Placing the Contract--"Most Hated..." by Marti Ronemus

According to the Huffington Post, Hater (a dating app based on mutual dislikes) put together a map of every state’s most hated food using data collected from its more than 600,000 users.

Some state’s top hates should come as no surprise: Residents of Washington, America’s coffee capital, take a strong stance against Keurig K-Cups, and in Vermont, which is known for its cheddar, spray cheese is looked down upon. (I thought spray cheese was a joke!) In the middle of the country, land-locked Kansas natives avoid shellfish, and people living in steak-loving Oklahoma can’t stand veggie burgers.

But the most hated foods in some states aren’t as easy to understand. New Mexico, for example, hates chicken nuggets, while Hawaii hates Coke, and Maryland hates the corner piece of the brownie. Who could hate corner brownie pieces? We fight over them in my house!

What about bids? Certainly good bids can't be reviled anywhere. Let's come up with some winners today. We're going to place contracts with style and panache.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A K 9
♥ 4
♦ A J 9 5 4
♣ K Q 10 5

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♦	p	1♥	p
2♣	p	2♦	p
?

A: 2 No-trump: First, let's visualize what Pard is holding. It sounds like he's got a minimum hand and is settling for Diamonds as a preference. He might only have three Diamonds and four Hearts. He could NOT bid 2 No-trump, so we know he has no more than 9 pts. With our 17 pts., we need to invite, and we've got the Spade stoppers. Nothing to hate here!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ 4 3 2
♥ 4
♦ A Q 8
♣ A K 8 5 4 3

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♣	p	1♥	p
2♣	p	3♣	p
?

A: Pass: This is tough. Pard has shown no more than 10-12 pts. We have 13 HCP. We have a max of 25 pts. Game in Clubs is highly unlikely. What about 3 No-trump? If Pard has a Spade stopper and a real Heart suit, it is possible, but we have so many losers and no real source of tricks. We have two choices... once a suit has been agreed on, a new suit, like 3♦, shows a stopper and is forward going. Problem? If Pard has no Spade stopper, we well may find ourselves in a dreadful 5♣ contract. While not against 3♦, we prefer the Pass in this case, although some states might disagree.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ K Q 5 4
♥ 9
♦ K Q J 8 7
♣ A 10 9

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♦	p	1♥	p
1♠	p	2♠	p
?

A: 3♠: While we aren't crazy about singletons in Pard's first-bid suit, we feel this 15-16ish pt. hand is worth an invitational bid. Some players might bid 3♣ to show that stopper once trump has been agreed on, so if you bid that, give yourself credit also.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ A Q 9 5 4
♥ A Q
♦ 3 2
♣ Q 10 9 2

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♠	p	1 No-trump	p
2♣	p	2♦	p
?

A: Pass: Pard has limited his hand to a max of 9 pts. We have 14. We are going nowhere. Pard's bid AFTER limiting his hand tells us he has a very long suit he couldn't bid before because he can't afford the two-level. We need to pass.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ K Q 9
♥ 3 2
♦ K Q J 9 7 2
♣ J 2

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♦	p	1♥	P
2♦	P	3♥	P
?

A: Pass: Pard has limited his hand to 10-12 pts. It's our job to place the contract. We do the math. We have a very ratty 12, and that does not add up to a successful contract. We need to pass and let Pard play in our eight card Heart fit.

And now on to 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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