Saturday, December 04, 2010

Hand Evaluation - Visualization ( Playing by Instinct )

PITBULLS:

        Bridge is a cerebral game . A test of ones memory , ability to reason , creativity & mental toughness. It is not a hobby to avoid thinking & rationalize. Counting ( applying patterns ) & counting ( keeping a tally of HCP's as they are played ) are a requirement to play the game at a decent level , not an option. It mystifies me why people spend so much time & money at this game & for so long but do not count. Writers even joke about it. There are three kinds of Bridge players they say , those who count & those who do not.

        I have from bitter experience found those who do not , have to memorize a series of alibis rationalizing their blunders caused by not counting in the first place. I was playing with a diamond life master who says he does not count patterns & plays by instinct. The opponents reach 4♠ with responder basically bidding 4♠ all by herself. In order to beat the vul game our hero just has to apply patterns from the opening lead & bidding to get a "lie of the land". I lead the ♥ deuce & 3 hearts were on the board & our hero had 2. Declarer showed 7♠ on the auction so how many hearts does he hold ? The art of translating bidding & opening leads into hand patterns. A basic of Bridge. This type of Bridge thinking  never entered his mind  ( not instinctive ) so he blew the defense. 4-4-3-2 is a simple pattern but he did not apply it to know declarer was 7-4-1-1 with 4♥’s.. Since he plays by "instinct" , he had no chance of coming up with the right play. I call this "instinct" as an excuse not to use grey cells to think the game of Bridge properly.

      I was playing with another player who has played for 40 years but feels counting should only be done on a random basis ( he is fully capable ) . The opponents on a 1♠-P-2♥ start ended up in the ignominious contract of 4NT. This "instinct player" was on lead with ♠Jx ♥Qxxxx ♦Axx ♣xxx & found the excellent lead of a club spot. The board hit with

♠KQ1098xx ♥A ♦J ♣Jxxx    & declarer won the ♣ Ace.   I  as defender,  recorded that declarer has shown up with 4 HCP . Declarer played the ♠Ace so I recorded 8 HCP & 9 top tricks for declarer. My original hand was ♠xxx ♥xx ♦Q109xx ♣KQ9 so on my first opportunity on the ♠ suit I discarded a heart. Why a heart ? Partner knows that declarer bid 2♥ so I am making the heart pattern complete for him . In this case 5-5-2-1 so he now knows how to discard in the heart suit. Partner knows that declarer has the ♥KJ so 4 more HCP's to the running HCP total ( 12 HCP thus far ) . Declarer probably has the ♦K which is consistent with the bidding ( declarer jumped to 3NT ) . So on the run of the spades declarer must reach her hand with a ♦. My partner stiffed himself to the ♦A so was end played into her ♥KJ so -660 instead of +100.  This Bridge laziness by a good player is not acceptable. He was sleeping & not doing any counting at all. No applying patterns in the ♥suit , No counting of HCP's as they were played & no counting of tricks to realize that she was one trick short of her contract. Partner was not doing his job on defense.

            Beginners are allowed to not count as 99% of those they play against do not count either. Therefore "blunders" are pushed & everybody is happy. You escape the task of memorizing about 12 common patterns and forming the habit of applying them. After forming this essential Bridge habit to play Bridge properly, it will become instinctive anyway. .  The very next board after we handed them a 12 IMP gift , they returned the favour . I was in 4♠ with ♠Axxx opposite ♠J10987x after opening a weak 2♠. I led the spade jack & since she does not apply patterns ( 6-4-2-1 )  she covered an honour with an honour & of course partners stiff king fell. Instinctive players with experience do not cover also , not because they applied a 6-4-2-1 hand pattern but they remembered a time 3 years ago that a declarer made a unmakeable game when he covered. Experienced players who do not apply patterns are thumbing their noses at the game of Bridge & just allowing blind luck to determine how well they perform . A mind blowing stubbornness is how I see it.  I apply patterns by “playing by instinct’ as I ingrained the habit over 40 years ago. By working on your patterns , you will develop good Bridge “instincts”. It is a memory trade off as you will not have to memorize the same lame excuses & alibis for your Bridge blunders.