2008-06-24
17:52
Hand Evaluation - HCP ( Fixation )
PITBULLS:
Experts use hand
evaluation concepts to evaluate a Bridge hand ,
last of
which are totaling HCP’s. Totaling HCP’s are just a guide & nothing more. Bidding is more than just totaling HCP’s despite what the garbage opener doctrine dictates. Here is a hand where lack of hand
evaluation skills stuck out like a sore thumb in a local duplicate game. ♠AKJ109x ♥AQ ♦x ♣K1087 . Three pairs were in 4♠ making 5 for
+650 & the rest of the field were +200
in 3♠ making 5. The auction went at most tables 1♠-P-1NT-P 3♠-P-P-P . I did a check on the board & determined a
couple of the
three E/W players who were +650. One was Lee Barton who played the board
against Susan & I , one was Peter Jones & the
other was not identified ( later discovered as Barry Pritchard ) . Barton & Jones chose a different bid than
a 3♠ rebid. The rest of the field were “one dimensional” & fixated on only HCP’s.
OK , let’s
analyze this hand ♠AKJ109x ♥AQ ♦x
♣K1087 . Using only the Goren
HCP system ,
this hand is a 3♠ rebid as you only have 17 HCP’s
Gerald. Yes , Rita would
rebid 3♠ with this hand as that is the only hand evaluation criteria she
knows. Players like Barton & Peter Jones thought this hand was too strong for a 3♠ rebid so
why ? The Tormentees have read many articles presenting the notion
there are other hand evaluation criteria
used for evaluating a hand besides
HCP’s. Some articles zero in on suit quality . “Bridge is a game of
suits” . If you have a nice solid suit
, we advised to upgrade
your hand. ♠AKJ109x does
not get much better as far as suit quality is concerned.
Other articles zeroed in on controls & quick tricks. We advised
that all HCP’s are not created equal.
Controls should be upgraded over
queens & jacks. Quick trick combinations should be upgraded as opposed to unsupported kings , queens &
jacks. This hand has a wealth of controls
& the only queen is in a quick trick combination. This hand has 4 defensive quick trick’s
which in itself propels this hand past the invitational range. 10’s & spot card’s have been brought up in some articles as a means to
promote a Bridge hand. This hand has
nice spot cards.
Literally hundreds of articles have
been sent to the Tormentees on hand patterns. We
have advised that some hand patterns play better than
others. The offensive hand patterns should promote
a hand upwards over the balanced hand patterns. We said pay particular
attention to the 5-5 hand patterns & the 6-4 hand patterns as they are way more powerful than the balanced ones like
5-3-3-2 , 6-3-2-2 or even 7-2-2-2. This hand is a powerful 6-4 distribution which promotes the hand even further past the
invitational range.
The last reason for not bidding 3♠ with this hand is systemic.
Since we play the multi 3♣ strong jump shift ,
our 3 spade invitational rebids are lighter than
standard & more suit orientated.
With a good 14 HCP’s in controls & a good suit ,
the hand qualifies for an invitational hand
& a jump rebid in your suit. This particular hand above can be
easily described with a 3♣ jump shift followed by a relay to 3♦ by responder & a fast arrival to 4♠ to
emphasize suit quality & your minimum for a strong jump shift. This hand fits your system perfectly.
All articles on hand evaluation concepts point to this hand as being too strong for a 3♠ rebid. This is of course you do not bid like Rita & are a slave to the HCP system. 100’s of articles
on hand evaluation by yours truly & Bridge authors for 70 years repeatedly
tried to discourage that horrible Bridge habit though. If just totaling HCP’s were bidding , we would not
need to write any articles
on hand evaluation. Bridge would be
a boring pastime of just totaling HCP’s. The horrible practice of garbage openers is based on HCP fixation and the democracy
of HCPS . They are all equal
value for these garbage opening zealots
and very democratic . Just total them & open. Who
in the F… needs quick tricks ! Appalling ignorance of the game of Bridge !
Here is a hand where a well known slave to the HCP system cannot break her bad habit of just totaling her HCP’s. ♠10x ♥KJ98 ♦Ax
♣AQ109x With her 14 HCP’s & two doubletons her hand evaluates to 16 HCP the Goren way. However, take another look
at the quality of her HCP’s and their location like Culbertson would. Location
, location & location is more than just a real estate truism. She has
almost all controls in quick trick combinations & a source of tricks in a nice ♣ suit..
They are located in her long suits with
an extra 109 included in the mix. She has 3 quick tricks that make up her 14
HCP’s , so should she bid it the same as a 12 HCP or a bad 14 HCP opener or upgrade her
hand ? She opened 1♣ , they overcalled 1♦ & I bid 1♥. Her RHO bid 1♠
so she has only one Ace in their suit with all the rest of her points
concentrated in her suit & partners. This
is a clear cut 3♥ invitational bid in my opinion , taking into
account hand evaluation indicators other than totaling HCP’s. . Partner holds ♠Kxx ♥AQxxxx ♦xx ♣Kx so +1430 is lay down on any lead. A 2♥ was made
because true to her upbringing , “I had only 14 HCP
Gerald ! ”. Totaling HCP’s is not the only Bridge hand evaluation indicator !!!! In
fact a cold vul game +650 would be missed opposite ♠xx ♥Axxxxx ♦xxx ♣Kx . Is partner supposed to make a game try with this or
worse a 5 card ♥ suit where +620 is odds on ?
