Best Way To Win In Best Hand

[AAr]

I need the answer to this one. I read through the threads, I don't see the answer to this.

 

What is the best way to win in Best Hand tourneys when you just keep getting dealt partscore hand after partscore battle? And, PLEASE tell me what I have read about Partscore Battles in Best Hand (Hope not to get dealt too many of them: Partscores in Best Hand = Bad), is NOT true??? It seems like 70% of the hands I get dealt in Best Hand are Partscore Battles, and I rarely place in those.

 

 

In the last one, I was getting -140s defending making partscores EVERY hand and came from being first out of seven to MISSING THE POINTS. Shouldn't being -140 in a hand many tables would be -170, -200, and maybe even a occasional -500 or -620 or -730? Are -140s REALLY THAT BAD in Best Hand?

 

Seriously, what is the best way to win in Best Hand when you just keep geting dealt partscore cards?

 

A: Play fast, don't think, and don't care if you get a plus or not? And, try to get in as many hands as possible? Seems like bad strategy to me, although it is a timed tourney, and it is fun to get in more hands. Still, wouldn't pluses be better than minuses. And, aren't some of the things that often happen when rushed, like going down in cold contracts, still bad even in Best Hand?.

 

B: Overbid and bid a game that's an extreme longshot to make? If you think you're already likely down in 3H, why would you want to bid 4H? It seems like a better strategy would be to take a likely small plus or small minus for an unlikely bigger plus and likely bigger minus.

 

C: Play carefully and try to get a plus (like you would in IMPs)? This SEEMS like a good strategy, and you would gain against anybody getting a minus (even if it's going down in a slam), but it just doesn't seem to hope as me much as I should.

 

D: Try to be declarer (or better yet, have the GIB partner declare), and try at least to avoid DEFENDING partscores? This DOES seem like a good strategy, as I do seem to have better luck declaring or dummying partscores than defending them, especially in Best Hand. You also usually get through the hand faster when you declare and fastest when you dummy, but slower when you defend. But, it just doesn't seem to help me enough to win. And, I do often end up playing hopeless contracts when using this strategy, though, so it's not totally backfire-proof.

 

E: Perhaps really open all hands you would open in other tourneys (12+ point hands), . Perhaps this makes it harder for the opponents to compete, so if I do have to play partscores, I can at least be more likely to declare and dummy more of them, have a proper bidding auctions like I would in other tourney types, and get more plus scores in those.

 

F: Perhaps only open REALLY STRONG hands (18+ points! Well, if you count passouts as full hands, you could set a record in getting in the most hands, which could cause fun in a tourney even if you don't place in the money. It still seems to make it easy for the opponents to open or get in if either of them has an opening hand, just like the standard not open <15pt hand rule.

 

G: Double and pass out takeout doubles against the opponents agressively in Best Hand if you do have to defend? Given the way GIB declarers (and how I seem to defend), this is probably a losing strategy to me, but at least is does give one unlikely chance for a large plus like you could get if you make a game or even a slam. If you get them, those +500s, +800s and +1100s can come in really handy, but is it worth the risking a more likely bad minus score like a -670?

 

H: Hope and pray not to get dealt too many of such hands if I could control it? This just comes down to ramdon luck. And, if THIS is true, then I need to stop playing Best Hand. Battles for Partscores seem to be my trademark Best Hand deal (What I most often get dealt in those.) It does, unfortunately, seem like it'd a winning strategy if I COULD control it, as I do seem to do better in Best Hand the rare times most of the my hands are game hands with an occasional slam hand, and very few partscore hands, even when I do overbid or misplay the games and go down in them.

 

I: Just stop playing Best Hand And, stick with Random Hands, Robot Race, Bingo, or Duplicate, where partscores CAN be a good thing, or play tourneys whose trademark hands that are not the tourney type's losing hands?

 

J: Other.

 

I need the answer to this one. I read through the threads, I don't see the answer to this.

[gwnn]

Depends what your opening style is I guess. I don't think 15+ is strident enough but probably 18+ is too high. I know you said you didn't find anything on this, but doesn't this thread http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/topic/29136-robot-race-strategies/ help you at all? Opening strategies are discussed at length. Personally I passed all strong NT's but that's probably taking it too far, some people say open strong NT's only if you will accept an invite, others say only open strong NT's if you are vulnerable and accept an invite. Also probably only open 1 of a suit if you have a strong rebid (i.e. 1x-1y; 3x). But don't trust me, I always sucked at Best Hand and I'm sure today there are more sophisticated strategies than when I used to play.

 

Ultimately the answer is that if you are always in a partscore battle (despite near-optimal opening requirements) you are fixed and there's no easy way out.

 

H is also a good idea, btw. I am doubtful whether it would genuinelyaffect the random number generator on the BBO servers, but it does give you a more positive attitude, etc.

[AAr]

That thread is a nice one, but doesn't seem to help me with my cards. It says not to open with less than 18 points to avoid hands likely to be passout battles: Seeemingly good stragegy, and I don't open anything less than a 16, but, I still usually get them anyway. My GIB LHO always seem to have opening value hands while my GIB Partner always seem to have rubbish, so the bidding is opened (because my LHO always seems to have opening values) and there is NO chance for game. While it seems to be good advice, it's discouraging reading based on the cards I usually get dealt in those. That thread seems to say that playing partscores are bad.

 

And, usually, I seem to have to defend them, and my defense against partscores sucks, and GIB seems to play slower when the opponents declare. And, although the stakes are lower, partscores hands don't see to be any faster than game hands (If anything, they're slower).

 

I know the rare times I actually DO get dealt game hands, I tend to do better, but that's moot point with the cards I usually get in them.

 

BUT, I do have somewhat better luck in Random Hands (which seems to be the only money reward tourney I have much good luck in). The thing I like about Random Hands is that I could make a NV game in Board 1, than a Vul game in Board 2, maybe get a small plus (making parscore or setting opponents) in Board 3. Board 4 comes, I see the opponents are about to make a vul game, I could just log off of BBO or even get away from or turn off my computer, thinking and hoping my 1200 score is enough to get me in the money (which it often is), and not need to play the full 25 minutes like in Best Hand (where the money cutoff is usually around 4000-5000). I think I'll stop playing Best Hand and stick with Random Hands. I seem to do OK in the 25c Robot Race (much better than I do in Best Hand), but people rarely sign up for those at the times I want to play them.

[jamegumb]

I do a mix of strategies A, D, and F. When embroiled defending a part score battle, I generally try to play reasonable defense quickly as long as I can until the contract seems decided. Then I click random cards as fast as possible.