"Not Your Friend" Hand Evaluation by Marti Ronemus

As cuddly and adorable as they appear to be, you need to know that porcupines are NOT your friend. The second-largest rodent in North America (the beaver is largest), as we all know, is covered with lethal spears, all several-thousand of them lethal because of the barbs on the ends.

Here is a handy tip on how to remove those quills, should you be foolish enough to tangle with said porcupine. First, nip off the top. It releases pressure within the quill and loosens the barb. Then grasp the quill with pliers, and twist while removing. (If you want to see how this works, go to YouTube.)

And now that we've made it safe for you to go into the woods, let's make it safe for you to bid. We're going to look at hand evaluation. "Texture" refers to the factors that make a hand more (or less) than the sum of its points. Every hand needs to be re-evaluated in terms of texture after every bid. Ready? (And a tip of the hat to Eddie Kantar for the inspiration for this quiz. Thank you, Eddie!)

Question 1

Your Hand
♠
♥
♦
♣

Q: 1 - Which hand is more valuable, A or B, and why?
a) ♠432 ♥432 ♦AKJ84 ♣43
b) ♠AKJ ♥432 ♦87654 ♣43

A: A) Almost always, a hand where the honors are concentrated in LONG suits is more valuable. Notice they both have the same number of quills, er, points, but if pressed, we'll upgrade hand A.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠
♥
♦
♣

Q: 2 - Which do you like better and why?
A) ♠32 ♥32 ♦AJT92 ♣KQT4
B) ♠JT ♥T9 ♦A5432 ♣KQ32

A: A) This time, notice the "honorettes," those frisky 10s and 9s. In hand A, they are concentrated in the long suits with the honors. Much more useful than in the short suits. Same points, same shape, but not the same hand, by any stretch.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠
♥
♦
♣

Q: 3 - This time, we've got an auction and we are South.
Which hand do you like better opposite North? A or B?
A) ♠AJ74 ♥K543 ♦QT7 ♣Q6
B) ♠AJ74 ♥KQ43 ♦QT7 ♣65

South	West	North	East
-	1♠	2♣	P
?

A: A) Again, we like A. The ♣Q is nicer than the ♥Q in B. Why? We like honors in Pard's suit rather than unbid suits.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠
♥
♦
♣

Q: 4 - Do we like A or B better and why.
A) ♠A75 ♥K543 ♦Q65 ♣Q75
B) ♠AQ9 ♥KQ32 ♦543 ♣432

A: B) Honors strewn like porcupine quills, randomly over the hand (ouch), are not as valuable as combination honors, and clusters in long suits. Very important distinction. Again, we have the same shape and the same number of points, but hand B is the one we want.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠
♥
♦
♣

Q: 5 - Last chance: Do we like A or B more and why?
A) ♠JT7 ♥QT5 ♦AK92 ♣Q98
B) ♠J43 ♥Q43 ♦AK43 ♣Q43

A: A) Hand A is chock-full of honorettes, those sumptuous 10s, 9s and 8s. In a No-trump contract, hand A could rake in possibly as much as two tricks.

One more point before we face those porcupines we call opponents: Each of the hands we've seen could change value after bids. Don't be locked in to one evaluations. Are you behind or in front of bid suits? Everything can change.

And now, shall we play a 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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