Hand Evaluation, Opening Bids, and Reb ids

Hand Evaluation – Starter Points

The standard deck of cards for the game of bridge contains fifty-two cards. The cards are organized into suits - spades ([A]), hearts ([B]), diamonds ([C]), and clubs ([D]). The sequence spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs represent the rank order of the suits within the deck. Thus, spades is higher ranking than hearts; hearts is higher ranking than diamonds, etc. The major suits are spades and hearts and the minor suits are diamonds and clubs.

Each suit contains thirteen cards as follows:

A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

The Ace (A), King (K), Queen (Q), Jack (J), and 10 are called honor cards.

A bridge hand is created by dealing the fifty-two cards to four players, one at a time, so that each player has a total of thirteen cards. Partnerships at the game are the two persons sitting North-South and those sitting East-West. To evaluate the value of your hand, independent of rank, the standard/traditional method promoted by Charles Goren in the late 1940s is to assign values to the honor cards:

Honor Value
Ace 4
King 3
Queen 2
Jack 1
Ten 0
______________
10

The evaluation method is referred to as 4-3-2-1-0 point count system. Using this method, one observes that a bridge deck contains a total of 40 High Card Points (HCP). Hence, an "average" hand consists of 10 HCP. While the method of assignment is accurate, a computer analysis of bridge hands shows that the point count system (4-3-2-1-0) tends to undervalue aces and tens and to overvalue queens and jacks. Only kings are correctly valued. Using only HCP, a hand with at least 12 HCP is usually opened. More later!

To compensate for the over and under valuation using the Charles Gore standard or traditional method, Marty Bergen, ten-time national champion, developed the ADJUST-3 Method. His 2008 book, "Slam Bidding Made Easier" published by Bergen Books, devotes the first 100 pages to his proposed method. Why adjust three? Because the accuracy of the HCP in a hand depends on the difference of overvalued and undervalued honors by the value of three.

Let's see how the process works. With a dealt hand, one goes through six simple steps to employ the Adjust-3 Method:

Step 1: Add up your HCP using the table presented earlier

Step 2: Count the number of aces and 10s (undervalued honors).

Step 3: Count the number of queens and jacks (overvalued honors).

Step 4: Subtract the smaller number from the larger number.

Step 5: Evaluate the difference:

If between 0-2, make no adjustment If within the range 3-5, adjust by 1 point If 6+ (rare), adjust by 2 points Step 6: If the number of aces and 10s is more, add; If the number of queens and jacks is more, subtract

We next apply the method to a few examples.

Hand 1 Hand 2 Hand 3 Hand 4 Hand 5

[A]AKQ105 [A]AK9 [A]A67 [A]A104 [A]K78
[B]10982 [B]KJ3 [B]KQ54 [B]10543 [B]AQ9852
[C]6 [C]J105 [C]Q7 [C]KJ67 [C]A109
[D]J67 [D]5678 [D]J678 [D]K10 [D]A

Hand 1: 10 HCP
3 (undervalued) 10A10; 2 (overvalued) honors QJ
3-2=1; no adjustment
The adjusted total for the hand is 10

Hand 2: 12 HCP
3 aces and 10s (undervalued); 2 Js (overvalued)
3-2= 1 no adjustment, but skewed in undervalued honors
The adjusted total for the hand is 12

Hand 3: 12 HCP
3 queens and jacks (overvalued); 1 ace (undervalued)
3-1=2 no adjustment, but skewed in overvalued honors
The adjusted total for the hand is 12

Hand 4: 11 HCP
4 undervalued honors; 1 overvalued honor
4-1=3; add 1 HCP; more overvalued honors
The adjusted total for the hand is 12

Hand 5: 17 HCP
4 undervalued honors; 1 overvalued honor
4-1=3; add 1 HCP; more undervalued honors
The adjusted total for the hand is 18

Using the Adjust-3 method of hand evaluation, one may consider opening hands two- five. However, is there more to the story? Yes. Clearly, if a suit includes AKxxx and another suit contains Axxx, one may take two tricks with the first and only one with the second. Thus, in addition to HCP, one must consider suit length.

After the Adjust-3 process, you must apply the following rule to modify your points for suit length; provided the suit contains at least one honor card: A/K/Q/J/10.

ADD FOR SUIT LENGTH

1 additional point for a 5-card suit
2 additional points for a 6-card suit
3 additional points for a 7-card suit, etc.

In summary, add one additional point for each card in a suit over four that contains an honor.

However, in addition to suit length, one has to consider dubious honors since they are OVER VALUED.

Subtract ONE point for hands with the following doubletons or singleton honors

DOUBLETONS: AJ, KQ, KJ, QJ, Qx, Jx (Quick tricks = 1, ½, or 0) SINGLETONS: K, Q, J (½ or 0 Quick tricks) Note that AK, AQ, Ax, and Kx are excluded honor doubletons.

Lastly, you must adjust for QUALITY SUITS - a suit with 3+ of the top five honor cards.

ADD ONE ADDITIONAL POINT FOR EACH QUALITY SUIT.

In summary, one proceeds through the following steps to obtain the total value of a hand.

Step 1: HCP

Step 2: Adjust-3 (add or subtract)

Step 3: Suit Length (add for length)

Step 4: Dubious Honors (subtract)

Step 5: Suit Quality (add)

Step 6: Total Starting Points

Completing steps 1-4, one has what Mr. Bergen calls "Starting Points." To open the bidding in the game of bridge (one of a suit), a hand is opened if it has at least twelve Starting Points in the first seat. There is more to a hand than simply high card points (HCP).

One final comment, in a suit contract, if your shape is 4-3-3-3, 5-3-3-2, or 6-3-2-2, or 7-2-2-2, you should downgrade your hand by one point for "flatness."

If the shape is 4-3-3-3 and one is considering a notrump bid, also subtract one from the total Starting Points.

Returning to Hands 1-5, we apply the process outlined above.

Hand 1 Hand 2 Hand 3 Hand 4 Hand 5

[A]AKQ105 [A]AK10 [A]A67 [A]A104...