Monday, October 09, 2006 5:03
AM
Hand Evaluation – Identifying Misfits
PITBULLS:
Identifying misfit auctions
& avoiding them is a hand evaluation skill. Experts use the opponent’s
bidding as a means of avoiding misfit auctions. With experience
, you realize that holding HCP’s is not the sole reason for
making a bid. In fact , just holding HCP’s is a very
bad reason for basing all your bidding decisions. When the auction is a misfit , you should give the opponents enough rope to
hang themselves & stay out of the auction. Of course, you save your own
neck also by staying out of misfit auctions. Let the opponents play misfits !! Do not rescue opponents when their style
of bidding has landed them in trouble !
Modern bidders who bid for the sake of bidding , rescue opponents from bad spots
time after time. “Getting into trouble” in Bridge is defined as not handling
misfits very well. Recognizing misfits is the most common reason for
using the green card in Bridge by expert players. “Fools rush in
where experts fear to tread”. Modern bidders have the warped notion that
playing the hand is the be all & end all in the
game of Bridge. Experience teaches otherwise.
Here is an example of a clients bad
judgment in a Spingold . ♠xxx ♥KJ987 ♦10x ♣Kxx everybody vul. Partner opens 1♠ with the
opponents bidding 2♠ showing hearts & a minor. If there were no bidding , you
would probably make a simple spade raise. The client bids 3♠
, LHO vul bids 4♥
and of course partner decided to bid 4♠ since he liked his heart void.
You have wasted values in the opponent’s suit so a pass
shows better hand evaluation than encouraging partner with a 3♠ bid. Partner
played the hand very well going for –800 when 4♥
went down at the other table.
When you are short in partners opening
bid suit , the auction immediately becomes
a potential misfit. In these auctions ,
the laws of probability says there will be duplication of value
so bid accordingly. A stiff in the opponent’s suit is gold but a
stiff or void in partners suit is not so
good. Holding length in the opponents
suit is a potential misfit. Partner opens 1♣ & they overcall
1♥ with you holding ♠xx ♥ Q10987 ♦AKQ10x ♣x
so do you bid 2♦ ? If
you do , you are showing poor hand evaluation
as you are just rescuing them. You have double trouble as you are
short in partners suit & long in theirs. They
should be in trouble so do not rescue them. Pass & await
developments. HCP’s are not the only criteria for making a bid !!! Think how hands fit !
Playing the vulnerability , shortness in partners suit
& length in their suit are
all taken into consideration to avoid bidding in a misfit auction
with this hand held by Tom Gandolfo recently. Your side nv
& the opponents are vul ♠Jx ♥KQJxx ♦K8xxxx ♣void , partner
opens 1♣ nv
& they overcall 1♦ vul. This is the classic misfit auction &
the vulnerability is right for your side. You hold a void in
partner’s suit & 6 of their suit . This hand has misfit
written all over it. Bidding may rescue them from a hopeless situation.
So you pass to await developments & partner re-opens with 1♠. Your
RHO decides to jump to 3♦ !!
You double & +1100 is easy. Bidding initially with 6 of their suit
& a void in partner’s suit on this vulnerability just rescues
them & makes it difficult for partner to realize that you have
such a hand. Since you play negative double theory, there is no need to rescue them
initially by bidding. Give them some rope to hang themselves first. If
they were nv & us vul , I would bid a
heart. All other vulnerabilities , a pass
should work out best. The auction is not over ! Playing
negative doubles , the auction is never over.
Use patterns & opponents
bidding to avoid misfit auctions. I opened 1NT (12-14) the other day , LHO overcalled 2♦ showing 9 or more major cards. Equal vul you have ♠xx ♥x ♦Jxxxxx ♣Kxxx
is this a good time to poke your nose into the auction with a 3♦ bid ? The odds around the
table have changed with RHO being stacked in the major suits.
This means that there is a higher probability that LHO is stacked in the
minors. A 3♦ bid shows poor
hand evaluation skills , LHO doubles so you go for –800 NV. If your diamonds were solid
, you would have some protection against the misfit with your
meager values.
On the theme of using patterns
& opponents bidding to identify misfit
auctions, here is a hand from recent play. Judy Gartaganis
opens 2♥ & partner doubles
. You have 6 HCP & ♠Qxxx so you bid
2♠ . Judy bids 3♣ which gets a preference to 3♥ so back around to you. What is Judy’s hand pattern ? How is
the spade suit breaking on this auction ? You
bid 3♠ right into Nicks ♠AKJ9x which gets
doubled. You play it well for –300 but an 8 IMP loss nevertheless. Let the opponents
play misfits especially when they warned you that they
are 6-5. Read the opponents bidding to assist your own bidding & do not
leap into the fire !
