Sunday, January 09, 2005 1:58 AM

Hand Evaluation - New Concepts

 

PITBULLS:

 

            Experts say the older you get the harder it is to change. Learning is defined as changing your behavior. I love learning so never tire of it . I feel sorry for people who feel they no longer need to learn. Their attitude is preventing them from enjoying one of life’s pleasures. I can not even imagine being so good in a hobby or sport that I no longer need to learn . Being perfect at something must be such a bore !

 

            I started playing Bridge at the U of A in 1965 a mere 42 years ago. About 6 years ago in Thursday nite games ,  Peter Jones suggested I switch to upside down count and attitude. I could see the logic behind it but I have been playing standard count & attitude for 36 years. I agreed to give it a try so for the next 4 Thursday nites I most have blown 40 IMPS in the transition process. Over time I finally got the hang of it & now it is so ingrained  I have trouble with standard count & signals. Time and practice , even us old guys can change.

 

            Next was KCB . Tom & Maurice played 1430 so I switched from 0314 which I played for years with Peter Jones. In the heat of battle , you revert to old habits so I chucked about 30 IMPS before I got changed around. I now have that concept engrained in my old brain. Switching to the old way would probably be difficult for me now. Changing to 3rd & 5th cost BJ Trelford the same number of IMPS that Jones lost.

 

            For over 3 decades , I was playing American style Q bidding but I was quite aware that the Italian style was superior. When I read an article by Fred Gittleman on the advantages of “serious 3NT” & coming with the territory of “serious 3NT” were Italian Q bids. I liked the idea so I taught the Pitbulls. We all changed & we had growing pains as this style of Q bidding was a drastic change from what we were accustomed . Now if you talk to Susan , Pat or Kiz , the Italian style of Q bidding is 2nd nature & we bid 3NT as a slam try instead of single handedly leaping to 4NT Blackwood.

 

Bidding concepts or signaling concepts like the above are far different than learning new Bridge conventions. Bridge conventions can be just plain memory work but concepts are different. Old guys like me must unlearn things to use new concepts.   Time , trial by fire , making mistakes , correcting mistakes are the only way to get concepts ingrained. Partners & yourself must be patient & tolerate initial mistakes . Rome was not built in a day.  Concepts like applying patterns that you have memorized take time & a conscious effort by you to give them a try. Try taking small steps first , like only applying them for the opponents trump suit. You have  AJxx of trump with 3 on the dummy & they play 5 card majors . 5-4-3-1 is said to yourself so you know partner has a singleton spade , so it is silly to bounce with your Ace when declarer leads a small spade from the board.

 

            Forcing pass theory is absolutely necessary for good Bridge. However , it is more than saying that you understand that a pass is forcing. Playing with my regular partners , I know they miss the auctions where forcing passes are applicable. This is because like a broken radio , they do not have their tuning capacitors picking up the frequencies. You must know all the auctions & scenarios where these apply & tune into them. It is especially hard for them when they are used to playing with weak partners so they have to make decisions for both sides of the table in high level competitive auctions. Forcing passes were designed to prevent that , so you must be aware of the auctions that you own the hand. Forcing pass theory is “turned on” by the ownership of the auction .

 

            D.S.I.P. doubles which my partners  & I play are a quantum leap . We are so used to penalty doubles meaning “business” that we must be carefully tuned into every auction. Penalty doubles say “do not bid partner” while D.S.I.P, doubles are just the opposite “please bid “ unless you have a reason not to. D.S.I.P. doubles are risky because if partner is not tuned into your wavelength you can guarantee disaster. Tom told me he once made a great D.S.I.P. double. However , he was playing with Klimo at the time who does not play them so 10 IMPS flew away J

 

       Smith echos are an excellent tool for the defense when declarer first attacks or runs his suit you use your cards for Smith echo purposes rather than just count. Also the fact that you can Smith echo on your own before needs training & awareness requires effort. The effort required to watch partners spots when declarer is merely running or attacking his suit for Smith echo information takes concentration & training. These skills are not acquired over night !

 

            Signals based on “known count” take concentration. In all “known count “ situations where partner has pre-empted , overcalled , showed 4 trump by making a limit raise , 3 cards for simple major raises , opening a 5 card major middle encourages so the high & low cards are suit preference. This method of signaling also apples when there is a singleton on the board . This signaling concept takes practice before it is 2nd nature.

        

            Do not try to learn too many new concepts at the same time. Walk before you run so leave D.S.I.P. doubles , “Serious 3NT” & “Kickback” to the experts to screw up. We will not disappoint you.