"Flitch of Bacon Day" by Marti Ronemus

Our Faithful Readers know I am enamored of all things BACON, and this is a new one. This holiday is first mentioned in the 14th Century, and can be found in works of Chaucer. A "flitch (side)" of bacon was awarded to the married couples who could prove they had no regrets about their marriage after one year and one day. They had to provide witnesses to support their claim. While this holiday has largely disappeared, it is still practiced in some areas of England.

So, how about your bridge partners? Can you provide witnesses that you are still happily playing together after a year and a day? Can you bring home the bacon? Let's see how you agree on these bidding scenarios. Each question involves a competitive auction. Anyone can stay happily "married" when there's no interference.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ K 8
♥ A 10 9 2
♦ A 10 3 2
♣ 6 5 2

Q: 1 - South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♠	2♦
?

A: Double: A Negative Double is about the best we can do. We don't have the money to bid 2 No-trump. If Pard doesn't like Hearts, something else may develop as the auction goes on.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♠	2♣
?

A: 2♥: We're going to be in game, probably 4♠. BUT!! As we've said many times, any raise of Pard's suit in a competitive auction is the weakest bid you can make. If we jump to 4♠, it is preemptive and there's a chance we might miss a slam.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♥	2♦
?

A: 3 No-trump: No-trump is definitely our strain. 2 No-trump shows 10-12 and a stopper, 3 No-trump shows 13-15, and that's what we've got. We'll limit our hand and now it's up to Pard.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ A 10 9 3 2
♥ A 8
♦ 7 6 4 3
♣ A 2

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♠	2♦
?

A: 3♦: What do we do when we've got game-going values, and a fit with Pard? We can't raise Pard's suit as that shows weakness. Instead we cue-bid by bidding the opponent's suit. We are promising a limit raise OR BETTER and a fit with Pard. It is oh so forcing.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - South's last chance to win the bacon:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♠	2♦
?

A: 4♠: When your hand is too bad to bid, we go to game. Surely the opponents have a better fit than the Diamonds. Let's not give them a chance to find it!

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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