You have ♠AQ10x ♥xx ♦QJ10 ♣Qxxx , not
vul when partner opens 1♣. The vul opponent bids 1♥
so you make a negative double , partner bids 1NT . The
opponent now bids 2♦ so now what
? Surely you have enough to freely bid 3♣ as you have 11 HCP. Sure you do , but you are rescuing the opponents from a
disaster. Your RHO has announced a minimum of 10 red cards so where are
the black suits ? Partner bid 1NT so may hold 4
hearts & 3 diamonds. What about LHO ? She could
hold 10 black cards ( she did ) so 2♦X goes for 800 . Partner played 3♣ quite well for –50
with the 5-0 club break. Play the vulnerability by doubling 2♦ .Apply patterns during the bidding so
you recognize the misfit. Think & do not rescue opponents when
they are in a misfit auction.
You have ♠AJx
♥xxxx ♦J ♣K987x , you are vul & they are not. Partner opens 1♦ , LHO overcalls 2♣ so do you consider a
negative double ? What are the danger signals that signal a misfit
? You have a stiff in partners suit , you have 5 in their suit
with 9 HCP. Partner is short in clubs , so will
always re-open with a double. Making a negative double is a silly gamble.
Why should you play the misfit instead of the opponents.
? If partner has a good enough hand that a vul game
makes your way , they are pushing –800 after your pass.
The opponents have given you a fielders choice , so take
it by passing. With this hand partner went for –200 playing 2♠ after your
negative double but they lose 4♦
, 1♠ , 1♥ & 2♣ for +500 your way in
2♣X for a huge swing.
Tom Gandolfo had two hands recently
where identifying misfits was the key to keeping out of trouble.
Tom held ♠AQxxxx ♥xxx
♦Kxxx ♣void so
opened 1♠. The opponents overcalled 2♥
, partner passed & RHO bid 2NT. This is a powerful misfit auction
for the opponents , so a misfit auction for
your side also. You have a shapely hand but the opponents have warned you
that it is unsafe to enter the auction. The opponents eventually play
the misfit in 4♥ doubled for +500. If Tom comes
in earlier , our side goes for –1100.
On another hand ,
Tom held ♠K ♥xx ♦Kxxxxx ♣AKQx & again
identifying misfits come to the fore.
Tom opened 1♦ ,
they overcalled 1♥ & I passed. Tom re-opened
with a double to show his defense & they bid 2♥.
I could not bid over 1♥ so I now
bid 2♠ & RHO bid 3♥. I could not bid at the one
level & Tom & I have a spade misfit so Tom wisely
stays out of the auction. A D.S.I.P. double gives the most options if
Tom wanted to compete in the other suits but passing works out best. Partner does not have the values to
even bid a long spade suit at the one level. A bid by Tom &
we are back in the misfit auction doubled. Let the opponents play
misfits.
A Tormentee
held ♠x ♥x ♦AJ9xx
♣Axxxxx & her vul partner opened 1♠. The opponent overcalled 2♦ . A free bid at the 3 level is forcing to game in most
modern systems. This is a misfit auction as you have 5 of
their trump & only one of partners suit.
Why rescue the opponents & play the misfit with this hand ? The opponents have given you an opportunity for a
substantial set in diamonds. Why throw it away ?
If you have a game in clubs , partner will bid again.
The auction is not over .
You set partner up by bidding
in misfit auctions. You have ♠Kxx ♥9876xx ♦Kx ♣xx everybody vul partner
opens 1♦ , they
overcall 1♥. 6 of your 13 cards
are in their suit & a doubleton in partners suit ,
so do you enter the misfit ? Say you do make the bad tactical bid of 1NT
& RHO bids 2♠. Partner thinks that you have a minor orientated hand
so he bids 3♣. He cannot visualize that 9 of your 13 cards are in the majors
for a 1NT bid !! You must give preference to 3♦ & your RHO holds ♠xx ♥AK10xx
♦AQJ98 ♣x so makes a penalty double.
When the hand is a misfit for them , quite often it is
a misfit for you. Why are you playing this hand when they
bid your 6 card suit at the one level ?
Balancing is based on the misfit
principle. When the opponents have found a fit it , is
a green light to balance as you may have one yourself . When they have bid 3 of
the 4 suits or even implied the 3rd suit with a NT auction , it is usually folly to enter the auction. Yes , when the opponents are opening light you may get away
with some action but generally it is wise to take the opponent’s word on
misfits. Do not just bid your hand but “bid the table” .
They have told you to stay out of the auction , so
believe them.
It’s a Bridge basic to
let the opponents play the misfits preferably doubled.
“Fools rush in where experts fear to tread” is the hand
evaluation motto in identifying misfits. If the opponents have found a fit , it is a
different matter so balancing is based on that principle. The odds
switch to you having a fit also so enter the fray. Use hand patterns translated
from the bidding to determine the odds of your side having a fit. Bridge
is based on probabilities so play the odds like smart Poker players. Let
the opponents play the misfits.