Sunday, October 30, 2005 10:07 PM

Hand Evaluation – Partnership ( Constructive Bidding )

 

PITBULLS:

 

            Why did the dog not bark  ? Therein lies the clue to solving the mystery says Sherlock Holmes. In Bridge , the most common negative inference in competitive auctions is “why did partner not support you”  or compete when she had the chance ? The answer in almost all cases , means that she is trump deprived or HCP deprived or both. There is a reason for a pass . Missed inferences are the most common mistake of all in the game of Bridge. You just do not tune into the right frequency that fills the air waves at the Bridge table. Your partner is your most reliable source.

 

            My partner held this meager collection ♠Qx ♥QJ10x ♦10987xx ♣x  vul vrs vul opponents with a spade opener to his right. He passed & they bid 1NT which partner doubles. The opener now bids 2♣ so you compete with a 2♦ bid. With your one & only chance to bid , it is probably better to bid 2♥ , as a major is more constructive towards game. Partner obviously holds hearts on this auction but may not have diamonds. Do not be fixated on your own hand. The 1NT bidder now bids 2♠ but partner does not compete & passes. The opener bidder also passes so what is going on ? You have 5 HCP but they die in a partial at the two level. This means that the HCP’s should be evenly distributed between the two sides . This gives partner at least 15 HCP yet she did not compete to 3♦ . This should mean she is short in diamonds. She has a maximum of 3 spades on the auction & is short in diamonds. She probably has a club/heart two suiter with defense & cannot bid hearts at the 3 level due to the possible misfit.

 

            Now it’s your turn to take negative inferences into account. You are not going to compete with a double which shows defense & values. You are going to bid 3♥ which must be based on distribution since you did not double. Do you have a Q bid available as you did not double ? Yes , you do but how would partner interpret it ? Say you Q bid 3♣ . This would probably mean you have nice long diamonds so you are showing a club control for a possible NT game. ♠xx ♥xx ♦KJ1098x ♣QJx would come to mind. You want to compete again to 3♦ but invite 3NT along the way with the long diamond suit. You can not hold hearts on this auction as it is obvious partner holds that suit & you failed to bid them naturally.

 

            Partners hand is ♠AJ10 ♥AKxxx ♦void ♣Kxxxx  so certainly did not want to compete to 3♦. 6♥ is on a finesse vulnerable though. You compete to 3♥ , partner raises to 4♥ & a routine +650 results. Do not make ambiguous Q bids when you have clear cut natural bids available . A Q bid or a double quite often means you do not have a natural bid available so you grope with a Q bid. Partner is always going to take the inference that if you choose an artificial bid , it means that you do not have a natural bid at your disposal. Proper care and feeding of partner is to simplify bidding auctions. Sometimes you miss a 5-4 heart fit if you do not L. Partner was making a prepared bid with her double. She was planning to pull your 2♦ bid to 2♥ to show a heart/club two suiter. She was also describing her quick tricks with a double in case the hand is a total misfit. You may have wanted to double their contract. Let opponents play misfits.

 

          Sometimes a decision to bid means making the most practical bid that would lead to game. Sometimes you make a prepared bid in order to compete again. Many experts would bid 2♥ directly with ♦Qx ♥QJ10x ♦10987xx ♣x as making the most constructive bid towards a 4♥ game . Anticipating that they might compete to 2♠ leaves the option of you backing in 3♦ to compete. Quite often in these auctions the minor is the longer suit. Planning ahead & anticipating the opponent’s moves is where Bridge & Chess merge. Bidding naturally is constructive.

 

            Partner had another hand that shows the philosophy of always making the most constructive bid towards the objective of getting to a game. He holds ♠Kx ♥x ♦AQJ10xx ♣J109x  , RHO opens 1♠ so he overcalled 2♦ & they bid 2♠. Partner bids 3♥ which is forcing one round in accordance with your overcall style. What do you bid ? Since partner has forced you to come up with a bid , choose the practical bid. You have stoppers in both black suits so bid 3NT. A bid of 4♦ is redundant & bypasses a 9 trick game which is the holy grail when holding minors. I held ♠QJx ♥AKxxxx ♦Kx ♣xx and a 9 trick NT game is cold. If you choose to bid 4♦ , that is where you play it for a diamond partial. Why bypass 3NT if you are not forced to go beyond that level.?

 

            This theme of choosing the most practical bid towards game comes up very frequently in your decision to make a bid. A very common one is when partner makes a T/O double . You have a nice minor but you also have a stopper in their suit. Which bid is more constructive towards game ? Bid NT instead of the minor as you may get to the nice 9 trick game. If you bid your minor , 3NT might be bypassed later in the auction if the opponents disturb things. Bidding 2 of a minor is non constructive towards the objective of getting to game & ambiguous as to HCP’s & stoppers.