"Nat'l Frog Month" by Marti Ronemus

Here we are, at the end of April, and we haven't yet celebrated National Frog Month properly. They're great little critters, eating lots of bugs -- which should make us delighted to invite them into our yards, gardens and patios. The only drawback is they can be extremely noisy, especially now, in the heat of their breeding season. Hmmm. I'll avoid any comparisons to people, shall I?

And then there's Kermit the Frog, certainly a favorite of everyone's. How could you not like Kermit?

And how about these hand. Shall we hop over and get started?

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - Watch Pard hop from suit to suit. What should we do?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♠	Pass
1 No-trump	Pass	2♥	Pass
?

A: 4♥: The principle here is that when it's a tight decision whether or not to bid game, take the pressure off Pard and do it. Pard has shown a minimum hand, with five Spades and at least four Hearts. We could pass, but we'd have to turn in our Clint Eastwood School of Bidding cards. With a lesser hand, we'd invite or pass. BUT!! Do you see those two Aces? That void? It's a close one, but there's no way to fathom the layout, for either you or Pard.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♥	1♠	2♥	2♠
?

A: 3♣: Think it through. How many Spades does Pard have? No more than 1. We know he only has 6-9 pts, but what if he's got a Club honor? We can easily make game. By bidding 3♣, we are telling him we want him to bid game if he's got anything in the suit for us. If he doesn't, he'll rebid Hearts as cheaply as possible.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ K Q J
♥ K J 9 2
♦ K 7 2
♣ Q J 9

Q: 3 - South?

South	West	North	East
1 No-trump	2♠ *	3♥ **	4♦
?

*Natural
**Not a transfer; systems off. Shows 8-9 pts and five Hearts

A: Double: To quote Kermit, "It ain't easy bein' green," and often, it ain't easy comin' up with a bid. Yes, we have a nine-card trump fit. BUT!! We have NO ruffing values, and this hand is even better on defense. Remember, E/W have a misfit and they can only lose three tricks. They've only got 15-16 pts. It looks like East felt a responsibility to "save" his partner, but instead he's gonna croak. We could Pass, but it looks like there are Frogs' Legs on the menu. Yum.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ 9
♥ J 10 8
♦ Q 8 7 5 2
♣ Q J 10 5

Q: 4 - South gets a chance to sound off again:

South	West	North	East
Pass	Pass	2♣	4♦
Pass	Pass	4♥	Pass
?

A: 5♥: At your first bid, if you were to double, would it have been a Negative Double? Would it be Penalty? Partnership agreement. We like passing to show a small hand, knowing Pard, the 2♣ opener, will be able to show his hand. Then we get a surprise. East makes a huge preemptive bid and Pard, despite our Pass, roars in with 4♥. Now, we've got a GREAT hand. Singleton! Long Diamonds, marking Pard with a void or singleton at most. Why not invite slam to show Pard we went from a zero to a hero?

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ K 5
♥ Q 10 7 5 3
♦ Q 8 5 4 2
♣ 5

Q: 5 - One last chance to be king of the lily pad. South?

South	West	North	East
-	1♥	Pass	2♥
Pass	Pass	Dbl	Pass
?

A: 3♦: Ouch. No one has much to be proud about. We know Pard's got four Spades and can tolerate any suit. We also know he "borrowed" 3 pts from us to make his double which leaves us very broke. (Neither a lender or a borrower be...) We'd consider No-trump if it had been a direct double. Pray for rain.

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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What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
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