Hostess Twinkie Day by Marti Ronemus

1930 is the year the first Hostess Twinkie rolled off the production line and became a leader in the Guilty Pleasure category. A brief bubble in their "happy happy" reputation occurred in 1978 during the Dan White murder trial. White's attorney's suggested that White had "diminished capacity" to know right from wrong due to a severe depression. The attorney argued that a SIGN of White's "dim cap" was his eschewing his normal obsessively healthy diet and taking up the consumption of Twinkies and other junk food. Thusly the scornful expression "Twinkie Defense" came into our lexicon.

As one who adores Twinkies and is always looking for a new excuse for bad bids and misguided play, I'm a big fan of the Twinkie Defense. And... what's YOUR excuse?

Here are five challenges and a hand. Let's see if you can get through without needing a Twinkie on your side.

Question 1

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

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

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♥	Pass
?

A: 3♥: This is all about hand evaluation. Even though there are only 8 HCP, the singleton is like a Twinkie, inspiring us to value our hand at 11 support points.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South?

South	West	North	East
1♥	Pass	3♥	Pass
?

A: 4♥: Again, hand evaluation. Again, the singleton Twinkie... er, Diamond. Even if Pard only has 10 pts., we should be able to scare up game.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South We saw this hand in Question #1. What a difference an overcall makes!

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♥	2♦
?

A: 3♦: With our singleton in the opponent's suit, we can't possibly treat this as a minimum hand. By cuebidding the opponent's suit, we are promising 10 plus pts., and a fit in Pard's suit. Any rebid of Pard's suit promises a minimum hand and the level shows the number of trump held.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ K 10 7 3
♥ Q J 8 5 3 2
♦ K 8 2
♣

Q: 4 - South?

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

A: 3♥: North's rebid of 1NT is very revealing, denying four Spades, and showing at least 2 Hearts. Without two Hearts, there would be another biddable suit, no? Our hand is just too good with that void to bid a measly 2♥. Let's tell Pard we've got 10-12 pts., with six Hearts. Then it's up to him.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ K 10 7 5
♥ Q J 8 5 3 2
♦ K 8 2
♣

Q: 5 - One last chance for sugar-laden mayhem. As South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Dbl
?

A: 1♥: Our Heart bid guarantees at least five cards. Why? Without a strong biddable suit, we'd Redouble to show 10 plus pts. Is our bid forcing? Most would say yes.

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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