Generally, You Should Take out Your Partner's Takeout Doubles, Unless

Bridge Topics In and Out Hand Evaluation – Rev 5

ACBL Hall of Famer Grant Baze formulated two invaluable bidding principles:

1. The principle of “In-and-Out Evaluation” 2. The principle of “Concentration and Texture”

Concentration and Texture

Bidding is mostly about hand evaluation. For the same number of points, log suit(s) with concentration of honor cards is worth more than the one without. In other words, get into the habit of devaluing hands where the honors are in short suits.

Texture refers to a suit that is “filled up”. For the same five points in a suit, more “fillers”, higher the value:

 AJ1098 worth more than AJ542  AJ1098 is stronger than KQ542  KQJ1098 is a lot better than AK10654; etc.  However, in a NT contract, KQ1098 is equal to AJ1098.

Modern Losing Trick Count method of hand evaluation is essentially a secondary method (primary method is counting points) because its accuracy is evident only when you have a fit with partner. However, any method that counts losers must take into account the principle of concentration. Otherwise, two apparent losers in a suit are actually 2-1/2 or 3 losers.

For example, Qxxx is two losers on the surface and so is AJ10x but surely you do not think of AJ10x as the same 2-loser suit as Q763, do you? Higher the concentration and texture in a particular suit, lower the number of losers.

Normal high card point requirements for game or slam are applicable when you don’t have a fit and/or you are considering a notrump contract on balanced hands.

In a trump contract, however, as the degree of fit goes up, point count requirement goes down. You will be amazed how little in high card points is required to make game or slam when all your points are working.

In and Out evaluation

Points in our suits are “In”; points in their suits are “Out”. Points in an unbid suit are “Out”, at least for the time being. Honor cards in your suits are also ‘In’. In other words, when the opponents compete, points in our suits matter more than either the unbid suits or the opponent’s known or implied suits.

These are also called “Working” points. Meager values go up considerably when they are all working. If some of the values are “Out”, they are wasted and should be devalued somewhat. Here are examples of how to identify “Working” points.

1. Queen of trump (3 or 4 cards) and an outside ace is worth a lot more than Ace of trumps and a queen in a side suit. Three small trumps, an outside Ace and an outside queen not so much.

2. Q10x in partner’s 5-card or longer major, two outside aces and a singleton in the fourth suit is worth a 2-over-1 game forcing response! (Refer to East in Hand 1). Total support points go up to 13: Ten high, two for singleton and one for the quality of trump support (Q10x is better than three small).

3. If opponents have opened the bidding or overcalled, your Limit Raise values go up by three support points if they are not in the opponent’s known suits (except aces are OK).

4. One final example: If partner bids (or indirectly shows) the majors, a holding of ♠ Kxxx and ♥ Kx is worth its weight in gold (all your six points are “In”). Compare this to ♠ xxx, ♥ xxx, ♦ Kxx, ♣ Kxxx (all the points are “Out”).

In most bidding sequences, the first (or second) round of bidding should pinpoint the “In” and “Out” suits. This is especially true if the opponents interfere. Their bidding tends to shed light on which suits are theirs and which suits are ours. It also tells you which honors are useful, which ones are not worth the paper they are printed on.

When the pesky opponents interfere, thank them (silently of course)! Their bidding will help you in many ways.

1. It may allow you to figure out if your points are working 2. If it pinpoints shortness in partner’s hand 3. if your hand has gone up in value (No wastage in the “Out” suit) 4. if your hand has gained “Positional” values 5. It may tell you which finesses should win (RHO opens 1♥ for example)

The reverse is also true. You 14-point hand may go down the tube (“Positional” values are negative!) when many of your honors become worthless when you know all the missing points are on your left. You must have discipline to subtract from those points in your re-evaluation of the whole hand.

In every bidding sequence, there are “In” suits and there are “Out” suits. If we have discovered a fit, that suit is “In”. If partner’s bidding indicates a lack of fit with your first bid suit, that suit is “Out”.

Whenever it is your turn to bid, try to figure out which suits are important to our side and which ones are dangerous. Points and texture in the important suits go up in value, points in the dangerous suits not so. Again, you need discipline to add or subtract from your original point-count.

