"Family Traditions" by Marti Ronemus

You think your family has traditions? Well, how about this. Antoine's Restaurant in New Orleans is the oldest continuously family-run restaurant in the US. It started 173 years ago by two French immigrants who arrived penniless, but through hard work and talent, created an empire that is in its fifth generation. And the sixth generation is in training!

AND!! Remember, you can't make it that long unless you're doing something very right. Their food is world-class and known throughout the world.

In the bridge world, a long-standing tradition is making bids that are clear and understandable. Which is why so many of us are NOT world class! Thank goodness for Vu-Bridge, no?

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ 9 5 2
♥ 4 3
♦ 8 4
♣ K 10 7 6 5 2

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♥	Dbl	Redouble
?

A: 3♣: Oh my. We hate our hand, hate our Clubs. Our 3♣ bid is very weak and preemptive. Remember a jump after strength shows weakness. This is similar to a Weak Jump Shift.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	2♣	Pass
2♦	Pass	2♠	Pass
?

A: 4♠: We have a fit and a Quick Trick, but no real interest in slam. That's what our bid shows. Were we to bid 3♠, we'd be showing slam interest. Some partnerships would bid 2 No-trump to show a wee bit of help, so give yourself credit for that bid also.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ 4 2
♥ A K 9 4 3
♦ A 6 5 4
♣ A 9

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♥	Pass	2♥	Pass
?

A: 3♦: We have an invitational hand and a Pard who's shown a minimum. We could bid 3♥, inviting, but we have a better option: A "Help Suit Game Try." Wouldn't it be wonderful if Pard had honors in Diamonds? Other honors might be wasted, but Diamonds would make game a lot easier. Let's ask. How does Pard know this isn't Cue Bidding toward slam? Because his answer can be below game.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ 8 5 3
♥ Q 9 8
♦ K Q 8
♣ 10 8 4 3

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♥	Pass
2♥	Pass	3♦	Pass
?

A: 4♥: We are now the Pard of the opener who asked if we have help in Diamonds. Do we ever! Pard is more interested in WHERE our points are than in how many we have. His question with his 3♦ bid is "can you help me in Diamonds?" Our answer is a resounding YES and we tell him that by going to game.

Please notice that had he just invited by bidding 3♥, we would have passed.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ K J 3
♥ 10 9 8
♦ 9 5 4
♣ Q J 9 4

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♥	Pass
2♥	Pass	3♦	Pass
?

A: 3♥: Same scenario, but this time when Pard asks for help in Diamonds, we don't have it. We tell him that by rebidding "our" suit at the cheapest possible level.

Ready for a great 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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