March 2020 - 45

Newer Players

Parrish the Thought
BY ADAM PARRISH

adam@bridgewinners.com

adamparrish.us

Accepting an invite
One of my online students asked a
good question: When partner makes
an invitational bid, when should you
accept and when should you decline
the invitation? What should you be
thinking? Here's an example:
North
1♠
2NT

South
1♣
1NT
?

Most people start thinking about
partner's hand: "Partner has 10-12
high-card points. She has only four
spades because she didn't use newminor forcing. She has a relatively
balanced hand. My points plus her
10-12 points add up to ..."
This is not particularly helpful, and,
honestly, it's a waste of your time and
energy. You don't need to think about
partner's hand; she's already done that.
All you have to do is think about your
hand - what you have relative to what
you've shown. Partner knows what
you've shown, and she thinks there are
hands at the top of your range where
game will be good, and hands at the
bottom where game will be bad. You
don't have to picture what she has; you
just have to judge how your hand rates
relative to what you've shown.
In this auction, you have shown a
balanced hand with 12-14 HCP. You
are now evaluating your hand within
that context. Basically, all partner is
asking you is, "Are you on the 12 end or
the 14 end?"

That's not to say you're totally ignoring what you know about partner's
hand - you know she has four spades,
so you can give some extra value to
fitting spade honors. Remember our
discussion of hand evaluation last
month. But ultimately it's about your
hand. Are you maximum or minimum?
If you hold:
♠5 3 2 ♥Q J 3 ♦K J 4 ♣K Q 5 2,
you have the worst hand possible: only
12 HCP, 4-3-3-3 shape, no aces, no
spade honors, no spot cards above a 5.
You pass. With:
♠Q J 6 ♥A J 10 4 ♦10 7 ♣A Q 10 7,
you have a great hand: 14 HCP with
fitting spade honors, a little shape and
good spot cards. You clearly have a 3NT
acceptance. Most hands will fall somewhere in between. All you can do is use
your judgment and evaluation skills to
decide if you're on the high end or the
low end. But don't waste energy worrying about what partner has. Just think,
"What have I shown, and how does my
hand rate within that context?" Keep it
simple.
Here's another example:
North
2♦
3♥

South
1NT
2♥
?

Partner's sequence sets hearts as
trump and invites you to game. You
don't have to worry about what she has.

Yes, she probably has six hearts and
invitational values, but so what? She is
soliciting your opinion: Do you have an
above-average hand for her or not? If
you judge your hand to be at the top of
your range, you bid 4♥; if not, you pass.
Again, it's not just about high-card
points, though most hands with 15
HCP will pass and most with 17 will accept. Fit matters. Partner knows hearts
will be a reasonable trump suit because
you have promised at least two. If you
have more than you promised, that
improves your prospects considerably.
A nine- or 10-card fit plays significantly better than an eight-card fit, and
deserves an upgrade. Shape matters.
4-3-3-3 is bad, even though you have a
good fit with partner. Spot cards, honor
type, honor concentration - all the
things we discussed last month - are
factors when you have a close decision
to make.
With:
♠K J 7 ♥J 6 ♦A Q J 7 ♣Q J 8 4,
you have a clear pass: 15 HCP, poor fit,
poor controls.
With:
♠A 9 ♥Q 8 7 ♦A K 5 4 ♣K 10 3 2,
you have a clear accept - 16 HCP with a
good fit, good shape and good controls.
The important concept is not to
worry about what partner has, but
to focus on yourself. Call this the
Narcissus approach to accepting game
invitations: What have you shown, and
how does your hand rate within your
expressed range?
◾
March 2020 Bridge Bulletin

45
http://www.adamparrish.us
March 2020

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