"First Cellphone Call" by Marti Ronemus

What is now arguably the most ubiquitous symbol of our times? Yup, the cellphone. Almost everyone runs their life around their phones. (Since any gadget with multiple buttons and places to "tap" confuse the heck out of me, I'm not among them.)

Amazingly, the first cellphone call was made this week 43 years ago. Who called whom? Motorola employee Martin Cooper, standing on the street in Midtown New York City, called Bell Labs in New Jersey.

Bridge players have it much easier when communicating our thoughts. All we have to do is bid. Although come to think of it, that's not so easy either, is it?

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♦	Double	2♦
?

A: 4♦: What? You don't think your hand is worth a game-force bid? Really? Pard made a vulnerable Double, promising four cards in the unbid majors (possibly 4-3) and a nice opening hand minimum. Our bid in effect is saying "Pick your own darn major suit, Pard." This is protection against picking Pard's three-card major, if he happens to have one. If you picked 4♥ or 4♠,

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ A J 9 8 7
♥ A J
♦ 5 4 3 2
♣ A K

Q: 2 - South:

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

**Transfer to Spades

A: 5 No-trump: We must insist on Slam. Pard has a minimum of 15, and we've got 17 plus a lovely Spade suit. This bid tells Pard to place the contract in either 6♠ if he has three pieces, or 6 No-trump with only a doubleton. Pard's phone will ring and he'll get the message.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ 3 2
♥ 7
♦ A K 9 4 3
♣ A K J 9 6

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	p
1♦	1♥	Dbl**	p
?

**Negative Double promising four Spades and probably Clubs in the unbid suits and at least 6-7 pts.

A: 3♣: The only forcing bid after a "Bid, darn it, BID!!" double is a cuebid of the opponents' suit. This is an invitational bid. We don't know what Pard has, so let's tell him what WE have... an intermediate opening hand, made even more terrific because of our singleton in West's suit. Let's make our problem our Pard's.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	p
1♦	1♥	Dbl**	p
?

**Negative Double promising four Spades and probably Clubs in the unbid suits and at least 6-7 pts.

A: 2♥: Unlike last hand, we need to force this to game, which is what a cue-bid does. On his next bid, Pard will tell us more about his hand. We well may end up in No-trump, but now that we've forced to game (not promising any particular shape, by the way), we can take our time finding the perfect fit.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ K J 2
♥ Q 5 4
♦ K J 4 3
♣ K Q 4

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♥	p	2♥
?

A: Pass: Even paid-up members of the Clint Eastwood School of Bidding must pass this mess. We HATE this hand. It's flat, which is a danger in a competitive auction. Yes, we have 15 HCP, BUT!! The honors are scattered, our ♥Q is likely a loser, we have no Honorettes, no source of tricks. If there is any balancing to be done, trust our Pard.

And now it's time to make a call to Pard about 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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