Tuesday, July 22, 2008 7:41 pm

Hand Evaluation - Poor Fitting Hands ( HCP’s )

PITBULLS:

          Still another way to use the opponent's bidding as stepping stones to good hand evaluation is to evaluate HCP's in their suit. When the opponents bid , a real estate principle comes into effect. Location , location & location. There is duplication of value involved even with controls in their suit. Why ? because " their HCP's" do not fit well with the rest of your hand. If your HCP's were elsewhere , the trick taking potential of your hand increases. This is small duplication of value but duplication nevertheless. Good hand evaluation takes this concept into consideration.

           Two hands that came up in Las Vegas dramatically show this concept even though the HCP's in the opponents suit were the AK !! ♠AKxx ♥xxxx ♦x ♣Jxxx . Partner makes a vulnerable T/O double of 2♠ , so your bid ? Seven of your HCP's are in their suit opposite partner's known shortness. Your HCP's do not fit well with partners hand. I would bid 2NT Llebenoshl & try to play the hand in 3♥ . If the ♠AK were elsewhere , I would make an invitational bid. The player who held this hand made an invitational bid of 3♥ & when he tried to make the contract , went down 4 vul.

            Another hand that shows the same principle ♠AJxx ♥Axx ♦AKx ♣Qxx . The player in accordance with his own methods opened 1♣ ( we would open 1♦ as it is a stronger suit & showing where you live) . The opponents bid 2♦ so around to him in the balancing seat. What are the danger signals for bidding again ? Partner does not have a hand suitable for a negative double is obviously one. With your ♦AK , partner does not have a penalty trap is another. The fact that you opened a weak 3 card club suit sets partner up for failure if she bids 3♣. You have a defensive hand pattern (4-3-3-3) & to return to your "suit" partner must bid at the 3 level. However , the main deterrent is that seven of your  HCP's are in their suit. This means your hand does not fit well. You double anyway & partner bids 3♣ & you go down 3 vul for a huge 10 IMP swing as your team mates went down in 2♦. With the 5 strikes against bidding with this hand , all experts would choose a pass & quietly defend. They did pass 2♦ at the other table with a slightly different auction. There are two ways of getting a plus in Bridge, defending & bidding , not just bidding.

            Let’s take the same hand & put the equivalent of the ♦AK elsewhere in your hand . ♠AJxx ♥AKx ♦xxx ♣AQx  Same distribution & HCP's & controls, we would always re-open with this hand. With this hand , 3♣ has a play instead of 3 down just by moving HCP's around ! RHO has horrible spade spots ♠xxxx so if he held the ♣Kx , you take 4 clubs , 3 spades & 2 ♥ for making 3♣ !! Bidding is more than totalling HCP's. Bidding is evaluating your HCP's or bidding the hand you have. Modern bidders just bid & do not bother with hand evaluation concepts. Modern bidders usually ignore danger signals & take unwarranted risks just for the sake of bidding. We call that bad bidding while others rationalize & call it modern bidding.  You do not bid your hand but gamble that partner has the right cards to rescue you from yourself.