2007-09-13
01:02
Hand Evaluation - Visualization ( Definition )
PITBULLS:
“Gee whiz Bob...you have
taken all of the fun out of Bridge! I remember the good old days when I could
chat with dummy while waiting for declarer to play his next card, or
contemplate my grocery list for after the game. Now I have to count, count,
count and work so hard ! “
Susan
In reply to Susan’s comment
, the following is from Richard Pavlicek’s site :
“Many players are afraid to get into counting a Bridge hand because they think it is difficult & only for the experts. It certainly would be if you tried to count every card as it is played. Forget it! Doing it that way might also drive you out of your mind. Fortunately, there is a better way. Good players think of each suit layout as a pattern. There are 39 possible patterns, of which only about half are reasonably common. If you memorize the common ones, you will have a mental template for association. The 20 most common patterns are: “
Susan makes a valid point , however I disagree with the term “counting” . Counting is for computers. Pavlicek
calls applying patterns a “mental
template for association”. You are not counting per se but translating information like bidding ,
showing out of a suit , discards & opening leads into patterns.
You use your Bridge knowledge of bidding
to make a “discovery play” of declarers
distribution. You look at leads & signals
to form a pattern to “visualize” declarer’s hand. This cerebral skill is
more human like & counting is
more mundane for machines. Computers
are superb counters but applying patterns
via translation skills are beyond them.
I have written a multitude of
articles saying that for opening leads , defense ,
declarer play & bidding you “think in
patterns” . This not
counting, but a
visualization skill. Like a worker at the U.N. ,
you translate. You translate bidding , opening leads , showing out & signals into
patterns. This is a visualization skill similar
to shot making in Golf. Golfers do that
before making a
shot. They visualize the shot in their minds
before making it. Sports psychologists say that it actually works to make a
better golf shot. In Bridge , it is a must have skill.
Thinking in patterns
help you recognize squeezes , endplays , finding
queens in declarer play. Thinking in patterns
sometimes makes opening leads very obvious.
Thinking in patterns helps you visualize partners
distribution or the opponents
distribution during the auction.
Expert defense would be impossible without a blueprint
for your defensive plan. The misnomer “ counting out a
hand” is the blueprint for
defending a hand.
Memorizing the 13 most common patterns with their triggers is a substitute
for counting – not really
counting. I do not know how to
count the hard way. I have 5 ,
dummy has 3 , I think declarer played a few so add these all up & subtract
from 13 leaves a remainder… Crap , this is supposed to
be a fun hobby ! Here is where I agree
with Susan. I would rather talk to the dummy than count the hard way.