2007-09-21 07:30

Hand Evaluation – Tactics ( Reverses in Competition )

PITBULLS:

Playing a 5 card major system screws up your minor hands. Partner does not know if you 3 ,4 ,5 , or how many when you open one of a minor. Natural bidding is the best way to recover the integrity of your minor openings. When we rebid a major at the one level , we tell partner that we have 5 or more in our minor or else we would have rebid 1NT . We will bypass both 4 card majors with a balanced hand so as not distort the length of the minor. Opening 3 card minors came with the territory of playing a 5 card major system , so is a “kludge” to allow opening so short a suit to happen.

Using the double in competition to show a strong hand is another way to recover your minor. This understanding allows a reverse in competition to a major to “recover the minor “ rather than show a huge hand. Say you held . ♠xxx ♥AJ10x ♦x ♣AK1098 & you opened 1♣. They overcall 1♦ , partner passes & RHO bids 2♦. Playing doubles as showing huge hands or playing competitive style doubles, you can bid 2♥ naturally. This bid is to recover the integrity of your minor. You immediately inform partner that you have 5 or 6 of your minor for competitive purposes. You can get with this so called “reverse” , as you did not double. A double in competition does not show the perfect shape T/O double. We must get over that type of thinking in today’s “bidders game”. A double shows a big hand with ‘cards’ as with so many bids flying around who should believe whom. A double is needed to clarify the strength of your opening bid & not just the shape of your hand. You may have the correct shape but if not you are just announcing a big hand. The spinoff of course is to allow “competitive reverses” to happen. This idea was brought to my attention by Lee Barton.

A Tormentee & her partner got to a nice vul game tonight by bidding naturally & uncovering a minor fit. ♠void ♥Kxx ♦AJxx ♣AQJxxx . Partner opened 1♣ , they overcalled 1♠ & the Tormentee used good hand evaluation not to bid 1NT . She held ♠10987x ♥Qxx ♦KQ10x ♣x & passed . This is a misfit auction thus far, as you only have 1♣ & 5 of their spade suit. Why play the misfit ? They bid 2♠ & partner bid 3♦. This does not show a true reverse per se but the natural bid does say we have 5 or more clubs. The Tormentee decided that the direct route was best & blasted to 5♦. The opponents made a horrible decision & bid 5♠. The Tormentee put the red card on the table & they collected +1100. +600 in diamonds was about to win them a lot of IMPS anyway.

We play jump shift reverses in competition so the 6-5’s take care of themselves. With a real strong reverse, opener should double first & reverse later. This allows a reverse in competition to recover the minor & compete better. D.S.I.P. double theory is based on this premise. When partner just bids rather than doubles , there is a reason. The reason usually is that she lacks HCP’s in quick tricks for a double but has a nice offensive playing hand. This understanding allows us to compete better. Do not put your partnership in a straight jacket by saying that these doubles are always shape T/O doubles. This style does not conform to reality.