptible to pre-empts or just plain losing your spade suit with overcalls. Say you open one club , LHO bid 3♦ & pass around to you . Partner cannot negative double so you pass also. Partner has ♠Kxxxxx ♥xx ♦ xx ♣Qxx  or even better hands so you can make +140 or +620 in spades. To add insult to injury , they make 3♦ .

 

            Hand evaluation means adjusting your bidding in accordance with seat position & to the feature of your hand. Rote rules are made to broken when the hand or seat position dictates it. Yes , you play 5 card majors but do not be so rigid. Hand evaluation & judgment is what makes a Bridge player. Work on those two aspects of your game.