Friday,
April 07, 2006 6:26 PM
Hand
Evaluation – HCPS ( Bidding Skills )
PITBULLS:
Playing with players the caliber of
Tom Gandolfo , Kiz Fung & Klimo
as opposed to less experienced players , I find the biggest difference in their
game are hand evaluation skills.
The standard way of evaluating a hand for most is via HCP’s . Experts use HCP’s
also but they are way down the
list in priority. There are many more factors that
experts consider more important than just using an abacus & counting up
your HCP’s. Bridge bidding is not just totaling HCP’s.
The nature or type of HCP’s is a huge factor in hand
evaluation. Not all HCP’s are created
equal .
Controls ( quick
tricks ) such as Aces & Kings are more important than queens & jacks.
Experts put more weight on these cards for evaluating an opening bid or judgment whether a hand should be opened 1NT. Hands are frequently being promoted or
being demoted based on this
criteria. Totaling HCP’s alone are a very
poor criteria for opening
bids. Opening bids need defense measured in these valuable quick tricks.
Another hand evaluation skill is taking distribution into
consideration. Not all distributions are created equal.
Distribution means what types of hand patterns you hold. There are “death distributions “
that do not play very well. 4-3-3-3 is the all time
worst followed by 4-4-3-2 , 4-4-4-1 , and 5-3-2-2 ,
5-4-2-2 , 5-4-3-1 , 6-3-2-2 and even 7-2-2-2 . On the flip side 5-5-2-1 , 6-4-2-1 , 6-3-3-1 , 7-3-2-1 and more wild distributions
are worth a lot in playing value. Experts promote
these distributions while demoting the
others for hand evaluation purposes. Having a long suit is a plus even in NT where a 5
card suit should get promoted for hand evaluation purposes. Experts use hand patterns for hand evaluation purposes.
The art of “balancing” is predicated on applying
patterns extracted from the
opponents bidding. Is partner expected to hold length in unbid
suits ?
Competing or not competing
is quite often based on applying hand patterns. How many of the opponents suit
is partner expected to hold on the auction ? Do the
hands fit well ? Bidding is done by visualizing hand patterns.
Location ,
location and Location are the 3 main factors of real estate. In the game of Bridge also Experts use location
in their hand evaluation. Location is defined in two ways. Bridge is played in
a clockwise order . If you are behind an opening bidder or a takeout double , your HCP’s get evaluated upward because of the excellent location where finesses are
bound to succeed. If your HCP’s are in front of a big hand ,
your HCP’s are downgraded because
the majority of the opponents points are behind you.
Location is also important in where your HCP’s are located in your hand. HCP’s in your long suits are
more valuable than HCP’s in your doubletons or singletons. If your HCP’s are in
“quick trick” combinations promotes
your hand. AK , AQ or KQ are quick trick combinations
as opposed to Kx KJx & unsupported queens & jacks. “Duplication of value” is an expression used
where your HCP’s are located badly relative
to your partner. Badly means opposite partners known singleton or void. A lack of HCP’s
& shortness in the opponents suit are promoted upwards as
an example of hand evaluation. Whether your cards in a suit should be onside during the bidding is a hand evaluation
skill. You are in effect making a finesse before the
bidding is over.
Fits or lack thereof is a huge hand evaluation skill .
Fits detract from your defensive
capability so should be the overriding consideration for pulling penalty
doubles. ♠Axx ♥Axx ♦KJxx ♣Qxx , you open 1♦ & partner bids 1♥ . They bid 2♠ and partner re-opens with a double do you leave it in
? Not a chance as you have way too many cards
in partners suit & a lack of “duplication of value” in theirs.
Your HCP’s being located in the suit which you announced by bidding is a hand evaluation skill for
leaving in a penalty double. Location is important there also.
Suit quality is another hand evaluation skill. Spot cards
, length & sequences are important when making
pre-emptive decisions or overcalling decisions. I played with someone who had
poor hand evaluation skills when dealing with pre-empts. Vulnerable vrs not , she pre-empted 3♦ in IMPS with ♠x ♥Kxx ♦KJxxxxx xx . The lack of
spots in the diamond suit meant that this bid was just attempted suicide that did not succeed.
Add spot cards & the hand & suit gets promoted considerably. QJ10xxxx is a bad gamble vulnerable but add
spot cards QJ1098xx and the hand
gets promoted.
Experts like all doubles of NT to be
penalty. Why ? This
a chance to use hand
evaluation skills. The opponents are bidding NT because they do not have a fit ( misfit auctions ) . When the
cards are located poorly with no fit
, this spells
disaster for the opponents. Kiz & I played
against a player who bragged when she put down ♠Qx ♥xxx
♦xxxx ♣1098x in a 1NTX contract that she has put down “worse dummys”
in 1NTx before. 1NTX in this hand goes for –800 nv
but 2♣ actually escapes as you hit partner with KQJx
of clubs ! Leaving this double in was just another
form of suicide. HCP’s actually shine for hand evaluation purposes when NT enters the picture. I doubled 1NT & an experienced
partner held ♠xx ♥AQxxx ♦xxxx Jx but bid 2♥ ! Yes , we made a
heart partial but 1NTX goes for 800. If I had 16 HCP for my double
, we “outgun” them 23 to 17 HCP . 40 HCP’s in the deck is a bench mark , so you use HCP’s to determine the balance of power.
Evaluating trumps is another form of hand evaluation. The 4th trump is such an asset that the “law of total tricks” was based on it. Expert players always overbid their trump length in partners suit so quite
often get the auction up real fast ( jumping ) . The
reason should be obvious. Length in partner’s suit detracts from partners
defensive values so the opponents can make something of their own. Your
contract obviously plays better with lots of trump. If you have a lot of trump
yourself in a very long suit , get the bidding up to a
high level quickly for the same hand
evaluation reasons. Opening at the one level & rebidding at the
two level with 8 card suits is
pathetic bidding.
We use the expression “hand evaluation” loosely almost as a synonym for
bidding itself. The judgment part of bidding ( not
systems or conventions ) is what we include in the term “hand evaluation”. Hand evaluation is also dynamic. The value of your hand changes depending on your partners
bidding & the opponents bidding for all the above reasons mentioned in this
article. Being a slave to the HCP
system is for beginners who have not developed any judgment or
hand evaluation skills yet. Playing systems or conventions without
understanding why you are
playing them is just rote memorization so
is bound to fail in the long run. Systems & conventions are based on hand evaluation concepts. You need to understand
hand evaluation concepts first & move on to systems & conventions next.
The other way around is backward. It is
like giving a gun to a duck .J