"Nat'l Doghouse Repair Month" by Marti Ronemus

Have you ever seen pictures of some of the elaborate doghouses, huge and very fancy? My first apartment was smaller than some of them. Who knew there was a month devoted to making our doghouses snug and cozy. (Our dogs don't believe us that some dogs actually sleep OUTside!)

If as a bridge player, you often find yourself in one of the aforementioned edifices, maybe it's time to sharpen up your bidding and play. Aren't you glad you've got your pals at Vu-Bridge to help? Here are five challenging bidding questions and a hand to start July.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - As South, what's your next bid?

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

A: Pass: Pard's delayed preference to 2♥ strongly suggests a doubleton Heart with a minimum responding hand. It sounds like he's got four Spades and two Hearts... we've got a seven-card fit either way, and it's better to play in a five-two fit than a four-three.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South?

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

A: Pass: Sigh. Pard gave us delayed support, which promises three-card support. His 2♥ bid isn't forcing, thank heavens. We have a classic misfit and are darn lucky to have a seven-card fit. Pass so you can sleep inside tonight.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South again:

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

A: Pass: Again. We're doing a lot of passing today. Pard gave us a support double, but we pass?! Yes. You are allowed to pass a support double if you have a LONG STRONG holding in "their" suit. You have it, so pass is your best bet. This will get you out of the doghouse, with your four tricks.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	3♠
Dbl	Pass	4♥	Pass
?

A: 4♠: With our Big Dog of a hand, we can sleep anywhere we want, and what we want is to play in a Heart slam. Since we do not have first- or second-round control of every suit (the Diamonds) we should cuebid the Spade. Pard will certainly know we don't want to play in Spades, and cuebid his controls.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ A 9 8 6
♥ Q 8 5 4
♦ 7 5
♣ 8 4 3

Q: 5 - Last chance to howl as South:

South	West	North	East
-	3♠	Dbl	Pass
4♥	Pass	4♠	Pass
?

A: 5♥: Does this bidding look familiar? Yup. We are now the partner of the Big Dog last hand. Pard cuebid his first-round Spade control, asking us to name ours. We have none, and in fact have a real Chihuahua of a hand, so we take it back to Hearts.

(Note: Do NOT fire off a nasty email to me. I am not insulting Chihuahuas. I love them and in fact currently have one. But let's face it. You can't go to slam with this puppy.)

Okay. We've managed to retain possession of indoor privileges. Let's see how we do with a hand.

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

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!