"Shark Awareness Day" by Marti Ronemus

Ever since the iconic movie "Jaws," sharks in the water have been in the back of our minds, and the opening four notes from the score have become symbolic of trouble coming. Most of us (especially those of us who will never again go in water where we can't see the bottom) won't be running into any sharks tho'.

UNTIL!! We sit down at the bridge table. You've met them, haven't you? Maybe you even ARE one! The sharks always know the right thing to bid and always guess where the Queen is.

Today, let's be aware of sharks, and in fact... let's try to BE sharks. Ready?

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	2♠	3♦
?

A: 4♠: Normally we add the number of tricks in our hand to Pard's 5-1/2 tricks to determine our level. But in a competitive auction, we smile that shark smile, and advance the preempt. We've got a ten card trump fit and nice shortness in their suit.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South?

South	West	North	East
-	1♠	Pass	Pass
?

A: Double: The bidding suggests a bunch of guppies swimming around. Remember that in the balancing seat, we mentally move three points from our Pard's hand to ours. When we do that, we have quite the Great White and start the bidding with a double. We'll do something dramatic at our next bid.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	2♦	Pass
2 No-trump**	Pass	3♣***	Pass
?

** "Do you have an ace or king outside of your big suit?"
*** "Yes. Clubs."

A: 6♦: C'mon. With this hand, we are a shark! Pard's got the ♣K. We gotta go for it.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South?

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

A: 4♣: Your Pard's 2 No-trump rebid shows 18-19 HCP, and you've got this? We need to ask for aces. Normally we can't do that without first or second round control of each suit, but we are in a bit of a jam. Fortunately the last natural bid was No-trump, which means we can use Gerber, keeping the bidding lower. If we don't like Pard's answer, we can bail out cheaper.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ K 8 3
♥ A 10 8 4
♦ K Q 8
♣ A 9 4

Q: 5 - South?

South	West	North	East
1 No-trump **	Pass	4 No-trump	Pass
?

** 15-17

A: Pass: This is one of the many reasons we use Gerber to ask for Aces over No-trump. Pard is not asking for aces. He is asking if we are at the top of our bid, or do we have a little extra in a fat suit. We don't. Our hand is flat and 16 HCP. We have to turn down Pard's invitation. Our defenders are sharks, and we want to avoid their teeth.

And now, it's time for a hand. We've managed to stay alive during the quiz... let's see if we can stay safe.

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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What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
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