"National Cellophane Tape Day" by Marti Ronemus

Can you imagine life without cellophane tape? Such a small, necessary convenience does indeed deserve a day all of its own, to celebrate its place in our lives... in the background, ready for when we need it.

And as a bridge tie-in, how about the Take-Out Double? What a handy, dandy bid... often misused and can present some sticky problems. Let's see if we can untangle some bids.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♦	Dbl	Pass
?

A: 2♠: A frequent mistake we see is players responding to a Take-Out Double with just their suit, not showing point count also. Pard's TOD promised four(ish) Spades and an opening hand. You get an extra 2 pts for your five-card Spades, especially with those two honors and the honorette. We've got a 10 pt invitational hand. Tell Pard. Now that you've limited your hand to 8-11 pts, it's HIS problem!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♦	Dbl	Pass
?

A: 1♠: Even if you have a good suit, you don't have enough points to jump, you need to respond your Spades with the lowest bid you can.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♦	Dbl	Pass
?

A: 2♦: We are going to cue-bid the opponent's suit. That shows game-going values and asks our as-yet-unlimited partner to tell us more about his hand. One benefit of this bid is it protects us from a Pard who doubled with only three Spades.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ J 8
♥ 9 4 3
♦ 3 2
♣ A Q 10 8 7 5

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♦	Dbl	Pass
?

A: 3♣: We get 3 pts for the six-card suit, so you need to jump.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♦	Dbl	Pass
?

A: 2♦: We need more from Pard. Which is his four-card major? Both? What are his points? We cannot place the contract till we know more.

And now, let's play a hand that involves a Take-Out Double at its best.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Play this Hand

Now that you've bid five hands, let's see how your play goes.

Play on ANY Device

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

Rate yourself:

0 - 40% We applaud your effort.
Review the subject and try again. You'll be surprised how much better you'll do.
We're here for you!!

41 - 50% Buy your mentor a cuppa and ask for clarification on the ones you got wrong.
No mentor? Make finding one a priority!

51 - 60% Nice improvement! One more review and you'll have this down solid!

61 - 80% What a good job! All that's left is some fine tuning

Over 80% Wow! It's time for you to become a mentor. Find someone who needs help and share your knowledge!

0 - 40%	We applaud your effort. Review the subject and try again. You'll be surprised how much better you'll do. We're here for you!!
41 - 50%	Buy your mentor a cuppa and ask for clarification on the ones you got wrong. No mentor? Make finding one a priority!
51 - 60%	Nice improvement! One more review and you'll have this down solid!
61 - 80%	What a good job! All that's left is some fine tuning
Over 80%	Wow! It's time for you to become a mentor. Find someone who needs help and share your knowledge!