On the flip side, when there are danger signs of a "misfit", you need more high card points, suit concentration and texture in order to make the same number of tricks. Don't bother applying the Losing Trick Count method when a misfit has been discovered; you really need the required number of high card points for game or slam instead of support points or dummy points.

Under the topics, “What takes tricks?” and “Shortness Rules!”, we will further discuss how important it is to have bidding systems on your card that either show or ask for short suit(s).

There are several methods:

 Make a Splinter bid  Bid three suits to show shortness in the fourth suit  Bid two suits and then cue-bid the opponent's suit if you happen to have shortness in that suit.  Make a systemic bid that promises shortness by partnership agreement

Best holding opposite a singleton is not an ace or AK or KQ; the best holding is "nothing" (no wasted values). If your points are outside the suit(s) that are held by opponents, they tend to fill up gaps in our suits, which in turn gives you extra tricks and/or eliminate losers. Honors in their suit(s) may get gobbled up by a losing finesse, or they do not win any tricks for you.

Magic of the working singleton (or void):

We saw examples of trump contracts where shortness always seem to work to your advantage, especially if it is in the suit(s) held by the opponents. The principle behind this hand evaluation is that a singleton changes the deck to about 34 HCP since KQJ in that suit don’t matter and can be ignored.

When it is a working singleton (meaning you have a fit somewhere else and no wasted values opposite shortness), game or slam requires proportionately less high card points (out of a reduced deck of 34 points).

We normally think 34 points for a notrump slam, or 85% of the deck, and probably a queen less, 31 points or 77.5% of the deck when there is trump fit. In a 34 point deck, a trump slam only needs about 26-27 HCP to have the same 77.5% of the new total.

Make it two different singletons in opposite hands along with a fit in another suit, the deck changes to about 28 HCP. Now slam can be made on 22 points and a 4♥ or 4♠ contract on as little as 17-18 points (the same 63% but of the reduced deck)!

Therefore, ability to detect the "Degree of fit" is a skill everyone should try to acquire when contemplating a trump contract.

In NT contracts however, the Total Point requirements budge very little from the norm. Not only that the deck does not change to 34 points when there is a short suit, it actually increases the risk of making a NT contract of any denomination.

Some examples are in order that demonstrate how to exploit this concept of a deck reducing to 34 points when there is a working shortness (or 28 points when there are two working singletons in opposite hands)

Hand 1 The best lead is a trump; everybody in the North seat should find it.

West East W E ♠ A K J 9 7 6 ♠ Q 10 4 1♠ 2♦ ♥ 7 5 4 ♥ 2 3♣ 4 ♥ ♦ K ♦ A 10 9 7 6 4 4N 5♠ ♣ K Q 2 ♣ A 8 6♠ P

No matter; West does not need any ruffs to make 12 tricks!

Going back to the bidding, East is correct in giving a 2-over-1 response of 2♦; the hand is worth 13 support points and three good trumps. West is also correct to not bid spades again despite having been told repeatedly that if you have a 6-card suit, you should bid it again. Not true if you have something else to say about your hand. 3♣ promises extra values (or extra shape with good-looking suits).

Then the 4♥ Splinter describes the East hand perfectly. Delayed Splinter shows three trumps; an immediate Splinter (4♥ over 1♠) would have promised four.

West now knows that the “In” suits are diamonds and spades, and the “Out” suit is hearts. The club suit is neutral.

With nothing in the “Out” suit (only one loser expected), slam is a sure bet and West drives the bidding to 6♠.

Another example of “In and Out Evaluation”: Partner opens 1♥, these 11 points in your hand would be worth a 2-over-1 response.

♠ xx, ♥ Axx, ♦ AQJ9xx, ♣ xx.

In fact, I would also bid 2-over-1 with ♠ x ♥ Ax ♦ AQJ9xx, ♣ xxxx.

Hand 2 This "In and Out Evaluation" principle is very useful when partner makes a game try (the 3♦ bid by East shown below).

West West should "accept" and jump straight to W E ♠ 9 7 6 4♥. On the flip side, you would be afraid that ♥ Q 9 5 4 even 3♥ is too high if you had those same 6 P 1♥ ♦ A 7 4 3 points in black suits: ♠ Qxx ♥ xxx ♦ xxx ♣ 2♥ 3 ♦ ♣ 8 5 Axxx (or worse yet ♠K and ♣K). 4♥ P

Hand 3

West East W E ♠ 3 ♠ A 10 7 4 P ♥ A 10 7 3 2 ♥ 6 1♥ 1♠ ♦ A 10 9 ♦ K Q J 8 7 4 2♣ 2♦ ♣ A K Q 2 ♣ 8 3 3♦ ?

