"Root Canal Appreciation Day" by Marti Ronemus

Just when you think our Krazy Kalendar can't get any krazier, up pops "Root Canal Appreciation Day." The purpose of the day is to convince people that today's root canal isn't the horror it was in the olden days. Can we just take their word for it? We don't need to experience it, do we?

Just to add another dimension to the day, there were two observances to choose from today: Root Canal Appreciation Day OR (ready?) Visit Your Relatives Day. Someone suggested these days are really one and the same... just with different names.

And now time for bridge. Let's see if we can avoid pain today with right answers.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - As South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♥
?

A: 3 No-trump: Look, you're going to get a Heart lead, right? You've got eight tricks. Certainly your partner can come up with one tiny trick, right? Live a little.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South:

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

A: 3♦: Should we have made a Take-Out Double on our first bid? No. With ten cards in two suits, we own the table, and need to show it. Our second bid, despite Pard's Pass, we're going to bid our second suit. Hopefully, Pard will take us seriously now and support one of our suits.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ 6
♥ K Q J
♦ 7 5
♣ A K Q 10 9 8 7

Q: 3 - South again:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♠
?

A: 2♣: I know, I know. Look at that Club suit with what looks like seven tricks. And then you've got two more waiting in Spades. BUT!! You should hear the faint sound of approaching drills (remember the movie Marathon Man?). This hand isn't as good as you might think at first glance.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ 9
♥ 4 3
♦ A Q
♣ A K Q 10 5 4 3

Q: 4 - Another chance as South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♦	Dbl	2♦
?

A: 3 No-trump: Your Pard's Double is a wonderful thing. He's got the majors so you've got protection. You expect a Diamond lead. You might even be thinking about slam, but with the opponents opening the bidding... Bzzzzzzz (that's the drill again). We'd rather be in No-trump than Clubs... lots more cash.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - Again? South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♥
?

A: 3♥: Eddie Kantar (kantarbridge.com for great stuff!) calls this Jump Cuebid "the legendary jump cuebid". This bid asks Prd to bid 3 No-trump with a stopper in their suit. Without one? He'll bid something else, generally 4 or 5 Clubs depending on his holding. With Diamonds, we'd correct. Notice that if our Big Suit were Spades, we'd be bidding them, not looking for No-trump.

Well, so far so good in our attempt to avoid the Dreaded Drill. Let's see how our hand goes.

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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