"Festival of Popular Delusions Day" by Marti Ronemus

This day started shortly after WWII and has grown to be quite the underground celebration. It provides us with an opportunity for a reality check in our daily lives. It is also a chance to look at the popular ideas of the day. "Fifty is the new thirty," for example. "A gluten-free diet is the secret to immortality," for another.

In bridge? "Eight ever, nine never." A party bridge favorite "The cards run the same way as the bathtub." And on and on.

So think about YOUR delusions as the day goes on. And let's check out a few hands.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	2♠
?

A: Pass: Ouch. We'd like to use the Unusual No-trump but... if we bid 2 No-trump, we're saying we have a 1 No-trump opener with stoppers. We'd have to jump to 3 No-trump, which many bid to play showing a stopper and a rich source of tricks. Plus that pushes Pard to the four-level, with our collection of not-much. Borderline delusional.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ K Q J 8 4
♥ 9
♦ 5 4 3
♣ K 5 4 3

Q: 2 - South:

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

A: 2♠: Most play Pard's new suit as forcing for one round. He's unpassed and promises 10-plus pts with a good five-card suit. It's constructive. Don't even think of bidding clubs. This hand is an exception to not rebidding an unsupported five-cards suit. You aren't promising anything extra.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South:

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

A: 3♥: We aren't promising anything extra. We are however showing Pard heart support.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ Q 8 5
♥ A 10 9 4
♦ J 4
♣ K J 8 6

Q: 4 - We still believe we are South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♥	Dbl
?

A: 2 No-Trump: If East had passed, we would have made a limit raise of 3♥. If we did that now, it would be preemptive. With 4 Trumps, we can use the 2 No-Trump bid, to show a limit raise, with a 4-card fit. It cannot be natural, since we would have redoubled.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ 2
♥ J 9 7 6 3
♦ 5 2
♣ Q 10 8 7 3

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♥	Double
?

A: 4♥: Speaking of delusions of grandeur. This is one of our favorite bids, the Weak Freak. We are promising a hand so bad we cannot say 2♥, but we've got five card trump support and a singleton or void. It puts the opponents in a tizzy and surprisingly we will often make it.

Ready for a great hand? With a reality check?

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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