Learn to Snowboard Month by Marti Ronemus

Snowboarding! The closest we can come to flying without wings. The flips, the speed, the turns, being upside-down... all with nothing to hang on to. AND! We've got a whole month to learn how.

What, you say? Why not just jump off a cliff and be done with it? For most of us, we like getting our excitement from something a little less death-defying-- maybe trying a new convention.

So, how about some bidding, followed by a nice slam contract. Will that be enough excitement for you today? Good!

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A K J 9 5 4
♥ Q 10 2
♦ K 3
♣ J 6

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♦	Pass
1♠	Pass	2♣	Pass
?

A: 2♥: We have a bit of a problem with this hand. Pard's hand could be as much as a very nice 15-ish. Any rebid of Spades by us is limiting and non-forcing. We might want to be in a slam, we might want to be in No-trump... we need more information. We can get it by bidding the fourth suit. This can be played as a convention with gadgets, or it can just be common sense. Pard will know that if we HAD the 4th suit, we'd probably bid No-trump. He'll bid again and we'll find our best place.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♦	Pass	1♥	Pass
2♣	Pass	2 No-trump	Pass
?

A: 3♥: Pard's rebid of 2 No-trump shows 10-12 points and with our chubby 16-plus, we certainly have game. We can bid 3 No-trump and worry about the Spades, or we can give delayed support for Pard's Hearts just in case Pard holds five. Bidding 3♥ is forcing and we'll end up either in a Heart or No-trump game.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ 10 9 7 6
♥ 5
♦ A Q 9 5 4
♣ 8 6 5

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♥	Dbl
?

A: Pass: We would have bid 1 No-trump. Now though, we can't bid 2♦ as our hand is too weak. We can't redouble. Ditto. We can't bid Spades because of the Double. A pass is perfect. If Pard wants to get on that snowboard and take action, he can.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ 8
♥ J 7 6
♦ A 10 4 3
♣ A Q 10 5 2

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♠	2♣
?

A: Pass: Pard opened so it's very possible we belong in game. 2 No-trump doesn't show enough points. 3 No-trump is a possibility... Double would be for takeout. Pass seems to be the best option. Pard is bound to be short in Clubs so will reopen with a Double or take some action (he'll know we're marked with points). If he reopens with a double, we'll convert to penalty and have a great chance to watch these people wipe out.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ A J 4 2
♥ 8 7
♦ 8 7 6 5
♣ A 6 5

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	2♣	Pass
2♦	Pass	2♠	Pass
3♠*	Pass	4♦**	Pass
?

*Support, slam interest
**First-round control of Diamonds

A: 5♣: We aren't in control of this down-hill race. We're not positive what Pard's hand looks like. We can't bid Spades, as that would be a shut-out. Let's go slow down this hill and show Pard our first-round Club control. He may be aiming toward a Grand Slam. Let's let him show his stuff.

And now it's time for a Slam hand. Ready? Back on the board.

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!