"What Would YOU Do?" by Marti Ronemus

Joey Coyle was arrested this day in 1981, at an airport with $105,000 stuffed in his boots. What happened? Well, Joey found $1.2 million that fell out of an armored car and felt that finders should be keepers. He went on a monumental spending spree (in 1981 bucks, yet!) that ended with his arrest trying to board a plane to Acapulco.

I'm please to say that Joey was acquitted at his trial, the thrust of which was, "Who could resist that kind of temptation?" Amen to that. If $1.2 million dropped at my feet, I'd be like Joey, except I'd spend it slower to avoid attracting attention. And you?

Today's quiz deals with finding oneself with a HUGE hand, and deciding what to do.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South?:

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

A: 4 No-trump: Pard opened the bidding. We've got 16 HCP, with fabulous sources for tricks. It's possible we only have 28 HCP, but with these tricks in hand, we have to give it a try. Bridge is a game of TRICKS, not points. If Pard responds either 0 or 1 Ace, we can bail out safely at 5♥.

By the way, most experts agree that using Gerber is only for No-trump auctions.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ A J 10 9 2
♥ K 8 6
♦ A K Q 10
♣ 2

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	3♥	p
?

A: 4 No-trump: Once again, we need to ignore point count. Pard has between 5-9, but we know he wouldn't preempt without top honors in the suit. Vulnerable, we don't expect him to be queen high. (If he is, it's off to prison with him.)

We see six-seven Heart tricks, plus our four quick tricks. If Pard has one Ace, we're in clover. We see a Club ruff as an extra trick (Pard will be the Master Hand), and maybe even the ♦10. We need to explore by asking for Aces.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ A Q J 8 7
♥ 3 2
♦ Q 5
♣ A K J 9

Q: 3 - South:

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

A: 3♣: Pard reversed! That shows 17 plus pts. Let's pick up that $1.2 million by bidding 3♣. That's Fourth Suit Forcing. We're not sure if maybe Spades might be the best contract, and Fourth Suit Forcing shows we have a five-card Spade suit.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
2♣	p	2♦	p
2♥	p	3♣**	p
?

**Second negative, showing no Heart support, no aces, maybe no kings.

A: 4♥: We have no chance of slam. It's highly unlikely Pard has a Diamond honor. Let's just get on the plane to Acapulco.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	3♦	3♠	5♦
?

A: 6♠: Preempts do their job. Yes, we might have two losing Hearts, although it's unlikely. Pard was willing to enter the auction at the three-level, and with our Spade support, his points have to be somewhere. East's 5♦ bid is wildly preemptive, a true attempt to get away with the money. All members of the Clint Eastwood School of Bidding have no trouble bidding slam.

And now, let's play a big 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

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
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