Wednesday, January 10, 2007 6:40 PM

Hand Evaluation – Misfits ( Penalty Doubles )

 

PITBULLS:

 

            Penalty doubles or converting for penalty is a hand evaluation skill. There are some guidelines to assist you in making penalty doubles. ♠AK87 ♥AKxxx ♦xx ♣Jx  so you open 1♥ & partner bids 2♥ so you decide that your hand is too flat to attempt a game try. You pass & the opponents balance 2♠. Balancing is a risky business so sometimes the balancer loses. First you evaluate the balance of power between the two sides . Partner shows 6-9 HCP so you out gun them quite significantly in HCP as they might only have 16 HCP total between their two hands to your 24 HCP. Evaluate your own hand for defensive capabilities. You have a defensive hand pattern 5-4-2-2 , You have 4 “quick tricks” instead of soft values. You have length in their trump suit with 15 HCP’s.  All hand evaluation indicators point to a penalty double as the decision to make. 2♠X goes for +1100 with best defense as partner had 9 HCP & was not about to punish you for opening in 3rd seat.  The Tormenttee did not evaluate her hand properly for defensive purposes & bid 3♥. This bid is for offensive hands as opposed to defensive hand types. This particular decision is what hand evaluation is all about.  The 3♥ contract made for +140.

 

One of the purposes of a penalty double is to show “duplication of value” in the enemy suit. This duplication of value could discourage slam or even game bidding with otherwise good hands. One of main requirements for a penalty double besides this duplication of value is overall strength. You do not double the only contract you can beat as you are just assisting the opponents to find a better spot. With this requirement , all penalty doubles setup a forcing pass to the next round. Partner cannot pass , so must bid if she can not make a penalty double.

 

            A Tormentee held this hand in matchpoints. I opened 1NT , Tom Gandolfo overcalled 2♠. The Tormentee held ♠xxx ♥Axx ♦Axxx ♣Jxx so what do you bid ? In IMPS , this is easy as you just bid 3NT & with Lebensohl understandings this bid shows no spade stopper. In matchpoints , you have a tougher decision as 3NT might go down. The Tormentee made a matchpoint bid of a double hoping to get a plus on overall strength. Around to Tom who bid his 2nd suit of 3♣.  Now what do you do ? You have setup a forcing pass situation by doubling the opponents into game , so you can pass to show your lack of duplication of value in clubs. A pass is an informative bid in a forcing auction.

 

            The bid comes around to me , I hold ♠AQ ♥QJ10xx ♦QJ10x ♣Ax  so I look at our sides lack of duplication of value in the club suit & bid 3♥. Since I bypassed 3♦ & did not double there is a strong chance the suit is 5 cards in length. 4♥ is a good contract and has many chances. If you double 3♣ , Tom makes a doubled overtrick for –870. This auction shows an important part of penalty doubles & D.S.I.P. doubles for that matter.  As the bids show overall strength , they turn on forcing passes.

 

            Converting doubles for penalty is also a hand evaluation skill. As usual , patterns help the thought process. A Tormentee held this hand  ♠Jxxx ♥AK109x ♦xx ♣Ax everybody vul she opened 1♥.  Her LHO overcalled 1♠ & I bid 1NT.  Her RHO bids 2♦ , she passes & around to me who doubled. Do you convert for penalty ?  Partners double shows cards & maximum for a 1NT bid , so not a trump stack. Therefore you outgun the opponents in HCP’s which is a criteria for leaving in doubles. The next criteria is a fit your way. Partner bid 1NT usually a misfit bid. Partner only has 2 hearts or less so your AK of hearts is huge defensively so if the hearts are 5-3-3-2  you may have 3 tricks after the lead. Next question to ask ,  is your hand defensive or offensive ? You have a flat hand 5-4-2-2 with 3 defensive tricks which is more than partner can expect. This is a misfit auction , so tricks are hard to come by. Partner must have some strength & length in diamonds for her 1NT bid & subsequent double. You pass 2♦ & lead your ♥A . The board comes down with ♠AQxxxx ♥Qxx ♦K10x  ♣x , partner ruffs the 3rd round of hearts & returns a club . You win the ♣queen with your Ace & return a trump. Partner plays the ♦Q & ♦Ace & returns the club jack. When the smoke clears you get +800 as declarer was 5-5 in the minors & void in spades. He wanted to play the misfit instead of the opponents , so he did ! The tormentee pulled the double to 2♥ , a suit announced by partner via a double & the 1NT bid to indicate shortness ! Shortness in partners suit is excellent for defense.  Partner would not double for penalty without a misfit !!

 

           

 Do not double for penalty or convert for penalty without  wastage in their suit. A penalty double is also an informative bid saying this hand is a misfit & I have wastage in their suit. Doubling without values in their suit is a D.S.I.P. competitive double , advising partner that you have that particular systemic hand type. Balance of power doubles without trump means you really must significantly have the balance of power. A player held ♠Jxx along with his nice 1NT opener. He opened 1NT , they bid 2♦ conventional showing spades & another suit. His partner bid 3♦ forcing & natural & they bid 3♠. All actions should now be based on the spade & diamond  suit. , as you should use their interference as a stepping stone. The 1NT bidder has an obligation to describe her hand  directly in crowded auctions.   A pass should show nothing in spades & not a great fit for diamonds. A double should say values in spades & not a fit in diamonds . A 3NT bid should show diamonds with a spade stopper & a bid should show a super accept in diamonds with nothing in spades. The player in question doubled with ♠Jxx  & a nice hand in support of diamonds which resulted in –730 . How is partner supposed to read your mind ?

 

            The rules of Bridge ( scoring )  allow you to know how many tricks are required to beat a contract. The opponents are in 1NTXX & you know that you have 5♣ tricks ready to go. You have the ♥A so you know you are up to 6 tricks. The board has a 5 card diamond suit ready to roll without the Ace. If partner has that Ace no problem. As usual with these types of decisions , allow partner to assist you. Lay down your ♥A & look at the signal. This Bridge action is called a “discovery play” . You are asking partner’s opinion. If partner likes hearts continue , if not switch to a spade. A player who is not used to bringing her partners into the decision making process , under led her ♥Ace so partner could not read it & ducked . Result a disaster of a 20 IMP swing.  Lesson. Always keep in mind how many tricks you need to beat a contract. Defense is partnership Bridge at the ultimate level. Allow partner her opinion on the matter.