Friday, September 27, 2002 10:59 PM

Hand Evaluation - Tactics ( Value of a 4th Trump )

PITBULLS:

We have not bought into Bergen’s theory on majors but it is pretty difficult to say that the law of total tricks does not have some merit. A 4 card simple raise is a stronger hand than a 3 card raise that’s a given. A simple raise with 4 trump by responder is a throw back to 4 card major days , so with 5 card major theory has passed its prime. Playing Bergen type raises allows you the luxury of differentiating between 3 & 4 card major raises as it was invented for that purpose. Playing Support Doubles & redoubles allows you to differentiate between 3 & 4 card raises , it was also invented for that purpose . The value of the 4^th trump is so important in bidding judgment , I think these two treatments should be Standard Pitbull . The HCP system does not measure the value of the 4^th trump but the 4^th trump makes a huge difference in hand evaluation. I personally avoid making simple raises with 4 trump. I like to jump even responding to overcalls to let partner in on the secret that I have 4 trump. When I have a marginal raise with 4 trump , I call it pre-emptive & leap to the 3 level. Usually you get pushed there anyway, so why not inform partner immediately ? The 4^th trump also detracts from your hand one defensive trick as the 4 card length wipes out partners values in that suit. Tom Gandolfo came up with the idea to include limit raises in our Jacoby 2NT ( limit raise + ) , so it frees the jump raise to show 4 trump with simple raise values. We just had to tweak our Jacoby 2NT responses a bit & have a 3♣ bid show all minimums , so we could escape with the limit raise hands.

A hand evaluation skill is bidding your 4^th or 5^th trump. You promote your hand when you have extra length in partner’s suit. Here is a Tormentee who held ♠A10x ♥J109xx ♦K10x ♣xx & partner opens 1♥ in 4^th seat. You have 8 HCP which is normally a simple raise in hearts. Wait a minute , we have two extra trump along with the HCP’s for a simple raise. You cannot bid 2♥ as that is the same bid you would have made with this hand holding 3 trump. We use hand evaluation & promote this hand to a Drury bid. Partner cannot be stopped & drives the hand to 6♥ making 7♥. Do not make ambiguous bids. You do not have a simple raise which shows 3 of partners suit & you hold controls which also promotes this hand . When you have the 5^th card in partner’s minor , show partner that you have it ! A player had ♠xx ♥KJ10x ♦Jxxxx ♣xx with partner opening 1♦. They overcalled 1♥ so he bid 2♦ instead of 3♦ which would have described his 5^th diamond. Later he pulled a penalty double to show the 5^th trump that he should have bid initially. Define your jump bids in a major or minor to show the 4^th & 5^th trump respectively. Jumping to show extra length in trump gets around the Goren HCP inability to hone in on that 4^th or 5^th card.

Of course , there are always be an exception or else this would not be Bridge. Flat hands or hands with soft values are not suitable for the 3 level , law or no law. As usual , you cannot get away from judgment in this game. A good way to show the upper range of these hands is make a forcing NT & jump later. Here is Mike Lawrence describing the 4^th trump bidding problem.

What is the value of a fourth trump?

By Mike Lawrence

When you are evaluating a hand for play in a suit contract, you routinely add your high cards and your distribution. Then you make some adjustments. You deduct something if you have a balanced hand. You adjust your estimate for high cards in the suits the opponents are bidding. And, you adjust your estimate for high cards in the suit or suits your partner is bidding.

If you do all these things accurately, you should be able to make a decent decision about your next bid. NOTE that I did not say a perfect decision. No one makes perfect decisions. It is impossible, due to the vagaries of bridge, to avoid looking like a loony every now and then.

Here are some evaluation questions for you. Put your sliding scale to work on them. You are South.

NUMBER ONE.

West

North 1♥

East Pass

South ?

What are these two hands worth in support of hearts?

♥ Q 9 8 6 3 ♠10 3 ♦ A 8 7 ♣10 4

♥ Q 9 8 3 ♠ 10 6 3 ♦ A 8 7 ♣10 4

If you follow traditional evaluation, both hands are worth eight points. Seven in high cards and one in distribution. Do you agree with that?

I agree. There is a difference. Let's ignore how many points these hands are worth. Instead, decide how much difference there is between the two hands. Which hand is better, and by how much? We'll come back momentarily.

NUMBER TWO.

West

North 1♠

East 3♥

South ?

What are these two hands worth in support of spades?

♠A K 2 ♥5 3 ♦K 8 7 6 2 ♣10 7 4

♠A K 3 2 ♥5 3 ♦K 8 7 6 ♣10 7 4

Again, an initial evaluation suggests both hands are worth eleven points. But are they? Which is the better hand, and by how much?

♠9 4 ♥K Q J 10 9 4 ♦9 4 ♣Q 8 2

♠A K 2 ♥5 3 ♦K 8 7 6 2 ♣10 7 4 ♠Q 8 7 6 5 ♥A 8 2 ♦A 5 ♣K J 6

♠J 10 3 ♥ 7 6 ♦Q J 10 3 ♣A 9 5 3

In this layout, South is in four spades. Can he make it with the king of hearts lead? You can fiddle with this for awhile. Then, before deciding, take a look at the next hand.

♠9 4 ♥K Q J 10 9 4 ♦9 4 ♣Q 8 2

♠A K 3 2 ♥ 5 3 ♦ K 8 7 6 ♣10 7 4 ♠ Q 8 7 6 5 ♥ A 8 2 ♦ A 5 ♣ K J 6

♠J 10 ♥7 6 ♦Q J 10 3 2 ♣A 9 5 3

In this layout, South is also in four spades. Can he make it with the king of hearts lead? Doesn't take much fiddling, does it? You win the heart lead, draw trumps, and play on clubs to see if you have one or two club losers to go with your heart loser. On this hand, you make ten tricks. Even if spades divide three-one, you take ten tricks without effort.

What is the difference between the two hands? The difference is that on the second hand, dummy had four trumps instead of three. This brings us to the theme of this article. Traditional point count has both of the possible dummy hands valued at eleven points. Yet one of the dummys gave you little play for game while the other gave you a 99% play for game plus a comfortable play for an overtrick. Scary. Adding the three of trumps to dummy changed a terrible contract into a great one. So what do you think the value of the fourth trump was? One point? Three points? More? Less? I don't know exactly how to measure it, but it seems to be worth lots.

Going back to the first pair of hands, it is clear to me that the second hand with its fourth trump is worth more than its companion hand. The amount that it is worth is not possible to determine, but it must be a value that you consider when making your decisions.

Larry Cohen wrote a book recently called The Law of Total Tricks. It is an elegant book that says, in effect, that the more trumps your side has, the better off you are. I agree. It says a lot more too, but I won't give any more secrets away here.