Thursday, September 16, 2010

Hand Evaluation – HCP’s ( Potential )

PITBULLS:

        Bridge is a trick taking game. The object of the game is to take as many tricks as possible. During the first couple of decades of Bridge , players bid their hands by advertising their trick taking potential to each other. The HCP concept was not invented until the late 1940's  when players were taught that totaling HCP's were the be all & end all of Bridge bidding. A serious Bridge mistake ! HCP's are to augment bidding & hand evaluation skills not replace them. Many Bridge players are slaves to the HCP system & cannot "see the forest for the trees" for evaluating tricks. They think bidding is all about HCP's when bidding is actually assessing the trick taking potential of the hand both for defense & offense. This is why trick taking potential must be assessed at the opening bid stage of Bridge.

        Luckily our Bridge ancestors prior to the HCP days taught us how to examine the trick taking potential of a hand. They told us how to evaluate prime HCP's called quick trick combinations. They taught us to appreciate suits & distribution to evaluate trick taking potential . They knew that cards in quick trick combinations produced or had the potential to produce more tricks than cards that were softer or were not in quick trick combinations. They did not total HCP's in those days ( not invented )  , they totaled tricks on which an opening bid was based. This is where the quick trick requirement for an opening bid came from & is still a requirement for an opening bid even after HCP's were introduced.

        A hand came up recently where our Bridge ancestors would have no problem reaching a 6♦ slam for +1370 . Opener held ♠x ♥AKxxxx ♦Axxx ♣xx & opened 1♥ . This player,  like I do bids weaker 6-4's by rebidding the 6 card suit instead of the 4 card suit. Is this a weak hand though ? Our Bridge ancestors would not think so & neither do I . The 6 card suit is headed by prime cards AK & the 4 card suit by an Ace. The losing  trick count scheme made popular by Rod Klinger says to count losers only by the first three cards in your suits . This hand has 6 losers which according to him ( see his chart ) & our Bridge ancestors qualifies for a strong opener !

        Let’s test their thinking via the HCP way. Put ♦Kxxxx & two Aces in partner's hand & 7♦ is cold with normal breaks. This is a 22 HCP grand slam evaluating hands the HCP way. This cannot be right as you need 37 HCP for a grand slam via the HCP route ! Obviously there are other ways to evaluate a Bridge hand . All HCP's are not created equal & quick tricks & location of quick tricks must elevate the trick taking potential of a hand. This player would bid 2♦ with ♠A ♥KJxxxx ♦AJxx ♣QJ because she had 16 HCP's . This hand is a lot weaker in trick taking potential  ( 7 losers ) than the 11 HCP hand.

        Anyway when the opener bidder assesses her quick tricks properly , she bids 2♦. This brings 4♦ KCB from partner & +1370 is reached pushing the result from the Bartons at the other table. Say you bid 2♥ though after a spade response from partner. Partner holds ♠AJ109x ♥Q ♦K109x ♣AKx which is also a hand rich in prime cards ( quick tricks ) . These cards have slam potential so it is best to bid naturally to find your best fit. Say you make the bizarre bid of 3♣ which seems to have no purpose & quite single handed , but since it is the lowest ranking suit you give partner a chance to describe her hand. You than can master mind the final contract when partner co-operates. The opening bidder does not cooperate though by bidding her hand pattern. Even though she rebid hearts initially planning to show her 4 card suit later describing a "weak" 6-4 partner , she does not bid 3♦.  Neither side at no time bid diamonds during the auction  which makes reaching 6♦ difficult to say the least. A 3♦ bid says another thing on these auctions. Since your HCP's are prime , it is best to "right side" the NT from the other side. This is why bidding is not just totaling your HCP's it is evaluating your HCP's.  

        From my experience , single handed bidders always refuse to bid their hand patterns & describe their hands to partner. They want to control the auction so they have an aversion to describing their hand as that transfers captaincy to partner. This means that Bridge would have to be a partnership game because you allow partner to have her say. No , having a partner does not enter our mind. Partner is a needless complication. For those who wish to improve their Bridge game , you can define bad bidding as the devious way of keeping partner out of the decision making process. Bidding just becomes a series of taking single handed shots. Casino bidding anyone ?