Monday, December 06, 2010

Hand Evaluation - Forcing Pass ( Opponents Bidding )

PITBULLS:

          Eddie Kantar says that one of the factors for turning on forcing passes is the opponent's bidding. What does he mean by that ? When the opponents are pre-empting & otherwise indicating they do not own the auction , they do not. Their passed hand status & vulnerability add to the evidence that we own the auction , so forcing pass theory comes into effect.

          Some forcing pass auctions are turned on solely by the opponent's bidding . In 3rd seat , an opponent pre-empted 4♠ ( everybody vul ) & Kiz overcalled 5♣. The passed hand opponent sacrificed at the 5 level by bidding 5♠. Their passed hand & pre-emptive bidding have turned on forcing passes !!!!. 5♠ was not bid to make on this auction with partner bidding vul at the 5 level all by herself.  With ♠Qx ♥Axxx ♦xx ♣A10xxx  in Susan's hand , a 6♣ slam is highly likely . Therefore in this particular auction,  you effectively bid  6♣ by making a pass ! Partner is in a better position to make this decision as she is looking at her hand. Partner decides not to bid 6♣ which is not accepting your invitation to do so , therefore she doubles . 6♣ is one down.

            Bidding 6♣ in front of partner is single handed Bridge . You are making a single handed decision for the partnership by guessing her hand  instead of letting partner make the decision with your help. The fact that Bridge is a partnership game is why forcing pass theory was invented. Single handed Bridge decisions are just guesses. Bridge should not be played by guessing when you can ask for help from partner.  Partner should be your first thought in Bridge bidding & forcing passes help in that regard.

            I was playing with an experienced partner holding ♠A1098x ♥AQJxxx ♦x ♣A . My RHO passes & I open 1♥ . Chris Buchanan overcalls 5♦ . A passed hand coupled with a pre-emptive type bid at the 5 level should turn on forcing passes for our side. Partner has ♠KQxxx ♥x ♦Axx ♣xxxx so what should he do ? In my opinion , he should make a forcing pass with the spade suit as passing allows partner to bid . You are passing the double of course with the 5 level take your plus mentality. With my hand though ,  I bid 5♠ with partner’s green light so it just a matter of whether we reach 6♠ or 7♠. Change partners hand to ♠Jx ♥Kxxxx ♦xxx ♣Kxx so in a forcing pass auction you are not sitting for 5♦X so bid 5♥ right away. Change your hand to ♠Kx ♥Kxxxx ♦Axx ♣Jxx & you should pass 5♦. This is the pass & pull part of forcing pass theory. The only question now is 6♥ or 7♥ when you pull partners double to 5♥.

           A double in forcing pass theory is “putting the breaks” on the auction. The double says partner my hand has flaws for us making anything our way. I have duplication of value or a non fitting hand or a minimum which I would have sat for your penalty double anyway. Forcing pass theory resolves the ambiguity of a double at the 5 level. Without that forcing pass understanding , a double at the 5 level says I just have cards , not a classic penalty double . This kind of double ( card showing ) puts extreme pressure on opener to bid again as a small or grand slam might be very easy. Forcing pass theory does its job in assisting the partnership to reduce ambiguity. The double has a different meaning in forcing pass theory. My partner actually held ♠Jx ♥Kxxxx ♦K10x ♣Q10x  which is a classic penalty double saying do not bid partner ! Playing forcing pass theory, that message comes across loud & clear. Not playing forcing pass theory , it would just a straight guess whether or not to try for bigger & better things.

What would I do with this hand when LHO is not a passed hand , therefore forcing passes are not in effect ? Does the “green light” concept come into effect ? Double means stop & pass means go . No , this should not apply as partner has never been heard from & can be unlimited. He cannot pass with an unlimited hand without forcing passes being in effect. Therefore, a direct double can just mean cards. I would pass with that hand as we are not getting rich in 5♦X & a double might mislead partner as to the strength of your hand. When they are going for a number , partner will re-open with a double. When partner bids 5♥ instead you can take your +650. Not sure a pass can ever lose much in the long run. This hand goes for a number because my hand held 3 ½ quick tricks & the hearts were 1-1 & the player did not have his bid.

Penalty doubles are the default at the 5 level . Playing against weak opponents in weak fields you subscribe to “never pull my penalty doubles” . However there are auctions where you must give the devil their due. When they say they own their suit , they often do. I have found through experience that this co-operative double works best but is some cases you can get burned. Luck certainly is handy for 5 level decisions. Local knowledge & the players reputation for discipline can also be taken into consideration. Some play negative doubles thru 7♦ . I do not subscribe to that restriction but doubles of pre-empts are co-operative ( cards ) not solely trump stack. I pass solely with a trump stack as a Bridge law comes into effect. When I have length in their suit , partner does not. Therefore , in all likelihood a re-opening double is coming. Holding ♦K10x you have 11 or 12 ♦’s accounted for on the auction , so the odds of a re-opening double by partner increases. I have learned over the years not to like penalty doubles. When you analyze all the successful high level penalties that go for a huge number , partner could have doubled anyway & the contract converted for penalty. Seems a safer way to make penalty doubles , in my mind.