"National Pickle Day" by Marti Ronemus

A: 4♥: Some of you were reluctant to go to game because of the preponderance of queens. The rest of you realized you paid to play, you've got 19 pts. plus distribution and a yearning to compete. No matter where your partner's points are, they should be working points. No reason to hold back.

Your result so far:

A: 4♥: Once again, you've got to take action. Yes, Pard passed, but They are trying to rob you. We won't stand for it. We love the singleton Spade, we love our protected hidden kings. Plus we are NV. We can be a little more daring. Had partner bid, the vulnerability wouldn't matter. Will you make it? "Better to have loved and lost than never loved at all."

Your result so far:

A: 4♥: Pard's new suit after trump agreement was all about asking if you've got help in Spades. Boy, do you ever! Don't be concerned that you've only got 6 pts. That wasn't Pard's question. Pard is promising an intermediate hand of 16-ish to 18-ish points and has a couple losers in Spades. His question to you is, "Can you prevent them from running Spades?" You've got just what he asked for and your job is to go to game. How do you know this isn't a cue-bid showing a control on the way to slam? Because you aren't in a game-force auction. A 3♠ bid would force you to game on your next bid and would have been a cue-bid.

Your result so far:

A: 3♦: HA! just because the last three answers were 4♥, you thought there was a pattern emerging. Partner's naming of a new suit after trump agreement is asking for help in Spades, just like last question. BUT! We have no help. We could just bid 3♥, which would say, "Nope!" but isn't it better to give a little more information? We're at the top of our bid, and we've got help in Diamonds. If he likes that, great. If not? He can still bail out at 3♥. By the way, if you are defending? Lead a Spade even if you have to borrow one. Both Declarer and dummy have denied holding them.

Your result so far:

A: 3♥: Hand 2 was similar and we went to 4♥. Why not this hand? It lacks the singleton Spade, and the quality of our trumps isn't quite as good. Plus the vulnerability slows us down a little. Pard is drunk (fermented pickle juice maybe?) and puts us in 4♥. You are about to play this hand, but you'll be switching teams and will be playing it as one of the defenders. And it's a good thing you're defending, because the declarer is in a serious pickle and is going to be very "sour" toward his partner.

Your result so far: