Friday, October 07, 2005 12:02 PM

Hand Evaluation - Show Stoppers ( count )

PITBULLS:

There are various “show stoppers” in the game of Bridge. These “show stoppers” grind the game of Bridge to a screeching halt until you perform some action. There is no delay of game penalty unless you take overly long . Nevertheless, on certain situations you must halt proceedings either as defender or declarer.

The first show stopper is when somebody shows out of a suit. You must stop & apply a pattern before the game can continue. I was playing against a tormentee tonight & I was in 5♦X . I had AJ9xx of clubs with a doubleton on the board so I laid down the club Ace. RHO dropped the King & I led another club which was won by the tormentee with his partner showing out. The game should stop at this moment & a pattern applied. In this case 5-5-2-1 , so the tormentee must know I have 5 of the suit. I got in , ran all my trump & the tormentee discarded a club ! I went down for –300 instead of –500 so won 7 IMPS.

Another show stopper is when the opponents have bid some number of NT after defining the HCP range of their hand with a NT bid . They start to cash their tricks. This is another show stopper. You go into human abacus mode & start counting HCP’s . This is a must in defending NT contracts , especially. It is not that difficult with practice. Declarer has cashed AK , an Ace & won the first trick with a King. Playing 15-17 NT, there are virtually no HCP’s left in her hand. Stop the show , while you count these HCP’s ! Counting the HCP’s as declarer will also pay dividends. You will find queens easier & lines of play will become self evident.

Another show stopper is at trick one either as defender or declarer. This is planning time. There are declarers who play the dummy at the speed of light but do not let that deter you. Put your cards face down on the table until you analyze partners lead , plugged it into a pattern & have formulated a defensive plan. Same as declarer , when the opponents have made an opening lead. This is also a show stopper. Count your tricks , analyze the lead & formulate a plan of attack.

Another show stopper is signaling . When partner is giving count stop the show & apply a pattern so you know what is going on when you are defending. As declarer , intercept these signals & apply a pattern to assist you in your play. Discards are a show stopper as they tell a story. They are usually let go from long suits & they help find queens or establish a suit.

I am not advocating slow play in Bridge but there are times when you must apply patterns but ”stop the show” until you have done so. Experts do these tasks quickly & automatically. Pausing without applying patterns is just “spinning your wheels” & wasting time. Applying patterns is how you think in Bridge. Until you have attained these “pattern” skills, you will continue to make defensive or declarer blunders. Acquire these Bridge skills as the foundation for your Bridge playing. Practice makes perfect. Try it !!