Sunday, October 17, 2004 9:42 PM

Hand Evaluation - Looking For Cues

 

PITBULLS:

 

            Playing forcing pass theory , you must look for the cues or triggers that turn on forcing passes . The hand evaluation concept of “ownership” of auctions enters the picture. Forcing passes & their implications are a huge part of Bridge for expert partnerships. It is a way of making joint decisions in high level competitive auctions instead of one partner just taking a guess. Honing in on the nuances of auctions that switch on forcing passes for your side is a must. Analyze the bidding during progress to determine ownership. Cue #1 is vulnerability with a vul game bid by your side.   An opponent vul opened a Flannery 2♦ with ♠xxxx ♥AKxxx ♦AKx ♣x  , my  nv partner overcalled 3♣. They leaped to 4♥ so I bid 5♣ . It seems like our side is sacrificing based on the vulnerability. What should the Flannery  bidder do ? Partner bid a vul game so it’s your hand. If you own the hand,  forcing pass theory applies . The opponents bidding your stiff  makes your hand better so you want to encourage partner to bid 5♥ . A pass is forcing & conveys the message “ partner I would like you to bid 5♥ “ A double says the 5 level belongs to the opponents partner . A 5♥ bid with a systemic auction is just not allowed as partner knows your hand already. With this hand partner declines the invitation with her minimum so 5♣X goes for 500.

 

            Maurice had ♠Qxxx ♥Qx ♦AKJ10xx ♣x  against Peter Jones & partner . The auction went 1♣-P-1♥-2♦  by Maurice vul vrs not at the two level, I cue bid  2♥. This Q bid  combined with a two level overcall means that it is our hand so forcing passes apply ( Cue #2 )  . Peter Jones bid 4♣ ( pre-emptively )  , his partner bids 4♥ so I contract for a vul 5♦ game .  Peter Jones bids 5♥ so what should Maurice do ? He should double at the speed of light saying he has a dog so let’s just take our plus. We get our +500 so on to the next hand. A forcing pass by Maurice shows an invite to 6♦ with a heart control.

 

            Another Maurice auction . He held ♠AQxx ♥A ♦J109x ♣KJ10x  , RHO opened 1♥ so he doubled . The auction went 2♥ , 4♠ vul by me so around to the 2♥ bidder who now decided to bid 5♥ . I passed  around to Maurice. Forcing passes apply , so what should Maurice do ? I said I wanted to bid 5♠ with my pass . Maurice  accordingly bids 5♠ , they need to find a ruff to beat 6♠ as I held ♠Kxxxx ♥xxx ♦KQxxx ♣void . 5♥ doubled only goes for +300.

 

            Do not forget forcing pass theory in these kind of auctions also. 

 

4♦-P-P-X 

P-4♥-P-P

 5♦-X      The opponents were willing to play in a partial but are bidding again. We bid a vul game so its our hand with forcing pass theory applying. I doubled saying I wanted no part of 5♥  .   If I passed ,  it shows a willingness to bid 5♥ . With my partners hand ,  we should be close to making 6♥. I would pass with  ♠Qxx ♥KQxxxx ♦xx ♣xx  saying I would like to bid 5♥.  Partner   held ♠AKxx ♥Axx ♦x ♣AKxxx   , 1430 would be lay down .   I doubled with my hand ♠xxx ♥QJxxx ♦xxx ♣xx  warning  that 5♥ is not the spot.

 

            Cue #3 is  where passes are forcing from one side only . This is where one partner has indicated a huge hand by opening 2♣ or made a takeout double followed by bidding game single handedly  vul . A takeout double or even an overcall with a Q bid can turn on “one way” forcing passes. The big hands pass is forcing on the little hand but not vice versa. The pass by the hand who never “attended the party “ is not forcing on the big hand. The pass has the old fashioned meaning that “I am broke”. The double by the little hand means I am not entirely broke.

 

 The auction went      1♦-X-1♥-P  

 2♥-4♠-5♥-?      I doubled & jumped to game vulnerable against not vul , they bid

 5♥.              Tom had xx xxx xxxx A9xx so doubled to tell me that he can contribute

something to this auction. The double helped me so I took the vul push, was doubled & made an overtrick.  What if Tom held ♠xx ♥xxx ♦xxxx ♣xxxx  ?   He would pass 5♥ so I would act accordingly that he is probably broke over there.

 

What if our auction went a little differently ?.  Same auction but instead of LHO bidding 5♥ , RHO bids 5♥ . Now the huge hand makes a forcing pass to partner . The little hand must do something. With Toms first hand ♠xx ♥xxx ♦xxxx ♣A9xx , the Ace would tip the scale in favour of  a 5♠ bid . With the 2nd hand ♠xx ♥xxx ♦xxxx ♣xxxx  he must double ! Partner doubled &  contracted for 10 tricks vul , passed a 5 level decision around to you. You can not shirk your responsibility

 

            These hands came up recently but there was a common thread among all of the above hands. Not once was the forcing pass element picked up at the table so wrong decisions were made every time. This means that the cues that turn on forcing passes via ownership are being missed. People who are used to playing with weak partners have trouble with forcing pass theory. They miss out on the joint decisions that forcing pass theory brings to the partnership. Ignoring forcing pass theory means that you must make the decision for the partnership single handedly , so very bad results usually follow. In important decisions , both hands should contribute to the final result. Strong auctions by your side i.e. 2/1 , game forcing strong jump shifts , penalty doubles , 2/1 in competition or as a passed hand and game reached all turn on forcing passes via ownership.  Bridge is a partnership game.