Important article

Thursday, January 25, 2007 3:39 PM

Hand Evaluation – HCPS ( OPP's Suit )

PITBULLS:

One hand evaluation skill often overlooked is bidding & evaluating your shortness in the opponent’s suit. When the opponents are in the bidding you must translate their suit into a hand pattern to assist your bidding , declarer play & defense. Taking into consideration the laws of probability, you are approaching the 30 HCP rule when you are short in the opponents suit. When you have a decision to act or not act to get into an auction , the # of cards you hold in the opponent’s suit should be the guiding factor. This is the coin toss. When you are short in their suit , do not transfer the responsibility to partner to enter the auction. Why ? because partner may be long in their suit so it would be silly for her to bid. It is your responsibility to initiate bidding with a stiff in the opponent’s suit .

The opponents are “modern garbage bidders” & open 2♠ nv vrs vul , you hold ♠x ♥KQx ♦Jxx ♣KQ109xx do you overcall ? Although I am vul, it is dangerous not to bid with the stiff spade so I overcall 3♣. In a recent Vanderbilit one pair passed so it went around to the balancing seat where partner held ♠AKQx ♥x ♦xxxxx ♣Axx . Should she bid ? Partner knows that you are short in spades & did not bid. Bidding with this hand is silly. So you pass & beat 2♠ two tricks for +100 & you have 9 tricks in NT for +600.

Change your hand & give yourself two spades or 3 spades , now it’s a silly 3 level overcall vul. Since you have identified 8 or 9 spades around the table , partner will be short in spades so if you have any game , you will be hearing from her. Voids or shortness in the opponents’ suits should be upgraded in value from the Goren evaluation for a singleton. Evaluate your hand upward. Way upward. It will work in the long run.

In competitive auctions , the decision to bid again is usually predicated on values & length in the opponents suit. D.S.I.P. competitive double theory is partially based around the opponent’s suit. A D.S.I.P. competitive double announces a lack of values in their suit just like a splinter does. Partner can now evaluate her hand on that basis. Of course , penalty conversions occur as the doubler may be very short in the opponents suit.

Whether you balance sometimes depends on the length you hold in the opponent’ s suit. It goes 3♥ by LHO so around to you in the balancing spot.

♠AJxx ♥xxx ♦KJx ♣KQx so do you balance ? Not a chance as we have way too many hearts. This means partner is short in hearts & took no action initially. Partner is not trapping with their suit. Change your hearts to a singleton , it becomes an automatic balance.

Holding values in the opponents’ suits means instant duplication of value as you are not fitting partner’s cards. This is especially so if the opponent’s suit is behind you. Be sure to downgrade your hand when you hold values in their suit. Playing competitive doubles , your holding in the opponents trump suit “tells a story” . D.S.I.P. competitive double theory revolves around not bidding ( competing ) when you have a trump stack in their suit . This “non bid” of course prevents useless wasted values showing up in the board or rescuing them from bad spots. Your holding in their trump suit should guide you in your competitive bidding. Partner should & will double with a good defensive hand measured in quick tricks with shortness in their suit.

You have a glaring negative inference when you know from the opponents bidding that partner is short in their suit. Tonight I held , ♠AJxx ♥K109xx ♦J ♣xxx , the auction went 1♦ in 3^rd seat vul vrs not & RHO bid 1♠. This was passed to partner who balanced with a double. They competed to 2♠ so I bid 3♥ . The opener competed to 3♠ & passed around to me. I do a quick pattern check in their trump suit so its 5-4-3-1. A red flag should now be raised. Partner has a stiff spade but did not make a D.S.I.P. competitive double !! This describes his balance as minimum without the requisite number of defensive tricks for a D.S.I.P. competitive double. Partner prefers to defend for a reason.

On all vulnerabilities, I have a clear cut pass. Partner has done his dirty work by pushing them from the one level to the 3 level so a double by me is just “punishing the balancer” . Using their trump as a guide , it’s time to fold our tent. D.S.I.P. competitive doubles were invented to double with shortness in their trump suit as insurance against partner holding their trump. Penalty doubles in these sort of auctions should be non existent. You are just punishing partner for balancing.

Balancing auctions & D.S.I.P. competitive double theory still mix as there is a competitive element so nobody really owns the auction. D.S.I.P. double theory was designed around the duplication of value in their trump suit. Therefore , examine your holding in their trump suit. This pattern will quite often guide you to the best competitive action. In this case , the green card.

Use the “30 HCP in the deck” rule for all your hand evaluation decisions. ♠x ♥Ax ♦AJxx ♣AQxxxx . You open 1♣ , LHO overcalls 1♠ & RHO bids 2♠ ( nv ) & you are vul. You have the stiff in their suit so you must take some action. The Bridge World defines a 2NT bid here as a 6-4 in clubs & diamonds however I feel this hand is not suited for that bid. I have 3 ½ quick tricks so I double. Batbe 2♠ doubled will be the final resting spot or some higher spade contract doubled. I will pull partners heart bid to clubs to show the diamonds. Turns out you do not have to as partner bids diamonds & you reach your 5♦ game for +600. You open 1♦ with ♠x ♥Qxx ♦AJ109xx ♣AQx & LHO doubles with partner bidding 1♠ . RHO bids 2 hearts so this is the bidding a singleton in their suit scenario again for a different perspective. There is a lot of bidding going on so what is the heart pattern around the table . 6-3-3-1 or 5-4-3-1 are favoured substantially so partner has a stiff heart !! You have 2 ½ quick tricks in a “30 point deck” so to speak so partner confirms his stiff with a 5♦ bid after your 3♦ bid. ♠KQ10x ♥x ♦Kxxx ♣Jxxx. which is cold. Change partners hand to ♠Axxx ♥x ♦QJxx ♣Kxxx & it is a 50% slam . Why ? because the opponents have 8 HCP in the heart suit with this hand.