Nat'l Pest Management Month by Marti Ronemus

"Nat'l Pest Management Month" has me a little confused. Does this mean we manage the mice? Make them more productive? How do we "manage" the aphids in the garden? I can't even "manage" two small dogs. It's all too much. But it's on the calendar, so we have to try.

What we CAN manage are those pesky hands that often present bidding problems. In each of these examples, our Pard opens a pesky 3♣, and we have to manage the response. Then we'll have a hand to manage.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	3♣	Pass
?

A: 3 No-trump: And pray your ♦9 grows up to be a stopper! When Pard preempts, you figure him for 5-1/2 tricks. We can see three with our Aces, and chances for another. Worth the risk.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	3♣	Pass
?

A: 3♠: Followed by 4♥. A new suit by us below game level is forcing. On a good day, Pard will have three cards in one of our suits, or even an honor in a doubleton. On a bad day, a VERY bad day, the pests will take over and Pard will only have a singleton in each suit. How's your karma these days? 3 No-trump is very risky with such distributional hands.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ 4
♥ 8 5 4
♦ A 9 5 4 3
♣ Q 7 5 3

Q: 3 - Same scenario. South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	3♣	Pass
?

A: 5♣: The Law of Total Tricks will protect you. They have a game in Spades, don't you think? At least? This is a lovely sacrifice, and proves the "nothing plus nothing means bid game" Clint Eastwood School of bidding philosophy. How bad can it be? There are many, who at favorable vulnerability, who would go directly to 6♣. Food for thought.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	3♣	Pass
?

A: Pass: If you can't get yourself to pass with THIS hand, you deserve bugs overrunning your house. No fit. No suit of your own. Only one Club to enter Pard's hand. Honestly, get control.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - One last chance to manage the pests: South.

South	West	North	East
-	-	3♣	Pass
?

A: 5 No-trump: This is the time for a Grand Slam Force if ever there was one. It says, "Pard, if you have two of the top three honors in the last bid suit, bid 7. With only 1 honor, bid 6. With 0 honors, Pard will also bid 6, but it will be time to call Pest Removal to get rid of this Pard. The preempt promises a suit with a top to it. You should have 7 Club tricks, 4 in the majors, and a Diamond ruff, at least! You're going to be able to use your trumps independently, probably for 14 or 15 tricks.

Ready to stomp pests when you play the hand?

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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