September 2019 - 57

Intermediate Players

Better Bridge with Bergen
BY MARTY BERGEN

martybergen.com

Secrets of accurate hand evaluation - part 2
The real truth about high-card
points
Using 4-3-2-1 to represent the values for aces, kings, queens and jacks is
easy. Anyone can do it. Unfortunately,
it is not completely accurate. You need
not memorize the following, but these
values, which offer a more accurate
representation of a card's trick-taking
potential, are worth noting:
⦁ The true value of an ace is 4½
points.
⦁ A king is correct with its assigned
value of 3 points.
⦁ A queen is worth only 1½ points.
⦁ A jack is worth ¾ of a point.
⦁ A 10, like an ace, is an underrated
honor. It is worth ¼ of a point.
The great majority of players would
not want to bother with these fractions.
That's OK. But what you must keep in
mind is that traditional high-card point
values underrate aces and 10s and overrate queens and jacks. Without forcing
students to use fractions and make
counting high-card points a complicated process, my practical method to
rectify the imperfections of using the
traditional values is the following:
If your hand contains at least three
aces or three 10s, add 1 point.
If your hand contains at least three
queens or three jacks, subtract 1 point.
I believe that is not asking too much.
And hopefully you are willing to think
and not merely count your points and
turn off your brain. Here are examples
to illustrate the above:

1 ♠A 6 5 4 ♥A 5 3 ♦6 3 ♣A 6 3 2 6 ♠A 7 3 ♥Q 7 6 2 ♦Q 6 4 3 ♣Q 4
Those players who complain about
hands with "aces and spaces," such
as this one, are announcing their lack
of understanding of what bridge is all
about. It is nice to have picture cards
along with your aces. But any time I get
more than my share of aces, I am a very
happy camper.

2 ♠6 ♥K Q 9 7 5 ♦5 3 2 ♣K Q 8 6

This hand has 10 traditional HCP.
I subtract 1 for the three overrated
queens. So I evaluate this hand as 9
HCP. I do not believe it is any stronger
than example 5!

7 ♠Q J 8 ♥A J 7 6 ♦J 7 5 3 ♣8 3
This hand contains 9 traditional
HCP. Subtract 1 for the three jacks.
This hand is worth 8 HCP.

3 ♠Q 5 ♥J 6 5 4 3 ♦K 10 4 ♣J 5 2 8 ♠A J 7 6 ♥J 10 2 ♦A J 8 4 ♣A 5

Holding no aces is never good. Do I
subtract a point for that? When there is
nothing wrong with the hand, such as
Example 2, although I am disappointed
to be aceless, I would not subtract anything. But when I get a downgradable
hand, such as Example 3, I definitely
would make that subtraction.
Here are some more examples of
adjusting your point count when you
have three of the same honors.

4 ♠A Q 3 ♥A 10 5 4 ♦A 7 5 2 ♣8 6
With its three aces, I believe this
hand is worth 15 HCP. It has 14 traditional HCP plus a 1-point bonus for the
three aces. With my upgradable hand,
I'd open 1NT.

5 ♠A 10 6 ♥J 10 9 5 ♦K 10 8 5 ♣4 3
This hand has 8 traditional HCP. You
should add 1 point for the three 10s.
I think of this as a hand with 9 HCP.

This example has 15 traditional
HCP. I add 1 point for the three aces
but subtract 1 point for the three jacks.
So after the smoke clears, I remain at
15 HCP. Do keep in mind the following: An expert friend told me a long
time ago, "It's uncanny how well hands
work out when they contain no jacks."
He was not saying he prefers holding
a deuce to holding a jack. He was just
saying that when you pick up a jack
and add 1 HCP, that often does not accurately reflect the value of the hand.
With many hands, a jack turns out to
be a worthless honor. That is especially
true in a slam.
But, obviously, a jack could also be a
critical card. If you have a suit such as
Q-10-5-4, you would be delighted and
grateful if partner has the jack. Without question, every card has its day in
the sun.
That's all for now. Next month I will
discuss the great appreciation players
should have for long suits.
◾
September 2019 Bridge Bulletin

57
http://www.martybergen.com
September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2019
