2008-04-06 02:53
Hand Evaluation – Mentoring
PITBULLS:
The
obvious objective of Bridge bidding is to describe
your hand to partner. if you have already
described your hand to partner , bidding
your same values all over again is “old
news” . A Tormenttee held ♠Q10x ♥109x ♦KQ10x ♣AKx
& opened 1♦ . Partner bid 2♣
so she made the good bid of 2NT which describes her hand as a flat 14 HCP. Excellent start to the
auction but partner bids 3♥ so now bidding 3NT is old news . Partner already knows that you
have a flat 13-14 HCP’s. What she
does not know is that you have ♣AKx of partners suit. However , you do repeat yourself
& bid 3NT which is of course, old news. Over 3NT partner bids 4♥ which shows a 6-5 or
better in partner’s two suits & a slam try as you do not pull 3NT without
slam interest most of the time. Partner still does know
that you have ♣AKx
of her suit so you bid 5♣. Partner
bids 6♣ & claims . Once you have already
described your hand to partner with an initial bid , describe it further by showing your club cards & fit
. This fit for
partners suit is the great unknown
. There could be a grand
or small slam if you do support partner.
One
of the worst bidding sins is hiding your hand from partner. A
simple raise in a major shows 3 trump. I repeat a simple raise shows 3 trump. You do
not make the same bid with 5 trump as you do with 3
trump. This is hopelessly
wrong. A Tormentee held ♠xxxxx ♥x ♦Axxx ♣Qxx with the non vul opponents opening 1♥ . Partner vul overcalls 1♠
& the
opponents bid 2♥ so the 30 HCP rule comes into effect. You could bid 3♥ but that overstates
your values. Most players would show their 5 th trump via the law of total tricks & bid 4♠. Appreciate & advise partner of the trump length in her suit !! Lose a 26 IMP swing as
the opponents were allowed to play 4♥ making when you were cold
for +620 in spades for a double game swing !! The Tormentee said she only had 6 HCP !
This was very true , she did .
The very next hand ♠x ♥AKxx ♦Qxxx ♣xxxx , the auction goes 1♠-2♣-2♠
& again the 30 HCP in the deck rule comes into effect & the law of
total tricks with your 4th trump.
Do not make the same bid you would make with 3 trump
& 7 HCP & compete to 3 clubs. You have 9 HCP , rich in controls , stiff in their
suit & a 4 th
trump , Your hand evaluates to a 3♠ Q bid taking the non HCP factors into
the decision. This hand makes 6♣ so you lose a 24 IMP swing as you may have reached 6♣ & the opponents only
reached 5♣. This hand was played in a 3♣ partial at your table so
lose 10 IMPS.
What
is the common thread with all
these hands ? An utter distain for hand evaluation, preferring to be a slave to the HCP system. Hand evaluation skills of evaluating trump length , duplication of value in their suit & nature of your HCPs ( controls ) & not bidding the same values you have already
shown previously in the auction. Despite
the constant & repetitive emphasis on hand evaluations skills to improve your
bidding , you cling to
HCP’s which is the poorest hand evaluation of all . Ignoring all
advice & sticking to your old habits is
not what mentoring is all about.
Each of the past 1000 articles
written start with the word “hand evaluation” so that you would think hand
evaluation instead of simply counting beads & add up your HCP’s. Refusing to buy
into hand evaluation over HCP’s
is your choice. However , please do not pretend you want to learn the game of Bridge because you do not
!!! Repeating the same mistakes when you have been advised countless
times or your specific hands
have been the subject of countless articles becomes tiresome & discouraging for the mentoring process. Stick to “fun” Bridge & enjoy your hobby . Actions speak much louder than words so improving
your Bridge is not a priority for you. There is nothing
wrong with that , as Bridge is just your hobby ! Ignoring the mentor’s
message is no fun for me at all , though.