Wednesday, March 09, 2005 5:17 PM

Opponent Conscious

PITBULLS:

For the most part you can not teach Bridge judgment. This comes from the school of hard knocks a.k.a. experience . Having said that , there is some advice that I can give that help develop your bidding judgment . This advice is to be “opponent wary” and anticipate their action in your auction. Bridge is not played in a vacuum and the opponents are always lurking and can pounce at any time.

I held xxxx A1098xxx x x and Nancy opened 1♦ and responded 3♥ . Nancy questioned why I just did not respond 1♥ . The answer is that I only have 4 HCP and that means there are vultures lurking. Why give them any room to enter the auction ? You describe your hand pretty well in one bid and simultaneously force them to a very high level to come in.

In 3^rd seat the opponents ( LHO ) are my prime concern . I always assume a strong NT to my left and if I pass the auction is going to go 1NT-P-3NT . All my opening bids at the one level are lead directing unless I have a strong hand. xx AKJx Jxxxx Qx is opened 1♥ and not one diamond. If I have a bad minor or no lead director with 10-12 HCP’s I just prefer a pass. At least if they buy the hand , partner will choose her own lead.

In 3^rd seat and being opponent conscious you should try to make life difficult for them . Partner being a passed hand gives you way more latitude for tactical bidding. Pre-empts are an adventure in 3^rd seat . You hold xx xx xx KQJ10xxx and it is very balanced for a 7 card suit. With the appropriate vulnerability a 1NT opener might distort the auction enough to create mayhem.

In pre-emptive auctions always assume the partner of the pre-empter will also pre-empt. You hold xx Axx AKQxxx xx and partner bids 1♥. RHO bids 2♠ so your call ? I have seen so many players make the wrong bid of 3♠ citing a cliché that you should show a fit early . Like most clichés its only a half truth . It is far more important to bid naturally and using a Kiz Fung expression “ show where you live” . The reason why Kiz is right is that bidding naturally helps the partnership in their decision making when the opponents make life miserable for you. Say you did Q bid 3♠ and they bid 4♠ and around to you again so do you bid 5♥ ? You have “end played” yourself in the bidding. Partner holds all her HCP’s in clubs with a stiff diamond and 5♥ has no play and 4♠X gets murdered. You guess wrong and double and what happens ? Partner has Jxxx of diamonds and all your diamond points are wasted and you beat 4♠ one with you making 650 in hearts.

Anticipating and using the opponents in your auction are the same strategy. A tormentee held AJ10xx A10xx x Qxx and opened 1♠ and I responded 2♠ . RHO bid 3♦ so without that bid you have a very minimum opener. With them bidding your stiff your hand has “grown during the auction” . You compete to 3♠ and even make game +170 . What if you held AJ10xx xx KQx QJx ? You have more HCP’s but a much worse hand with your diamond HCP’s. This is a clear cut pass and if partner re-opens with a double you convert. Being opponent conscious is a large part of developing your bidding judgment.