No-trump Openers "Now, THAT'S a Bar Bill!" by Marti Ronemus

Our "I can't believe it's true" for the day is a doozy. Or should I say Boozy. On Sept. 15, 1787, two days before ratifying the Constitution, the 55 members of the Constitutional Convention had a party. A surviving bar tab lists the following served at the gala: 54 bottles of Madeira, 60 of claret, 8 of whiskey, 8 hard cider, 12 magnums of beer and 7 bowls of alcoholic punch. My, my, my. One can only wonder what the bill AFTER the ratification looked like.

As we draw our own conclusions, may I suggest that we remain clear-headed for our quiz today!

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 1♦: We're starting out with a tough one. Although the point count is right, we don't want to open 1 No-trump with nine cards in two suits, especially worthless suits. If we open 1♣, we're a tad light for a reverse bid of 2♦ on our rebid. SO! We're going to have to fib about something, either our point count by reversing or our shape by opening 1♦ and rebidding 2♣. We reluctantly prefer lying about our shape... it's just one card. It's enough to drive a player to drink, don't you think?

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 1 No-trump: Decisions, decisions. The problem with this hand, like the last one, is the rebid. If we open 1♥ with this hand, what will our rebid be? If Pard bids Spades, a raise would be tricky. We don't have enough for 2 No-trump, as that guarantees 18-19. We can solve that by opening 1 No-trump. Of course, that gives us another problem: convincing Pard we have a five-card major. Give yourself credit if you opened 1♥. The world is divided on this one.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 1♥: So, what's the difference between this hand and the last? The previous hand had help in the unbid major, in case Pard transfers us to Spades. This one, not so good. Some hands just don't have a perfect answer.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 1♥: The point count is right, but the shape is all wrong. We're going to open 1♥, and we've got plenty of spirit(s) for a reverse to 2♠ on our rebid.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 1 No-trump: Very reluctantly, we consider 1 No-trump as the best option. We don't really have enough to jump-shift on our rebid, and to just open 1♦ and rebid 2♣ doesn't show our strength. Without stoppers in the majors, we wouldn't consider this bid with this shape. Honestly, it's enough to drive a player to drink.

Well, let's see what our hand brings.

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.
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