"Thank Your Techie Day" by Marti Ronemus

The modern shaman--the Techie. For many of us, the Techie is the holder of arcane knowledge and we often feel at their mercy. Are they deliberately obscure so they can keep the knowledge all to themselves?

Personally though, I am more than willing to thank my Techies. Without them, my computer would eat my "stuff" and my car would be dying by the roadside. Thank you, Techies of the world. (And if I am completely honest, I don't want to know how that stuff works anyway.)

Trying to understand some bidding systems is like trying to deal with a particularly difficult Techie. Let's work today to make sure we understand the language.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ 9 5 2
♥ 4 3
♦ 8 4
♣ K 10 7 6 5 2

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♥	Dbl	Redouble
?

A: 3♣: Oh my. We hate our hand, hate our Clubs. Where is a Techie when you need one? Our 3♣ bid is very weak and preemptive. Remember a jump after strength shows weakness. This is similar to a Weak Jump Shift.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	2♣	Pass
2♦	Pass	2♠	Pass
?

A: 4♠: We have a fit and a Quick Trick, but no real interest in slam. That's what our bid shows. Were we to bid 3♠, we'd be showing slam interest. Some partnerships would bid 2 No-trump to show a wee bit of help, so give yourself credit for that bid also.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♥	Pass	2♥	Pass
?

A: 3♦: We have an invitational hand and a Pard who's shown a minimum. We could bid 3♥, inviting, but we have a better option: A "Help Suit Game Try." Wouldn't it be wonderful if Pard had honors in Diamonds? Other honors might be wasted, but Diamonds would make game a lot easier. Let's ask. How does Pard know this isn't Cue Bidding toward slam? Because his answer can be below game.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South:

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

A: 4♥: We are now the Pard of the opener who asked if we have help in Diamonds. Do we ever! Pard is more interested in WHERE our points are than in how many we have. His question with his 3♦ bid is "can you help me in Diamonds?" Our answer is a resounding YES and we tell him that by going to game.

Please notice that had he just invited by bidding 3♥, we would have passed.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - South:

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

A: 3♥: Same scenario, but this time when Pard asks for help in Diamonds, we don't have it. We tell him that by rebidding "our" suit at the cheapest possible level.

Like all good techies, we've unraveled the mysteries of the arcane. Pick up your badge at the front desk.

Ready for a great 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!