Placing the Contract "First Auto Insurance Policy" by Marti Ronemus

Can you imagine watching TV for even 1/2 hour and not being bombarded by auto insurance ads? I know, I know. Dozens of them. How did this happen? When did it start?

In 1898, the first auto insurance policy was written by Traveler's Insurance. Now you know.

As annoying as those ads are, (I do have to admit liking the ones with Flo in them) they do remind us how important it is to be protected. And in our bridge lives, we are often protected from disaster by placing the contract in the right spot.

As we battle our way though our quiz today, I want to remind you that the bidding may not end until someone has limited their hand.

(BTW-- a personal plea. I got the nicest email from a woman in British Colombia, and lost the email before I could respond. Would she please write again?)

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ 9
♥ A K 4 3 2
♦ J 9 8
♣ A K 9 2

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♥	p	1♠	P
2♣	P	2♥	P
?

A: Pass: This one is fairly simple. We do the math. We, BTW, do NOT like the shortness in Pard's first-bid suit. Pard has between 6-9 pts., and only two Hearts. (If he had three, he would have supported immediately with a minimum hand.) We add our points to those shown when Pard limited his hand with his 2♥ bid, and Pass.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ K 9
♥ A Q 4 3 2
♦ A J
♣ K 9 7 2

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♥	p	1♠	P
2♣	P	2♥	P
?

A: 2 No-trump: Same bidding, and we know Pard has 6-9 pts and only two Hearts, just like before. This time, though, we've got an invitational hand of 17-ish points. We CARE if Pard has 6 or 9 pts. When we bid 2 No-trump, we aren't saying, "We don't like your suit," we're saying, "I have 16-18 points, and want you to pass if you're at the bottom of your bid, or go to game with 8-9."

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ A J 2
♥ A Q 4 3 2
♦ 3
♣ A 9 7 3

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♥	p	1♠	P
2♣	P	2♥	P
?

A: 2♠: This time, we've got a support for Pard's Spades. By telling him, he'll know we still have hope to go to game. It's his problem now!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ K 9
♥ K J 10 4 3 2
♦ A 8 7
♣ J 2

Q: 4 - South:

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

A: Pass: Pard's rebid of 2 No-trump limits his hand to not one single cent more than 12. We've got a very minimum hand. Pard knows we've got six Hearts and doesn't care. We are glad we're fully insured because we're passing this one.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ A 2
♥ A J 9 8 7 6 2
♦ K 7 2
♣ K

Q: 5 - South:

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

A: 4♥: This is a tough one. We could have bid 3♥ on our second bid and wouldn't been faulted, but we aren't crazy about the singleton ♣K, even though Pard bid the suit. We choose to underbid, and glory be, we get another chance when Pard bids 2 No-trump. His bid is invitational, and we're going to accept. We are, however, going to accept in Hearts. We've got too much shape to risk a No-trump contract.

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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