07-17-2016, 09:09 PM
I may have some posts on this, but if so I think they're pretty far back. So it's worth discussing again.
Hands can have one of three orientations:
--junk. Nuff said. Offer save bids if feasible, but bail at ANY excuse.
--offensive
--defensive/support
Note that hand orientation is not tightly correlated to hand strength. There are weak offensive hands and strong defensive hands; there are strong offensive hands, too. A weak defensive hand might slide into the 'junk' category.
OK, perhaps I should say there's a fourth orientation...some offense, but also quite a bit of defense.
A hand's offensive aspect is based on distribution...balanced hands are bad, unbalanced hands are good...and when strength lies outside the mid-length suits. The offensive aspect is based primarily on the ability to win tricks *other than* aces...and with short-suit aces, the fact that you can ensure they win tricks when you're on lead to start the hand.
Balanced hands are 5-5-5-5, 6-5-5-4, 6-6-4-4, 6-6-5-3, 7-5-4-4, and 7-5-5-3...the last two are sliding into the 'hybrid' category. But the 2nd longest suit is an issue. If you have 8-4-4-4, only the 8 card suit offers any appreciable chance of a non-ace trick. 8-6-4-2, on the other hand...the 6 card suit can do so. This is also where the location of your strength matters. Consider these hands:
versus
versus
The first will produce about a trick more than the second on average, and the second will probably produce about a trick more than the third. The first hand can attack diamonds by leading the Q immediately, if shooting for *4* diamond tricks. The second hand, the value of the diamond suit is in finding partner with short diamonds (hopefully he gets a ruff or two), OR in using them to force opponents to ruff. This can really help you maintain trump control. The third hand gets neither. You need to be on lead, to play diamonds, too much of the time.
Strength isn't just about aces. Tens reinforce aces. That's the difference between the first 2 hands...reinforcement. :
A trump suit that is ATKKQQJJ is nice enough, but quite vulnerable. Even ATTKKQQJ is a fairly significant improvement, by making your suit a bit deeper while also making the frequency an opponent has a deep suit, that much lower. You're North:
ATKKQQJJ
ATTxxx xxx
AAx
Say you exit with a trump; dummy cashes his aces, and at some point exits with his last trump. You still lose 2 trump tricks because West has the 6th round winner (even if he wins the 3rd round.)
ATTKKQQJ
ATxxxx xxx
AAx
Now, you control the 6th round.
It helps on the 5th round:
ATKKQQJJ
TTxxx ATxx
AAx
Assume you reach South in a side suit. You still have 2 trump losers here.
ATTKKQQJ
Txxxx ATxx
AAx
Here, if West leads through, you insert a ten; you force East's ace. You still have AT to finish drawing trump.
Longer-suit texture is a crucial factor in winning the tricks with something other than an ace.
A hand has a defensive or support (ie, helping partner declare) orientation when it's balanced, or its long suits are weak. A defensive hand can be perfectly playable:
it just has no compelling need to call trump.
Now...relating this back to bidding:
--most offensive hands consider bidding to play, not giving meld. The exception is usually lacking a run, and not having fairly strong meld.
--defensive hands give meld or pass if they're bidding in front of partner...even if fairly strong. Say you're in first seat with
Nice enough, but no bid. Now, if partner can show you considerable meld, you might elect to compete...if he shows 30, you should have 6 tricks. 60 is a good contract...but this also requires your RHO to pass. If RHO bids anything, you have no good bid.
--tweener hands can be bid in a wide variety of ways. Go back to our massive tweener:
In first seat, you could:
--give aces, planning to rebid to show 40...this really shows your hand. The rebid must, IMO, imply a viable trump suit. You have that.
--bid 50, asking. If partner asks for meld back, you have more confidence he's got a fairly good suit. However, finding the best hand and suit to play the hand is harder after this start.
--bid 54. The risk is when partner is even less offensively oriented than you are.
Hands can have one of three orientations:
--junk. Nuff said. Offer save bids if feasible, but bail at ANY excuse.
--offensive
--defensive/support
Note that hand orientation is not tightly correlated to hand strength. There are weak offensive hands and strong defensive hands; there are strong offensive hands, too. A weak defensive hand might slide into the 'junk' category.

OK, perhaps I should say there's a fourth orientation...some offense, but also quite a bit of defense.
A hand's offensive aspect is based on distribution...balanced hands are bad, unbalanced hands are good...and when strength lies outside the mid-length suits. The offensive aspect is based primarily on the ability to win tricks *other than* aces...and with short-suit aces, the fact that you can ensure they win tricks when you're on lead to start the hand.
Balanced hands are 5-5-5-5, 6-5-5-4, 6-6-4-4, 6-6-5-3, 7-5-4-4, and 7-5-5-3...the last two are sliding into the 'hybrid' category. But the 2nd longest suit is an issue. If you have 8-4-4-4, only the 8 card suit offers any appreciable chance of a non-ace trick. 8-6-4-2, on the other hand...the 6 card suit can do so. This is also where the location of your strength matters. Consider these hands:




















versus




















versus




















The first will produce about a trick more than the second on average, and the second will probably produce about a trick more than the third. The first hand can attack diamonds by leading the Q immediately, if shooting for *4* diamond tricks. The second hand, the value of the diamond suit is in finding partner with short diamonds (hopefully he gets a ruff or two), OR in using them to force opponents to ruff. This can really help you maintain trump control. The third hand gets neither. You need to be on lead, to play diamonds, too much of the time.
Strength isn't just about aces. Tens reinforce aces. That's the difference between the first 2 hands...reinforcement. :

ATKKQQJJ
ATTxxx xxx
AAx
Say you exit with a trump; dummy cashes his aces, and at some point exits with his last trump. You still lose 2 trump tricks because West has the 6th round winner (even if he wins the 3rd round.)
ATTKKQQJ
ATxxxx xxx
AAx
Now, you control the 6th round.
It helps on the 5th round:
ATKKQQJJ
TTxxx ATxx
AAx
Assume you reach South in a side suit. You still have 2 trump losers here.
ATTKKQQJ
Txxxx ATxx
AAx
Here, if West leads through, you insert a ten; you force East's ace. You still have AT to finish drawing trump.
Longer-suit texture is a crucial factor in winning the tricks with something other than an ace.
A hand has a defensive or support (ie, helping partner declare) orientation when it's balanced, or its long suits are weak. A defensive hand can be perfectly playable:





















it just has no compelling need to call trump.
Now...relating this back to bidding:
--most offensive hands consider bidding to play, not giving meld. The exception is usually lacking a run, and not having fairly strong meld.
--defensive hands give meld or pass if they're bidding in front of partner...even if fairly strong. Say you're in first seat with




















Nice enough, but no bid. Now, if partner can show you considerable meld, you might elect to compete...if he shows 30, you should have 6 tricks. 60 is a good contract...but this also requires your RHO to pass. If RHO bids anything, you have no good bid.
--tweener hands can be bid in a wide variety of ways. Go back to our massive tweener:





















In first seat, you could:
--give aces, planning to rebid to show 40...this really shows your hand. The rebid must, IMO, imply a viable trump suit. You have that.
--bid 50, asking. If partner asks for meld back, you have more confidence he's got a fairly good suit. However, finding the best hand and suit to play the hand is harder after this start.
--bid 54. The risk is when partner is even less offensively oriented than you are.
