Friday -- Gateway to Fun by Marti Ronemus

Ah, we are within shouting distance of the weekend. Time for a final brush-up on our game before the frolic of the weekend. We've got five nice bidding challenges for you, plus you'll get to play a hand to see if you found the right contract.
As always, remember that there's nothing in bridge that three people agree on. Talk with your partners about these, and feel free to disagree (with them AND us!).

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Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A 10 9 2
♥ 7
♦ A 6 5 2
♣ A 9 7 5

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

South	West	North	East
?

A: Pass: A surprising number of experts suggest passing with this hand. The shape, by the way, is called "The Rattlesnake." Instead of entering the auction immediately, how about letting Them climb to game and then doubling? Or if They bid your short suit, making a Take Out Double, able to bid three suits with one bid. Normally we like to open whenever we can, if only to make life miserable for the opponents, but this is called The Rattlesnake because it can jump back and bite you. Beware of initial action; take YOUR bite later!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ 5
♥ 10 9 4
♦ Q 8 7 5 2
♣ Q J 10 5

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

South	West	North	East
pass	pass	2♣	4♦
pass	pass	4♥	pass
?

A: 5♥: We've done nothing but pass so far in this auction, and it's time for action. Our pass after the 4♦ bid was very telling. It told that we weren't interested in slam and had no real suit of our own. Our fear, of course is that Pard wants Spades, and we are delighted to see his 4♥ bid. We have a nice fit in trumps (holding two Honorettes!) and have some nice values in Clubs. Why not show we have some values? Pard is probably fairly short in Diamonds (maybe void?) after East's bid. Let's invite slam and make it Pard's problem!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠
♥ K Q J 10 8
♦ A Q 9 4
♣ 10 7 6 5

Q: 3 - As South, what is your bid?

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

A: 3♦: We are very distributional and we want our partner to know that, so we employ the "show and tell" strategy. Pard needs to know that we've got at least nine cards in two suits, and enough cash to buy the three-level. We'd like to have another diamond, but hey, nothing is perfect. How will Pard know this isn't Help Suit Game Try? Because we are the competing bidders, not Opener and Responder.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - As South, what is your bid?

South	West	North	East
-	1♣	1♥	1♠
2♥	2♠	3♦	4♠
?

A: 5♦: We were perfectly happy to support partner's Hearts with this miserable collection of dead leaves. (What, you don't bid with only 4 pts? Please! You've got a singleton, and nice support for Pard. Get with the program!) After hearing about the Diamonds, tho', we get serious about this auction. We expect Pard to have at least four Diamonds, probably five. In a competitive auction, for partner to have named a new suit, after we supported his original suit, he's got something special. Why not 5♥? Wouldn't you rather present him with an 11-card trump fit than 8?

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - As South, what is your bid?

South	West	North	East
-	-	3♦	pass
?

On Fridays, we use 2♦ as Flannery, so an opening pre-empt of 3♦ can be a six-card suit, but will be solid.

A: 3 No-trumps: Any other bid is indefensible. We've got Pard's ♦A and two other entries to his hand. And without a singleton, void and/or a note from our mother, we don't play game in minors if 3 No-trumps is available.
And now we get to see if our decision was a good one. Let's play this hand and see the whole deal. Good luck!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Play this Hand

Now that you've bid five hands, let's see how your play goes.

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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!