"Married to a Scorpio Support Group Day" by Marti Ronemus

Why is there a special support day for those married to Scorpios? Listen to this: While Scorpios are emotional, intuitive, passionate, exciting and magnetic, they are also determined, forceful, powerful, jealous, resentful and compulsive. Hmm. Do you think there is a disproportionate number of Scorpios in bridge? They are known for wanting (and getting!) their own way and for devious plotting. They are also known for their extreme loyalty, so they sound like demanding but terrific bridge partners.

Let's see how Scorpios would bid some hands.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A Q 9 8 3
♥ 8 5
♦ K 10 6
♣ K 10 3

Q: 1 - South?

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

A: 2♥: Pay attention. We have a problem with our rebid, don't we? We know we belong in game but we haven't found a fit. We would like to be in No-trumps, but we have no Heart stopper. There is a convention called "Fourth Suit Forcing," but we're not going to talk about that. We're just talking common sense here. If we had a Heart stopper, we would bid No-trumps, not Hearts. So what could we possibly be saying by bidding Hearts? Sure! We're saying, "Pard, I have no Heart stopper. Would you please put it in No-trumps if you have one? Otherwise, further describe your hand or place the contract!" This bid is artificial and forcing. It is a desperation bid, and works great.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ K Q 9 7 6 3
♥ A 10 6 3
♦ A 2
♣ 6

Q: 2 - South's rebid?

South	West	North	East
1♠	pass	2♠	pass
?

A: 3♠: This is all about re-evaluation and isn't as simple a decision as one would think. A surprising number of experts would jump right to 4♠ because of the big trump fit and the singleton. Others count and recount and can only manage to wring 16-ish points out of it. All agree though, that in a competitive auction, 4♠ is your bid. If you are a Scorpio, give yourself full points for bidding 4♠ even without competition. It's your nature!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ A K J 7 4
♥ Q 10 4
♦ A K Q J
♣ 2

Q: 3 - What would a Scorpio rebid as South?

South	West	North	East
1♠	pass	3♠*	pass
?

* Limit raise

A: 4♦: No Scorpio would let this hand go without a slam attempt. Blackwood (in any version) wouldn't work. Remember, you don't have the right to ask for aces unless you hold first- or second-round control of EVERY suit in your hand! Your 4♦ bid shows a first-round control of Diamonds. Why would you introduce a new suit after finding a trump fit otherwise? Notice you are denying a Club control, since controls are shown from the "cheapest" up.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ Q J 10 9 3
♥ A 3 2
♦ 8 4
♣ J 4 3

Q: 4 - A little transfer review. As South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1 no-trumps	pass
2♥*	pass	2♠**	pass
?

*transfer
**Showing obedience!

A: 2 No-trumps: With only five Spades and 9 support points, even a Scorpio would bounce this ball right back in Pard's court. The No-trump opener, with only two Spades, will either pass or bid 3 No-trumps, depending on his point count. Knowing the transferer has only five Spades enables the contract to be spot-on.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - As South, should you prevail in the bidding, or plan to set them?

South	West	North	East
1♦	pass	1♥	1♠
2♦	3♠*	4♦	4♠
?

*Preemptive, with a minimum hand a great trump support

A: 5♦: Pard has at most one Spade. He freely bid at the four-level and supported your Diamonds. You have little defense against Spades, and the typical Scorpio conviction of your ability. You've got a great hand!

And now you're going to get to play this hand. If you go down? Well, your Pard has that Scorpio Partner's Support Group to turn to.

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

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