Although partner is a passed hand, Fourth Suit Forcing (FSF) still applies within the context of the bidding. Partner may have great support for clubs but unable to bid 2NT to show 10-11 points, or partner has the hand shown above.

3♦ by West bids out shape (short spades). It shows 1-5-3-4 or possibly 0-5-3-5 distribution. Bidding out shape is always a good idea; it is the natural way to bid your suits and show shortness in the fourth, unbid suit.

Would you believe your passed hand now has the Grand Slam potential? Opposite spade shortness, extra values (West did not bid a discouraging 2NT or 2♥) and not much wasted in hearts, slam is a real possibility.

On the flip side, partner only promised three diamonds; therefore, ruffing three spades in dummy may turn out to be difficult (Opponents should lead a trump).

East checks on key cards using whatever method she has available. If RKCB 4NT, she can be confident about bidding 6♦ when partner shows 3 key cards (3 Aces).

However, if East had Minorwood available, she could have asked for key cards in clubs (the missing queen principle). But that’s a topic for another day. That sequence will discover three aces and ♣KQ in the West hand, increasing the probability of taking all 13 tricks in a diamond contract to almost 100%.

Hand 4 West East W N E S ♠ A 3 ♠ K J 4 2 1♥ 2N 4♣ P ♥ K J 10 8 7 3 ♥ A Q 9 6 4N P 5♣ P ♦ 9 ♦ Q 8 6 4 5♦ P 5♠ P ♣ A 9 7 2 ♣ 3 6♥ P P P

You are East. Partner opens 1♥ and North jumps to 2NT promising both minors.

Since the right hand opponent is supposedly 5-5 in the minors, trumps could break badly for your side and ♦Q is a doubtful value but East hand is still worth a Splinter bid of 4♣ (most of the values are “In” spades and hearts).

Without interference, a Splinter bid of 4♣ would still have been the correct response promising four trumps and short clubs. It would not have been too difficult to get to 6♥ with two working singletons in opposite hands and almost all the points “In” or “Working”.

East Some 12 point hands are worth a lot less. This East ♠ Q 6 4 2 hand, for example, only warrants a limit raise in hearts. ♥ Q 6 5 4 ♦ K Q 6 4 ♣ K

East On the other hand, this 11-point hand is good enough ♠ K 6 4 2 for a game-forcing Splinter of 4♣ although 6♥ requires ♥ 9 6 5 4 ♥Q to be onside (or stiff queen). You are welcome to ♦ A K J 6 verify the total probability of success to be 51.5%. ♣ 3

For the same 12 points, a different hand that does not include heart support, will be a penalty double type hand provided defending a doubled contract is expected to score better than any EW game. Otherwise, 3NT may be the best EW can do.

Hand 5

West East W N E S ♠ Q J 9 8 3 ♠ A 7 4 2♦ X 3♦ ♥ A Q 7 3 ♥ K J 9 6 4♦ P 4♥ P ♦ 9 7 4 ♦ 8 P P ♣ 2 ♣ K Q 8 5 3

You are West. North opens a weak two diamonds, partner doubles, South raises the preempt to 3♦. The bidding indicates that partner is short in diamonds.

You apply the principle of "In and Out Evaluation". Since all your points are outside of diamonds, they are “In” or “Working”. West has become a game going hand.

It may be tempting to jump to 4♠ but you cannot be sure partner is 4-4 in the majors. Cue-bid 4♦ and ask partner to pick a major. Even if ♠K and ♣A are offside, 4♥ rates to make. That is a very good game to be in.

Please note that a minimum double of the weak 2♦ bid is shown above. Pass is best with anything less. This type of bidding discipline is good for your partnership. With a 10 count and a fit, your double of 2♦ puts partner under pressure to either bid game or settle for a part score or a penalty double.

Hand 6 Please note that East hand is too good for a direct jump to 3NT. Besides, if West has a singleton, 3NT will not be the best contract.

