National Psychotherapy Day by Marti Ronemus

Happy August! We start the month with "National Psychotherapy Day." If ever there were a calendar day designed for bridge players, this is IT! Where else can you meet so many various characters of every ilk and bent, many of whom are in serious need of said psychotherapy. Not YOU of course, but what about your partner?
Let's get to work! We've got five bidding questions for you, followed by a hand guaranteed to cause mild insanity. Ready?

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ Q 4 2
♥ K 6 5
♦ Q J 4
♣ J 9 8 2

Q: 1 - As South, what is your bid?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♥	pass
2♥	pass	3♥	pass
?

A: 4♥: Partner has shown 16-18 pts and is inviting you to game if you are at the top of your bid. You are. Some would pass with this hand, and we would have no quarrel with that. There's no ruffing value, scattered honors. BUT! This is the first day of a new month and you're not vulnerable. While vulnerability is not a reason to bid, it is an excuse. Go team!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - As South, what is your bid?

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 1 No-trumps: Many of us are dead-set against opening 1 No-trumps with a five-card major, and a hand like this can drive us to psychotherapy. The problem with this hand is the rebid. It isn't big enough to jump to 2 No-trumps on your rebid, no second suit to rebid. Sigh. If Pard is one of those who would be upset about a No-trumps opener with this, tuck a Heart in with your Diamonds.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ A 10 3
♥ A K Q 9 5
♦ K J 2
♣ 9 7

Q: 3 - What should South open on this one?

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 1♥: Unlike our last hand, the nice Heart suit and the useless Club doubleton suggest opening this hand 1♥ rather than 1 No-trumps. If Pard responds 1 No-trumps, you'll have a little rebid problem, but hey, 2 No-trumps will probably do the trick, no?

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - What should South respond?

South	West	North	East
-	1♠	1 no-trumps	pass
?

A: 2♣: You know Pard has an opening 1 No-trumps count and, unless recently-escaped from a loony bin, has Spades firmly stopped. If he had opened 1 No-trumps you would use Stayman, and this is no different. After Pard's response, you'll show your point count with either 2 No-trumps or 3♥.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ J
♥ K Q J 6 5
♦ A 9 7 6
♣ A 7 5

Q: 5 - What should South bid next?

South	West	North	East
-	-	pass	pass
1♥	pass	4♦*	double**
?

*Splinter bid, showing a singleton or void in the named suit, a very nice trump fit and forcing to game, with some slam interest. Neato!
**Lead directing double

A: 4 No-trumps: Pard's Diamond shortage makes us a little crazy (and today is the day for it!). We have a desire to explore. With first or second round control in every suit, we ask for aces. If we don't like the answer, we can bail out at 5♥.
Want to see what happens next? Play the hand to see the rest of the bidding and to find out if this is the day you should enter therapy.

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!