Tuesday, May 23, 2006 10:29 AM

Hand Evaluation - Doubles ( Pushing Opponents )

PITBULLS:

Pushing the opponents into a good game , partial or slam where they would never reach on their own is a sign of poor competitive bidding. As usual , this Bridge sin is caused by ambiguity in competitive bidding. Is partner bidding one more because she has something or is she just competing & may want to buy the contract for a small minus ? Anyway, your guess . Experts do not guess but wait for partner to double to clarify things for them.

Also, when you have super fit , the fit detracts from your side’s defensive strength. Since you have announced to them that they have no duplication of value, they bid one more. With a fit but no defense , get the auction up high fast & let sleeping dogs lay. As Garazzo says , do not enter or continue a fight that you can not win. No not “St Albert” & badly describe your hand the first time & violate captaincy to make up for it later.

The silliest way of pushing opponents into slam is when you know something they do not & they have made an ambiguous bid . Susan Culhan held ♠x ♥KQJxx ♦Jxxx ♣xxx and heard her partner open 2♥ nv vrs vul in 3^rd seat & they made an ambiguous 4♠ overcall. You have killed your partner’ s hand so you have no defense against 7♠. This is a fight you cannot win as they hold the boss suit. Susan passed & they made +680 as the passed hand to her left did not bid. . At one table , 5♥ was bid so the opponents were pushed into their +1430. Noting seat position is also a good way of not pushing them to slam . When your LHO is a passed hand , let the pre-empt do its dirty work . Pre-empts were designed to be destructive for the opponents.

People do get pushed to slams though . Susan had a 4-3-3-3 16 HCP with ♦xxx & my partner opened 1♦. She overcalled 1NT to make the most descriptive bid possible. Kiz transferred to spades & my partner bid 3♦ . Susan bid 3♠ & her partner said we own the auction by contracting for game in spades. They now bid 5♦ so doubling with nothing in diamonds is a nonsense bid. Beginners bid the same NT they have already announced but experts use the opponents to their own advantage. Susan passes 5♦ so with a strong NT opening that says no duplication of value in ♦’s partner. Kiz with her void in diamonds bids 6♠ & +1430 . Kiz did not make a slam try as she was worried about duplication of value in diamonds.

A fix for this competitive ambiguity when forcing passes do not apply is playing competitive doubles or D.S.I.P. theory. When partner has bid a couple of times but has neglected to make a double to show good defense , you quietly put the pass card on the table. A young good B player pushed the opponents into a couple of vul games recently that were not about to reach thereby ruining his partner’s competitive bidding. His partner opened 1♦ , they overcalled 2♣ . responder passed , they bid 2♥. Opener backed in 2♠ so they competed to 3♣ . Responder came alive by bidding 3♦ freely. They bid 3♥ so around to responder again. What has not happened at the table ? Opener, after bidding twice did not double to show a defensive hand. This was ignored , responder bid 4♦ so the opponents bid again & were rewarded with a cold vulnerable game.

Not playing D.S.I.P. doubles kills your ability to compete accurately. Partner reads that you have a good hand solely because you bid twice. Nonsense , he was just competing so by his failure to double , he is announcing that he is just competing. There are other ways of realizing that partner is just competing. This is the negative inference on what partner has not done earlier in the auction. A double is a clarifying bid in competitive auctions. It does not mean the opponents have bid badly. That notion is for beginners in weak games.

A Tormentee held this hand ♠KJx ♥QJ ♦xxx ♣AKxxx , everybody vul they opened 1♥ so around to her. You have some defense with a tolerance for the unbid major , shortness in their suit , so most players would double. The Tormentee bid 2♣ which is a more ambiguous bid ( weaker , longer clubs , no major tolerance ? ) . This brought 2♦ by the opening bidder & I passed. This was corrected to 2♥ so around to me again. I bid 2♠, it went 3♥ so do you bid again ? Partner never overcalled 1♠ nor did he compete over 2♦. He at no time made a competitive double. The Tormentee bid 3♠ , all passed so down 3 vul on a ruff. We ended up with an above average board because the field was getting to their +650 in hearts. In the absence of competitive doubles , you should be worried that you will push the opponents into a cold game. By partner bidding spades , he has ruined your hand defensively with the QJ of hearts being doubleton will be a welcome surprise for them. As Kenny Rogers says “know when to fold them” & use the green card. 3♥ making 5 would be a top our way. Hand evaluation & reading the table is a huge part of competitive bidding. Listening for partner’s competitive double that never came is a clue.

Do not forget that since pushing opponents into a cold game is horrible bidding , there is an inference when you do push them into game. That inference is that you own the auction , therefore forcing pass theory kicks in. 90 % of the time they end up being doubled as the balance of power is in your direction , but there are times when other forcing pass elements like the pass enter the picture.