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 "Fascinating Facts" Mixed Bag by Marti Ronemus

Have we ever properly considered the humble shopping cart? That ubiquitous object of convenience that disappears from our radar the minute we put it back? (And we DO put them back, don't we?)

The first shopping cart appeared at the Humpty Dumpty markets in 1937. The designer, Sylvan Goldman, is an unsung hero to everyone who's ever used one. Just so you know, the average cart is rated to hold around 350 pounds, which means you can indeed put all those kids in it while you shop. In actuality, most can hold up to 1000 pounds, so go ahead and treat yourself to that industrial sized box of cereal also!

And how many bidding challenges can your brain hold? Let's see.

Question 1

  Your Hand
♠ K Q 10
♥ K Q 9 7 4
♦ A 4
♣ K J 6 		 
Q: 1 - As South, what is your bid?
SouthWestNorthEast
---1♦
?


 Your choice:
A: Double: A plain old vanilla overcall promises a) a Darn Good five-card suit with playing values and b) 7-17ish points. This hand is too big and you need to begin with a Double. Then when you bid a suit of your own, Pard will know you've got 18 points.

Your result so far:
Open Question

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Question 2

  Your Hand
♠ J 10 9 4
♥ A 10 8
♦ 
♣ 10 8 7 6 4 3 		 
Q: 2 - As South, what is your bid?
SouthWestNorthEast
-1♦1♥pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2♥: Partner could have as few as 7 pts. Do we care? No. In a competitive auction, we want to obey The Law of Total Tricks and raise partner to the level of trumps in the combined hands. Keep in mind that, in a competitive auction, the weakest response you can make it to raise partner's suit. Even if Pard has 17 pts., we aren't going anywhere. The level of the raise doesn't matter, since it shows the number of trumps. If you had a GOOD hand, you'd cue-bid the opponent's suit or name a new suit.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 3

  Your Hand
♠ A 10 6 4
♥ A 10 6 4
♦ 
♣ K 10 7 6 4 		 
Q: 3 - As South, what is your bid?
SouthWestNorthEast
-1♦1♥pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2♦: This time, we can support partner's overcall BUT this time we care if Pard has 7 or 17 pts. With a void in Their suit, a guaranteed nine-card trump suit, two honors in Pard's suit, we are thinking game. Keeping in mind that a raise of partner's suit regardless of level shows a minimum hand, we need to do something dramatic, and that's a cue-bid of Their suit. The cue-bid promises a fit with partner and 10 points. It's unlimited and forcing. Pard's next bid will show his point count and we'll know where to place the contract.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 4

  Your Hand
♠ J 8
♥ K Q J 5 3
♦ Q J 10 7 6
♣ 3 		 
Q: 4 - As South, what is your bid?
SouthWestNorthEast
---1♦
1♥pass2♦pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2♥: After we made our plain vanilla overcall with our 10 pts and Darn Good suit, we see Pard cue-bid the opponent's suit. We know (from the last question!) Pard's got a fit with us and 10 plus points. Our job is now to quantify our hand, make a bid that limits our point count. With a less-than-opening hand (11 pts or less), we rebid our suit as cheaply as possible. With 12-14 points, we jump one level. With 15-17, we go to game. Once we limit the hand with our 2♥ bid, partner can do the math and place the contract. It isn't our problem any more. Whew.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 5

  Your Hand
♠ A 4 3 2
♥ 7
♦ A 4 3 2
♣ A 6 5 3 		 
Q: 5 - As South, what is your bid?
SouthWestNorthEast
?--



 Your choice:
A: Pass: This shaped hand, 4-4-4-1, is called "The Rattlesnake" and a surprising number of experts suggest you pass with it. You've got three winners, and 10 losers. This is not a hand to open with. Rather, wait until They get to game and double. Another option? They'll bid your short suit and you can double, showing either two or three suits. Be wary of opening, but don't be shy about taking a bite later.

Well, that cart is filled with ideas. Let's get another one for our hand.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Play this Hand

Now that you've bid five hands, let's see how your play goes.

Overall Results

Your results:   out of    Average: 

What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
More informations on our website: www.VuBridge.com

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