Computer Programs (for the scientific analysis of bidding)

Practice Bidding

Input partial information about one hand. Then you and your partner bid the hands. (Or you bid them with yourself.) Go here to establish hands and here to bid an established set of hands.

Simulations

You primarily use simulations to answer bidding questions. For example, you hold
J1098xx
AKxx
x
xx
and find out your partner has a balanced 20-21 HCP with a 4-card spade suit and 4 controls (3 aces and the king of trump). What should you bid?

This question can be answered via a simulation. You have the computer produce hands fitting a description of your partner's hand. Then you throw out any hands that your partner could not have. With the remaining hands, you try to estimate the chances of making 7. (It turns out to be about 60%.)

There are different programs, depending on how much information you want to specify.

  • Constructs partner's hand. Input your exact hand and partial information about partner's hand. The computer then constructs random hands for your partner. For example, suppose your partner opens 2NT and you have 9 HCP and A109xxx of Diamonds. What is the chance that we have a good slam in diamonds or NT? The computer deals random hands for your partner and reports the hands with 20-21 HCP and a balanced distribution. You have to then analyze the hands.
  • Constructs two hands. Input the known facts about your partner's hand. The computer then constructs random hands for you and your partner. For example, suppose you want to test your bidding over the 2 Club opening. You can input that one hand has 22-40 HCP.
  • Constructs defender's hands Input your hand and partner's. The computer then constructs random hands for the two defenders. Usually, you should analyze the chance of making a hand mathematically, but if that is too complex, you could use this program.
  • Just one hand Input partial information about one hand, then the computer constructs random hands matching that description. For example, if you wanted to know the average shape of a 1 NT opener.
  • One to four Input information about one hand, then the computer constructs three random hands.
  • 2 1/2 to 3 Input exact information about two hands and partial information about a third
  • bidding Input exact information about one hand and partial information about two hands.