"84 Million Go Missing" by Marti Ronemus

It's estimated that in the UK, 84 Million socks go missing a year. The situation is so dire that Samsung commissioned a statistician and a psychologist to study the problem. (You can't make this stuff up, folks.) Here's what they found: While indeed front loading washers can occasionally eat a sock (it ends up in the innards, behind the drum), the reality is that it's lack of attention to details. When a sock is missing, it is usually under the bed, behind the dryer, in a pant leg. If a REAL search were conducted, the missing would be found.

Personally, I have a different explanation. Socks are the larval stage of coat hangers.

Today's bridge challenge involves paying attention to details so we don't lose our socks.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ K Q J
♥ A J 9 3 2
♦ 8 5
♣ Q J 10

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♥	1♠	2♥	Pass
Pass	3♦	Pass	Pass
?

A: Pass: The guy behind us has five Spades and probably five Diamonds. That suggests he's got a singleton somewhere, and we can be in bad trouble if it's Hearts. While we hate to do it, we're going to downgrade our hand and pass.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ 9 8
♥ A J 8 6 5
♦ Q 10 9 7 6
♣ 6

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Pass
1♥	Pass	1♠	Pass
?

A: 1 No-trump: We can't pass. We can't bid Diamonds because we don't have enough to name a new suit at the two-level, and it would be 4th color forcing. Sigh.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ 9 8
♥ A J 8 6 5
♦ Q 10 9 7 6
♣ 6

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Pass
1♥	Pass	1 No-trump	Pass
?

A: 2♦: After a 1 No-trump rebid by opener, a new lower-ranking suit by us is NOT forcing. It just shows we have two socks... er, suits, and asks Pard to choose.
If you play new minor forcing, your only choice would be to bid 2♥. Give yourself credit if you chose that bid.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ 8
♥ 5 4 3
♦ A Q 3
♣ K Q J 9 6 5

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♠	Dbl
?

A: Redouble: This promises Pard we're wearing matching socks, that we've got 10 plus points. We'll announce our suit on our next bid.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ 8
♥ 5 4 3
♦ 5 4 3
♣ K Q J 9 6 5

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♠	Dbl
?

A: 2♣: The Double by East opens new opportunities for us. Pard will know we have less than 10 pts or we would have redoubled first. He will know we've got a nice suit and a minimum hand. Now it's his problem.

And now, back to the laundry.

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

Rate yourself:

0 - 40%	We applaud your effort. Review the subject and try again. You'll be surprised how much better you'll do. We're here for you!!
41 - 50%	Buy your mentor a cuppa and ask for clarification on the ones you got wrong. No mentor? Make finding one a priority!
51 - 60%	Nice improvement! One more review and you'll have this down solid!
61 - 80%	What a good job! All that's left is some fine tuning
Over 80%	Wow! It's time for you to become a mentor. Find someone who needs help and share your knowledge!