Monday, February 21, 2005 10:09 PM

Hand Evaluation – Partnership ( Partnership Bridge )

PITBULLS:

In my mind anyway , the worst Bridge crime is single handed bidding. This means making a decision from one side of the table only by not seeking input from partner. Sometimes this solo effort is blatant , sometimes it is subtle but nevertheless it almost always leads to disaster. Bridge is a partnership game.

Here is a hand that is blatant single handedness by a good player against Kiz & Susan . Our hero opened 1NT , Kiz bid 2♣ which in their system shows a single suited hand. RHO bids 2♦ so you have ♠Kx ♥Q98xx ♦AJx ♣AJx therefore you assume Kiz is showing a single suited spade suit. So you single handedly decide to show partner that you have 5 hearts ( violating the 1NT captaincy ) . Wrong ! Kiz has ♥AKJ10xx of hearts for her bid so you get doubled for a 10 IMP loss. Interestingly enough they also played in hearts at our table at the 4 level in hearts the other way ( down 5 ) .

Here is a more subtle form of single handed bidding by yours truly which also squandered an opportunity for a 12 IMP pickup. ♠AKJ10xx ♥xx ♦xx ♣AKJ in 3^rd seat everybody vul you open 1♠ , LHO overcalls 2♥ with partner bidding 3♥ & RHO doubling. You assume you have two quick heart losers so you leap to 4♠. Wrong ! Why make the decision from one side of the table only ? Pass & see what partner does ! He holds ♠Qxx ♥void ♦AKxxx ♣1098xx so redoubles to show first round control. +1430 in spades is now very simple to attain. Not inviting partner to the party is blatant single handed bidding.

Your are down in the match & you need a blitz to win the Swiss teams . Everybody vul , you hold ♠Ax ♥Ax ♦xx ♣AKQJ10xx , the auction goes P-P-2♥-? This auction is partially a balancing auction as the table has given you some information. The weak 2♥ bidder shows 5-10 HCP on average so give him the median HCP of 7. You have 18 so you have 25 HCP accounted for. There are 15 HCPs left between the two passed hands. What if partner has 10 of the outstanding HCP’s ? You can construct many 10 HCP hands where 12 tricks or even a 13 trick contract would be lay down. Just AQJ ( 7 HCP’s ) of diamonds or KQ of spades & king of diamonds ( 8 HCP ) would make 6NT a 50% contract. It is best to “right side” this hand to protect partner’s diamond holding or hearts from a direct heart lead. You have a conventional toy of a Q bid which asks partner to bid 3NT with a stopper in their suit. So you bid 3♥ & hear partner bid 3NT . Now what ? Do you singlehandedly bid 6NT because you need the blitz ? No , let partner have his say in this decision. Bid 4NT as partner knows the state of the match just as well as you do. He will bid 6NT if you have hit him with the 10 HCP you want. You must hold 9 or 10 tricks to invite so your bid is descriptive. Not inviting with a 4NT bid is a common single handed error.

Bridge is a partnership game where you communicate by bidding to make a mutual decision - so never forget that !! Even swinging for a blitz , let partner in on the secret.