"Fraud Awareness Week" by Marti Ronemus

It's everywhere! Computer fraud, identity theft, phishing, not to mention plain old con jobs for home repairs, banking. It's darn right scary out there, don't you think? You've got to keep your wits about you all the time.

And what about at the bridge table. How do we avoid fraud? By making the clearest, most precise bids possible. Here are five chances to keep yourself out of trouble. See how you do.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South:

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

A: 3♣: It would have been flat-out fraud had you bid 3♣ on your first response. It would have promised 10 pts. The beauty of limiting your hand on your first bid is that you can now name your (very nice) Club suit without Pard thinking you suddenly found an ace in your hand. Now Pard knows the story and can act accordingly.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♥
2♣	Pass	2♠	Pass
3♦	Pass	3♠	Pass
?

A: Pass: Ouch. Pard rejected both our suits, despite our reverse. Eddie Kantar (www.kantarbridge.com) warns that with a misfit, it's best to get out of Dodge as cheaply as possible. To bid further invites true disaster. Pard should have a self-sufficient suit or he's defrauding us.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	1♥
1♠	Pass	3♠	Pass
?

A: 4♠: Pard's 3♠ invitational bid is hard to refuse. We need to downgrade our hand a little... the ♦J isn't worth the cardboard it's printed on, BUT!! We've got a ninth trump that Pard doesn't know about. No fraud here.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South?

South	West	North	East
1♦	Pass	1♥	1♠
?

A: 4♥: We love love love this hand! As dummy, our Diamonds provide the perfect place for Pard to DUMP losers. Our trumps are golden. Our shortness is fantastic. This hand is a perfect example of what a trick-taker looks like. This hand is worth much more than the sum of its points.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Pass
1♥	Pass	1♠	Pass
?

A: 4♥: No, you're not committing fraud. True, you've only got 9 HCP, BUT!! Your ♣K has improved in value, and you've got that outrageous Heart suit. If we don't prevail, we'll be a Crummy Dummy. Let's go for it. If we fail, we'll only get a short jail sentence.

And now, let's see if we can avoid committing fraud in our 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

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