Friday, January 26, 2007 12:23 AM

Hand Evaluation – HCP’s ( Panic Point )

PITBULLS:

In the game of Hockey , there is a term called a “panic point”. The player is in front of the net , panics and just shoots. The puck invariably hits the goaltender so another lost opportunity. Wayne Gretzky did not have a “panic point” per se so somehow found Kurri open who scored.

In Bridge , a penalty double quite often causes a panic point on defense. Instead of taking your time & relying on the defense fundamentals of applying patterns & HCP’s , you make a reflex action that makes no sense. Panic & anxiety are the great destroyers of performance in any sport & life for that matter. Sometimes the doubled contract causes so much stress , a defender does not even think or does not seem to be at the table. Here is a hand tonight if my partner panicked, we would have received +300 instead of the obvious +800.

Hoy Chow somehow got himself up to 4♣X . He was a passed hand & showed a two suiter in hearts & clubs.

Q	K	x	x
x		x	x
x		x	x
x		x
		x

My partner had opened 1NT with ♠Axx ♥Jx ♦KQJ109 ♣Axx , I led my doubleton diamond, a suit she had bid during the auction. Hoy won his diamond Ace & led a heart . I won the heart Ace so partner unblocked with her jack. I returned the 8 of clubs , partner won her Ace & returned a club won by Hoys jack. Hoy ruffs a heart with the last trump on dummy & leads a spade away from the spade queen. Which spade should partner play ? This one is easy for human odometers as Hoy , a passed hand , has shown up with the diamond Ace & the KQJ10x of clubs. There is no room for any more points as he is a passed hand. I also had Q bid during the auction so I must hold the remaining HCP’s . I win the spade spot & return the jack of spades which Hoy ruffs . Hoy draws partner’s last trump , leads a heart which I win with the 9 spot. We now tap Hoy out of his last trump so we claim the rest of the tricks for +800.

Counting HCP’s & applying patterns is defense. The clues are there from the bidding. In this case, Hoy showed his distribution & was a passed hand. This is “public knowledge” so we defenders are allowed to use it for our defensive purposes. In doubled contracts , we sometimes imagine demons like a passed hand having a spade honour when there is no room for a spade honour & panic. Applying the fundamentals of defense prevent such plays. Clue into the reality of the situation through defensive fundamentals, rather than perceived dangers.