Friday, November 03, 2006 7:37 AM

Hand Evaluation – Tactics ( Taking your plus )

 

PITBULLS:

 

            The opponents pre-empt at the 4 level in a major , partner doubles for T/O so you have two options bid or pass. You normally bid unless you have their trump & convert for penalty. There is an exception though. Since you are at the rarefied 4 level , partner needs a good hand to double . Especially when they are nv & you are vul , you should pass with bad flat hands that you cannot make anything. Partner rates to have the contract beat in her own hand . When you have a flat collection of queens , you are not going to make an 11 trick game for two reasons. One is that you need about 29 HCP’s combined to make an 11 trick game & two the HCP’s rate to be over partner’s HCP’s. You should pass & just take your plus. When you do not get a plus because the cards are really sitting right for them , their nv game making doubled will score less than the vulnerable number you are going to incur by bidding.

 

            The only vulnerability , I pull a double with a weak flat hand is when they are vul & we are not. Otherwise I sit & ride out partners double. When I have a distributional nothing , I will bid 4NT which is Lebensohl as most experts play this sequence. Actually when you do bid vul , you have turned on forcing passes , if they bid again. You do not bid from a position of weakness at the 4 level , like you would at the one , two or  3 level. As usual in the game of bridge , the level has a significant effect on your bidding.

 

            The great unknown should guide you whether you should just take your plus. When you are certain you have a great chance for a slam as opposed to a converting for a penalty , go for it. If there is doubt , just take your plus especially in IMPS. Tonight we had an auction where there was some doubt whether my auction showed 4 spades or not. When in doubt , just take your plus. Why gamble & turn a plus into a minus in IMPS ? Leave guessing to the opponents.

 

            My partner had ♠Kxxx ♥Kx ♦xxxx ♣xxx , we were vul against not vul. They opened 1♥ which was raised to 2♥. I doubled & they bid 3♥ pre-emptively. You still do not have enough to crawl in at the 3  level vulnerable so you pass. Partner now re-opens with 3NT & you pass. They bid 4♥ , partner doubles so around to you. The 3NT bid should be based on playability , probably a 6 card minor with about 20 HCP’s. Does partner have spades ? Probably not ,  as he would have chosen a double initially rather than a 3NT bid to re-open. However,  you are not sure so you do not take the chance & just take your plus. You lead a small spade , the board hits with ♠Q10xxxx ♥xxx ♦Qxx ♣x . Partner wins the jack & returns the queen of trump. Declarer flies with the heart ace & leads the queen of clubs. Partner wins the king , returns a trump which you win & return a club. Declarer ruffs on the board and leads a diamond to her king which wins. Declarers hand was ♠x ♥Axxxxx ♦Kxx ♣QJx  . A 10 HCP opener opposite a 4 HCP response. You have 6 HCP’s so partner indeed have her 20 HCP as advertised. They take 5 heart tricks , 1 club ruff & one diamond for –500 , where the field average was –200 or –300 the other direction for a failed game.

 

            Bidding misunderstandings are a great place to default to just taking your plus. Tonight a 28 IMP swing occurred because my partner did not take the default. I opened 1♣ , he responded 1♥ with ♠xxx ♥AQ10xx ♦xxxx ♣x so I jumped to 4♠. I have never played with this partner before so he went into a long tank trying to interpret the bid. 1st clue , if the bid was something esoteric,  I would not have tried it with a new partnership. 2nd clue the opponents have been silent throughout the auction with many spades ,  if my bid was a splinter at the 4 level. When you are not sure , just take the bid at its face value & pass. My partner thought I was forcing him to the 5 level with a splinter , so he bid 5♥. I had a strong hand with 11 black cards so I got to 6♠X for –13 IMPS. At the other table they got to the wrong spot for –200 so we were about to win 14 IMPS for +620 in spades. This essentially was the match.

 

            Taking your plus is also equated to “accepting your fix” . The opponents will jam you sometimes so do you just gamble or “take your fix” . The 5 level is where you just remained fixed , double the opponents & get out of Dodge. When the opponents take room away from you ,  slam exploration is all but impossible do you take your fix ?  Yes , gambling is for Casinos or matchpoints . A player held ♠Ax ♥KQxx ♦xx ♣xxxxx , partner opening 1♣ & he responded 1♥. I overcalled 2♦ & his partner bid 2♠ showing 5♣ with a decent to good hand. Tom Gandolfo upped the ante to 4♦ robbing you of any room to show your slam intentions. Do you gamble on partner holding the magical stiff diamond an all or nothing approach ? No , with the “taking your fix mentality”,  you should make the underbid of 5♣. Partner who held 19 HCP with a stiff diamond may bid 6 as he has more than he showed with the 30 HCP in the deck rule in effect.

 

            You hold ♠xxx ♥KQJ ♦xxxx ♣xxx & in 3rd seat nv your opponent opens 1♥ . Partner vul vrs not bids 3♥ & your RHO bids 4♥ . The opponents have fixed you as you should have a good shot at 3NT so do you take your plus or try for the magical 4NT ? I think this is an IMPS vrs matchpoints decision. In IMPS , I just take my sure money & double. The ♥KQJ are the most useless cards for partners hand  when he tries 5 of his minor & 4NT is  no certainty to make. There is also another consideration. Will partner interpret 4NT to play & not an invitation to bid his suit ? Why did you not double 4♥ , when you  feel you can make 10 tricks at NT ? 4NT should be to play  but this is not the hand  for it. ♠Axx ♥QJx ♦xxxx ♣xxx is a more suitable hand. Partner probably should have read your 4NT as natural but did not , so trying to be too precise in IMPS led to a disaster. 4♥X goes for –500 & 6♣ thru the misunderstanding goes for –800. In effect you were gambling +630 –500 or a 3 IMP gain for a possible minus in 4NT or a possible disaster if partner misreads your intentions. Take your plus & leave gambling for matchpoint hounds.

 

                        Taking your plus is a hand evaluation basic. In matchpoints, the story is different as you have to guess the amount of the set against your possible vul game. In IMPS , just take your plus !! This is still another difference between the game of IMPS & match points. Just like rubber Bridge , take your sure money & run.