Wednesday, September 07, 2005 11:24 PM
Hand Evaluation - Partnership ( Inviting )
PITBULLS:
Single handed
bidding can show up in a number of ways in Bridge. It is the simple act of not
letting partner in on the decision making process. Over bidding or not
inviting is single handed bidding. Underbidding
and passing is a single handed decision for the partnership. “Master minding” is single handed
bidding as you deduce from the opponents bidding what partner might have and
bid accordingly. Bidding partners cards for her falls into this category. Bad
opening bids , overcalls & pre-empts are all single
handed bidding as you have left
partner out of the auction with your random undisciplined bidding. Not
playing forcing passes or D.S.I.P. doubles is single
handed bidding in competitive auctions. There is a more subtle way of single
handed bidding that I see quite often playing with the Tormentees.
Underbidding by failure to make an invitational bid is very much single handed bidding !
By not putting
partner in the picture ,
you are in effect making the Bridge decision single handed. You have decided that the place to
play this hand is at this particular level. What is the worst that can
happen when you invite & partner does not accept ?
Is the contract going to go down when you invite ?
Probably not very likely , so let’s get partners
opinion on the matter. I notice that some matchpoint
players invite too much. There is a Bridge platitude “
do not leave up to partner what you can do yourself” . When you have
distribution or hidden assets, do not over invite . Just make your
bid & conceal the distribution from the opponents.
Playing with a tormentee tonight , we had about 5 hands where the tormentee
made single handed decisions without
knowing it. You hold ♠Q ♥Axx ♦Kx ♣AQ109xxx & opened 1♣ . Partner bid 3NT
so back to you ? She knew all bids by her were a slam
try so she thought a long time &
passed. We got a zero as everybody was in 6♣ making. It does not hurt to
bid 4♣ as a slam try.
When partner has an ill fitting flat hand, she will bid 4NT &
that ends the auction. Does it hurt to raise the level by one to invite a slam ?
♠Kxx ♥AKQ10x ♦Ax ♣Qxx , the tormentee opened 1♥ which LHO doubled. He partner passed & RHO bid 2♦. You could compete a little by doubling & showing your
18 HCP’s but let’s assume you pass . Around to partner who bids 2♠. You can now make a single
handed decision that 2♠ is the limit of this
hand as partner has a dog or ask partner that question by
bidding 3♠ to find out for
sure. The tormentee passed 2♠ , which on a good day might make 6♠ !
You hold ♠Kxxx ♥x ♦Kxxx ♣KQ10x , with everybody vul
partner opens 1♥ & RHO doubles. You redouble
, the bidding goes
1♥-X-XX-1♠
P-2♠-? . The tormentee passed , we ended up in
3NT going down. The redoubler has an obligation to describe
her redouble to partner. A penalty double describes this hand well
& puts partner in the picture. Partner happily passes so you pickup up
+800. The tormentee did not double because she made
the single handed decision that 3NT or another game contract might
make. She master minded by not describing her hand to partner.
Underbidding is a single handed action which
leaves partner out of the decision making process. You have ♠xxxx ♥x ♦Qxx ♣KQJxx . RHO opens 1♠ nv vrs your side vulnerable. Partner makes a vulnerable
balance with a double , RHO bids 2♥. Your hand is now gold. You have no duplication of value
in spades the suit in which partner says she is short. You have a singleton
heart in the suit that the opponents just bid ,
so every card in your hand is pulling full weight. You need a
good 13 HCP from partner
♠x ♥Axxx ♦AJ10x ♣Axxx for a shot at a vul
+1370 6♣ slam . You decide that that an underbid is in order so you
pass. This gets passed out for –110 and a zero as +130 in clubs makes
your way. By passing , you have single
handedly determined that 2♥ by the opponents is the place to play this hand
so partner will not bid again with hands that 6♣ or 7♣ might
be cold.
When you are not sure & do not want to make the
decision single handedly , you can re-invite. Here is
a Klimo/Campbell auction from Philly where a
re-invite is less single handed than
a final pass.
1♠-P-1NT-P
2♣-P-2♠-P
3♣-P-? Gordon held ♠Jx ♥Axxx ♦xxxx
♣K10x & made the single
handed decision to pass 3♣ vul in IMPS. When
you are not sure yourself,
throw the decision back to partner. Bid 3♥ as an attempt to show where you live. By bypassing 3♦ , you
tell partner that you do not have values in that suit. You are still at the
3♠ level & you brought partner into the picture. Klimo
held ♠AQ109x ♥Kx ♦x ♣AJ987 & +650 was the contract at the other table.
Klimo will bid 4♠ after the 3♥ bid with no wastage in diamonds. I feel Klimo
had a 3♣ bid in their system which would have circumvented the disaster. However , Gordon still had a 3♥ bid regardless catering
to a hand like ♠AQ109x ♥xx ♦x
♣AQ109x which is not a 3♣
bid in their system.
Here is a hand from tonight that also comes into the
“single handed “ theme. You hold ♠Qxxx ♥QJxx ♦x ♣KQ10x
, nv
partner opens 1♠ & RHO overcalls 1NT
vul . You do not have any invitational bids
here so do you just bid what you think you can make & leap to 4♠ ? This is the action the tormentee chose
so I made 4♠ complements of bad
defense by the opponents. Is there a better bid ? Take
advantage of the fact that the opponents are vulnerable & double
1NT. If they pass 1NTX , they certainly will
not like the fact that they are outgunned in HCP’s with an obvious spade lead.
They will probably run so now you can bid 2♠ . You have used the penalty double as an invitational bid.
There are many creative ways to put
partner in the picture in the game of Bridge.
Solo artists misuse their creativity for clever ways of excluding
partner from the Bridge decision. Bridge experts use their thinking energy to
"invite partner to the party".
A constant theme for me with these articles
is to recognize single handed bidding & determine that partnership
Bridge is a more effective way of getting good Bridge results. In my opinion , it is obvious that "two heads are better than one". Single handed bidding is
guessing & gambling by not getting a 2nd opinion from partner. In all walks
of life, not getting a 2nd opinion is a bad strategy. In the game of Bridge , more so. The partnership aspect of Bridge is an intriguing aspect of the
game that distinguishes it from single handed games like poker. You are
doing the game of Bridge a huge disservice by not being aware of this
simple fact. Expert established Bridge partnerships are just awesome in this
game that we have chosen as a hobby.
.