"World-Wide Howl at the Moon Night" by Marti Ronemus

Tonight, we all get to join in a glorious experience -- howling at the moon. C'mon, you know you've always wanted to do it. Celebrate! Just make sure your neighbors are clued into the festivities... ask them to join.

And from a bridge standpoint, we often find ourselves howling (inside, of course) in frustration or excitement. Let's see which as you claw yourself through our five bidding questions and the hand.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A J 5 4
♥ K 6 5 4
♦ K 9 8
♣ 3 2

Q: 1 - You're up! South's bid?

South	West	North	East
-	1♣	1♠	pass
?

A: 2♣: In a competitive auction, a raise of your partner's suit (regardless the level) is the weakest bid you can give. Raising Pard's Spades would show a minimum hand with trump support. BUT! We've got a Darn Nice Hand and want to show it. We don't know if partner's overcall is 7 or 17 pts., but we need that information to place the contract! With a minimum hand we wouldn't care that much as we wouldn't be going far. Our cuebid of the opponent's suit shows Spade support, 10-plus point, is forcing and asks partner to show his point count on the next bid. PERFECT!!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ K Q 8 5 4
♥ 5 4
♦ A 8 4
♣ K Q 8

Q: 2 - Gee, this time your PARTNER makes the cuebid. How will you respond?

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

A: 3♠: Pard guaranteed a fit with his cuebid, and asked our point count. With a minimum overcall (7-11ish points) we would bid 2♠. But we have a nice opening hand. Our 3♠ bid shows 12-14 pts. (With 15-17, we'd bid game opposite our partner's promised 10 plus pts.) We want Pard to know we've got a full opener. Let's HOWL!!!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - And South says?

South	West	North	East
1♠	pass	2♠	pass
?

A: 4♠: This hand couldn't get much nicer. It is so much bigger than the sum of its points and well deserves a huge, howling, game bid. You have a gigantic trump suit (supported by Pard!), you've got a singleton, and a lovely protected ♣K. Go for it!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South's rebid?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♦	pass
1♠	pass	2♥	pass
?

A: 2♠: This is a tough one, and leaves us howling in frustration. We have no fit for either of Pard's suits, but since he reversed, we simply must bid again.

This is one of those rare occasions when the rebid of an unsupported five-card suit is permissible.

The other possibility is to raise Diamonds, knowing there is a 5-2 fit. (How do you know that? When Pard reverses, he promises that his first-named suit is longer.)

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ Q 10 2
♥ Q J 9 7 5 2
♦
♣ K 9 6 4

Q: 5 - And South says?

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

A: 2♥: Frustrating, internal howling. We've got a minimum hand, nothing to brag about, but we sure don't want to leave Pard in 2♦ with our void. Sigh. Try not to look too down as you bid it.

What will happen next? Will our hand prevail or will Pard keep bidding and turn us into a Crummy Dummy? You are about to play the hand and will find out what happens next.

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.
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