"Location, location, location" by Marti Ronemus

When asked the secret of his success, Ray Croc (the founder of MdDonalds) once famously said, "Location, location, location." And today we're going to see the difference the location of your hand makes. Each bid made increases or decreases the value of your hand. We're going to use the same hand each time. Will your bid be the same? I'll bet you a Big Mac it won't be.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - You're South.

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♠	Pass
?

A: 2♣: We've got 11 HCP, so we are eager to respond. We don't want to bid No-trump, so Clubs it is. Pard's opening bid didn't deny Hearts, and we want to leave room for him to bid. We are cautiously optimistic, but keep in mind that shortness in Pard's first-bid suit is generally not an asset.

A little more about this hand. There are some experts who would open tis hand in first or second seat, saying that three quick tricks make it worthwhile. I'm not so sure about that, but it is food for thought.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - You're South with the same hand.

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Pass
?

A: 1♥: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear you. You don't like your hearts. Too bad. Bid them anyway. You aren't saying "I have GOOD Hearts." You're saying "I have FOUR PLUS Hearts." Raising the Clubs is a pathetic bid, denying holding a major. Pard's bid neither increased nor decreased the value of our hand.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - You're South with the same hand.

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♦	Pass
?

A: 1♥:Once again, we're going to bid the Hearts, and for the same reason. Never mind they aren't great. Our bid is unlimited and forcing. We still aren't sure about the value of our hand. We need more info from Pard.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - Same old, same old.

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♥	Pass
?

A: 3♥: This bid is so perfect it's almost scary. It shows 10-12 pts, and strongly suggests four-card support. Our hand definitely increased in value. See how nice those Hearts are now?

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - One last time.

South	West	North	East
-	-	1 No-trump	Pass
?

A: 2♣: If you haven't learned Stayman (2♣ says, "Pard, do you have a four-card major?"), give yourself full credit for bidding 3 No-trump. Pard has 15-17 and you've got 11. That's game. We like Stayman because even tho' the Hearts are ratty, we want to make sure we don't miss a Golden Fit. Our hand increased in value when Pard opened 1NT. We've got three tricks for him.

And we'll see this hand one more time because we're going to play it. Through the magic of Vu-Bridge, this hand will be the dummy. How will the bidding go? TBA.

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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