West East W E ♠ 3 ♠ A 10 4 1♦ 2♣ ♥ Q 3 2 ♥ K J 4 3♣ 3 ♦ ♦ A Q 10 8 5 ♦ K 7 4 3♥ 3♠ ♣ A Q 9 2 ♣ K J 8 3 4N 5♥ 6♣ P

It is better to start with a 2-over-1 game forcing response of 2♣ (similar to East’s 2♦ bid in Hand No. 1). Sure enough, West bids out shape (bids three suits in the order of their length), which promises shortness in the fourth suit, spades.

3♠ by East (FSF) is a forward-going bid that either shows first round control or no stopper for NT purposes. Either way West is strong enough to ask for key cards. Hope you feel the same way since East should not have wasted values in spades.

Again, let’s assume you do not have Minorwood at your disposal. RKCB 4NT then asks for key cards in the last suit where a fit was shown, diamonds.

All the points in the East hand are “In” or “Working”, which then produces a virtually laydown 6♣ a total of only 29 points! Even a 5-0 club break can be handled in certain situations.

Please note that West elected to play in the 4-4 ♣ fit over 5-3 ♦ fit. Even if East does not have ♥J, a losing heart can be discarded later on the 5th diamond

Hand 7 Here is an example from a club game in Charlotte. You are sitting West. Righty opens 1♦. Holding both majors, shortness in their suit, your 14 HCP, adjusted 5-loser hand is worth a double, then bid.

It has what I would call “Positional” values (over and above the high card point).

West East W N E S ♠ K 9 3 2 ♠ A 4 1♦ ♥ A Q 10 8 5 ♥ J 9 7 4 X 1♠ P 2♠ ♦ 8 ♦ 9 5 3 2 3♥ P 4♥ P ♣ A J 10 ♣ 7 5 2 P P

North bids 1♠, which South raises to 2♠.

From your perspective, partner should be short in spades (meaning she has some sort of support for hearts) and you are looking at diamond shortness.

Since the deck has also reduced to somewhere between 28 and 34 points (not sure about the value of your ♠K), you can bid 3♥.

Now, it’s up to partner to apply similar logic to her hand. It is reasonable to bid 4♥ holding no wasted values in diamonds, 4-card trump support and an ace outside; all positive features. It is a much stronger holding than other similar hands.

Only 3 pairs out of 12 got to 4♥ on a total of 19 points, which made even though ♥K was offside!

Hand 8 Holding decent spade support West is strong enough to open 1♦ and reverse in hearts if East happens to respond 1♠.

West East W E ♠ Q 10 3 ♠ A K 9 7 4 1♦ 1♠ ♥ A K 3 2 ♥ 8 5 2♥ 3 ♦ ♦ A K J 8 5 ♦ Q 7 4 3♠ 4N ♣ 2 ♣ 10 9 8 3 5♠ 6♠ P

The same West hand bids differently depending on East’s first response.

If East were to respond 1NT over 1♦, a jump to 3♦ is sufficient and does not overstate the values. A 2NT re-bid instead of 3♦ seems right on values but the singleton club is enough of a warning against NT.

When East responds 1♠, West hand goes up in value in support of spades, making it strong enough to reverse in hearts and then show support for spades.

EW are playing Lebensohl over reverses (including FSF), therefore, a raise to 3♦ by East promises 8-10 points and diamond support. West clarifies the nature of his reverse by showing spade support next and at the same time promising club shortness (bid three suits, show shortness in the fourth).

There were two important bidding principles at play here: “Bid out shape”, and “Always follow through” (will be covered in more detail in another class).

Good bidding by EW to reach an almost cold 6♠ on a combined total of 26 points!

Hands 9-13 Try to figure out the West hand in each of these bidding sequences:

W E W E W E W E W E 1♥ 1♠ 1♠ 2♦ 1♦ 1♠ 1♠ 2♣ 1♥ 2♥ 2♣ 2 ♦ 3♣ 3♠ 3♦ 3 ♥ 3♣ 3♥ 2♠ 2N 3♠ ? 4♥ ? 3♠ ? 3♠ ? 3♣ ?

East has limited her values in only one example; can you tell which one? In all other bidding sequences, East is still “Unlimited”. Who knows, East may have slam or a grand slam in mind.