Sparky for President: "Don't Overlook the Little Guy" by Marti Ronemus

In his autobiography, "Don't Overlook the Little Guy," Sparky relates the days before he became a national figure on the campaign trail. He tells of his rough upbringing, neglected and abused, and overlooked for adoption because of his diminutive size (not to mention his refusal to EVER stop barking).

He poignantly describes the day his Forever Mom and his new Godmother chose him, recognizing the giant heart and intellect packed in his wee body.

As you can imagine, Sparky is a HUGE fan of the Weak Jump Shift, both in and out of competition. His second favorite bid is the Weak Freak.

Let's look at some of these bids that value shape over size of point count. Should be fun. Woof.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♣	1♥	Pass
?

A: 4♥: Ah, our good friend The Weak Freak. What? You weren't going to bark? Er, bid? My goodness. You've got a 10-card trump fit and a singleton. This hugely pre-emptive bid is certainly going to knock the opponents out of the bidding (well, unless there's a 4♠ bid in their future), and with this extremely shapely hand, there's a darn good chance we're going to make it.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ 7
♥ Q 10 9 7 6 5
♦ Q 9 6 5
♣ 4 3

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♠	Pass
?

A: 3♥: Now, this is a bid we need to talk about. It splits down Party lines. One side says that WITHOUT competition, a Jump Shift is strong. The other Party says a Jump Shift is ALWAYS weak. Sparky is of the belief that weakness comes up so much more often than that 16-plus point responder that the bid is too good to waste on only strong hands. Talk it over with Pard.

The Weak Jump Shift shows a hand that is simply too wretched to bid with, BUT!! It's got a loonnnggg suit that is essentially worthless unless it is trumps. In other words, the hand is a totally Crummy Dummy.

Should Pard bid again? His problem. You've shown a hand that is too bad to enter the bidding at the one-level, let alone any higher and you've promised a six-card (or longer) suit. If he DOES bid again, most play it as forcing for one round. You need to talk this over before you vote. Er, bid.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ Q 10 9 7 5 4
♥ 9
♦ 4 3
♣ J 9 6 4

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♦	1♥
?

A: 2♠: This is a little easier. Almost everyone agrees that a Jump Shift in a COMPETITIVE auction is Weak, Weak, Weak. Again, it warns Pard that your hand is actually too bad to bid with, but by gosh, we refuse to Overlook the Little Guy. We are like Godzilla going through Tokyo, eating two levels of bidding and warning Pard of the danger of bidding again. Is this fun, or what?

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ 9 4
♥ Q J 8 6 5 4
♦ J 4
♣ 8 5 4

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Pass
?

A: 2♥: You're starting to get in the swing of this. If you only use Jump Shifts as strong, you'd have to overlook this hand and Pass. But not us! We come out swinging with a strongly preemptive 2♥ bid. Pard knows we have NOTHING except Hearts and a strong desire to compete. This little guy is tough!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ Q 8 5 4 3 2
♥ 2
♦ 4 3 2
♣ 5 4 3

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♥	1♠	Pass
?

A: 4♠: We're stunned when Pard overcalls 1♠. This might be a little controversial, but listen... we paid to play and we take no prisoners. We have an 11-card trump fit. A singleton. We know Pard might be weak, but just how bad can it be? If you pass this, we'll eventually forgive you, but if you jump to game with this, you've got our vote.

After all that excitement, can you tackle a hand? Good.

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

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