Thursday, September 07, 2006 1:00 AM

Hand Evaluation – Visualization ( Reading the Green)

PITBULLS:

A golfer reads the green. He notices the contours , the way the grass is growing , whether the green slopes towards the ocean. He notices ball marks , spike marks , & loose impediments. He “reads” the green to help him make his putt and take money from his buddies’ pockets. The green is an integral part of the game of Golf.

The dummy is the “green” in the game of Bridge. You plan your defense by reading the green. Kantar divides the dummy into 3 categories. He calls it “LSD” since he was from the 60’s. A “dead” dummy where it is flat so no source of tricks or limited entries. He has an “L” category dummies where a suit ( Length ) can be established as a source of tricks. This is where you should cash or attack entries need to get to the suit or establish the suit. The last S category stands for singleton or short where a source of tricks will come from ruffing. With these types of dummys , a trump switch is in order. Analyzing dummy’s is a bridge skill that must be developed.

The game of Bridge was designed with a 4^th hand called the “dummy” which is exposed for all the players. This basic fact of Bridge allows players to “think in hand patterns” . Since you have two suits exposed already , you have a pattern 50 % built just by looking at your hand & the dummy. We just need one more player to give count by showing out or signaling count to have the pattern complete for all 4 hands. The bidding also “fills in the blanks “ so you will have the suit & the hand counted in the majority of bridge hands you encounter. This “discovery play” will be the blueprint for your defense or declarer play. You have discovered each suits DNA which becomes the basis of your Bridge logic. Train yourself to be a “dummy” player J Yogi Berra said it is not over until it’s over. The bidding is used to complete hand patterns until the last card is played. Do not forget that the bidding existed in defending or declarer play.

The dummy is not the sole possession of declarer. For defensive purposes , the main purpose of a dummy is for you as defender to build partial patterns. Your cards & dummy’s make up the first part of your patterns , when the bidding has not already done so. The dummy is also the last piece of the puzzle for building patterns , if you have an idea of declarers hand translated from the bidding. You can count dummy HCP’s to plan your defense. Help yourself to all of dummy’s information resources. Use information given to you to guide your defense which includes information obtained from reading the dummy. This is call defender’s “dummy play” when you react from examining the board. J

The auction goes 1NT all pass , you lead the passive club 10 from ♠Axx ♥Qxx ♦10xx ♣1098x. The board hits with ♠Qxx ♥Jxx ♦xxx ♣Qxxx & declarer wins the King. Declarer leads a spade towards the queen and a spade back with partner showing three of them. Reading the green , you notice this a dead dummy as Kantar calls them. Only 5 HCP & declarer has used up maybe his only dummy entry. This dummy screams for passive defense as breaking suits & guessing will just give declarer entries and help his cause. Let him play this hand as you have only 6 HCP and 5 HCP on the board is a total of 11 HCP. Partner is marked with 13-14 HCP all located in front of declarer. Let declarer come to your partners HCP’s instead of you leading thru partners HCP’s. You win the spade & passively return a spade. Declarer goes one down instead of making 3 when you start guessing and attacking suits.

The L part of Kantars “LSD” means that the danger signal for the defenders & source of tricks is suit length on the board. This danger signal means you cash out or “pump the board” so that partner cannot draw your trump & get back to the established suit. A tormentee had two hands tonight where a suit was a danger signal in which to determine your defense.

♠AKQ10x ♥Kxx ♦x ♣xxxx The Tormentee opened 1♦ on ♠xxx ♥Axx ♦KQxxx ♣Ax & LHO bid 2♥ which partner doubled . They bid 4♥ so partner doubled & led a trump. Looking at the green there a dangerous suit , so it is cash out time. You rise with ♥A , lay down your Ace of clubs & take you 5 top tricks before they get discarded on the nice spade suit. Partner shows 4♠ on the auction so the spade pattern is 5-4-3-1 so you know declarer will get two quick pitches.

Same Tormentee , with the same theme of a dangerous suit on the board. ♠Kxx ♥AKQ10x ♦Qxx ♣KQ held by the Tormentee & the opponents are in 5♠ doubled. The board or “green” hits with ♠Axx ♥x ♦AKJ1098x ♣xx after you lead the ♥K . The diamonds are 7-3-2-1 so declarer cannot establish them & get back to them when you “pump the board” with a heart. This expression means make the board ruff to promote your length in trump to longer than the board. It is the reverse of the common practice of pumping declarer so that she loses control of her trump suit. Same concept but you are destroying entries or promoting a trump trick for yourself.

As a competent bridge player you have an obligation to read the green. The dummy is a part of the game of Bridge so use it properly for your bridge thinking. The dummy assists in building patterns & guides your defense or declarer play.