Here is one of Chris Buchanans’ favourite stories involving the quality
of HCP’s. He was playing against a team in the GNT where a well
known advocate of garbage openers was playing. He
was known to brag that he
did not need quick tricks to open . Bergen was his Bridge hero . These Bridge types are usually a slave to
the HCP system also as Chris’s story proves. Chris was in 4th
seat vul ,
he was dealt a flat aceless hand in queens &
jacks totaling 14 HCP . Chris said he just stared at this collection but could
not believe that it totaled 14 HCP. After long thought ,
he decided to pass it out. At the other table ,
our hero evaluated the same hand but
upwards & promoted it to a strong
NT ! Unsuspecting partner with 9 HCP , bid 3NT . The
opening lead and they were down 3 vul .
Why ? Go back to the Culbertson era to find your answer. Since you have the soft value market cornered ( so to
speak ) , the opponents have a lot of quick tricks. These Aces & Kings are not only “quick”
& cashable , they provide control and timing.
They led their 6 card suit , so declarer had a lot of controls to
knock out before his soft , slow tricks
could become winners. Of course , the opponents won the race so he was -300 . Our hero had 23 mostly soft points , the opponents 17 HCP in an AKxxxx
club suit & two outside Aces. They took 7 tricks !
It could have been worse though as they had a queen also
. If it were in a quick trick combination
over dummy’s king -400 J. Chris won 8 IMPS by throwing in an “opening bid “. Soft flat hands without
quick tricks are not openers
for a reason. There is Bridge logic behind it rather than Bergen advising you
to open them to make the opponents guess. Testimonials
are a poor choice to follow rather than simple Bridge logic .
In fact testimonials & what certain pros’s do can
be taken out of context & dangerous for
the inexperienced player to emulate.
Slaves to the HCP
totaling system are very weak bidders.
♠K10x ♥AKJ10xxx ♦xx
♣x , with this hand you cannot open 4♥ as you have an
outside control. You open 1♥ instead & partner responds 1♠. Evaluating your hand via tricks rather than totaling HCP’s the spade response has filled in your
hand so you now bid 4♥. Our hero rebid 2♥ as he only had 11 HCP’s Gerald. His partner decided not to move with a
soft 10 HCP over a mere 2♥ rebid so of course game was missed. The same player with ♠x ♥AKx
♦K109xxx ♣Kxx overcalled a 1♣ opener with 1♦. LHO bid 1♥ , partner freely bid 1♠ & they raised to 2♥. Our hero
totaled his HCP’s & came to 13 so he passed. Look at the quality of these
HCP ( quick tricks ) & the location of the
♣K !! Counting your losers the Klinger way , you have 6 which is a very strong
hand . You bid 3♦ to tell partner of your playing strength
rather than your HCP total. Now it’s partner’s turn to use hand evaluation ♠Axxxxx ♥xx ♦Axxx
♣x is a powerful 6-4 distribution
with 2 quick tricks , 4 trump & a stiff in the
opponents suit. Counting possible tricks your hand is immense. 6♦ tricks , maybe a couple of ♣ ruffs is 8 tricks &
the spade Ace is 9. You are two short of making game when partner freely bid 3♦ with only ♠x ♥xxx
♦Kxxxxx ♣xxx . Give partner two
½ tricks more tricks , you are in the slam range ! The final contract was 4♦ making 6 for
170.
A good rule to
follow is to give preference to get preference.
Our hero held ♠J1098xx ♥x ♦x
♣AJxxx & partner opens 1♣ & they overcall 1♦ in your stiff. You
bid 1♠ & partner bids 1NT . They bid 2♦ so of course
you conceal your 5 card fit with partner & bid 3♠. You have a nice playing
hand (6-5) with the biggest feature of your hand is a 5 card fit
with partner which you never mention. This makes it very difficult to reach your
cold vul 5♣ game. When you support partner & she has spades
you will hear a preference. So job complete. Going back to the same
theme of totaling HCPs rather than counting tricks ( losers ) . ♠A10xx ♥AKQxxx
♦Jx ♣x so you open 1♥. They overcall 2♦ everybody passes so you re-open with 2♥. They bid 3♦ so partner
competes to 3♥. Count your losers the Klinger way rather than totaling your HCP’s to
make your decision. You have a powerful
6-4 so your loser count is only 5 . You
need partner to come up with 2 tricks to
make game. In IMPS , stopping in a 3 level partial expecting
partner to come up with only a total of one trick
for you is a bad gamble. Partner indeed came up with two tricks so your gamble
was -10 IMPS. Players who stubbornly will not change from just
totaling HCP’s to make their Bridge decisions will remain
perpetual beginners. I guess they must be right at all costs including ignoring
bad result , after bad result. Bridge is a trick taking game & totaling HCP’s seems to only work well
in NT contracts.