Dewey Decimal System Day by Marti Ronemus

December is chock-full of strange holidays (plus all the normal ones), but nothing more intriguing than a day devoted to a system that has been long-superseded. One wonders why?

The Dewey Decimal system is boring to begin with, so should we be wasting a whole day celebrating it? Couldn't the day be better used as a second Bacon Day (it's coming, it's coming!!)?

And what about our bridge games? How much stuff are we dragging around that should be superseded by more useful and descriptive bids? Hmmm?

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ K 7
♥ K 10 9 2
♦ K J 10 9
♣ A K 10

Q: 1 - South:

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

**Weak, 5-9 ish points with a six-card nice suit
*** "I would have bid 1 No-trump, but the Dirty Dog stole my bid. AND! I've got his suit stopped.

A: 3♥: The point of this question is: Is Pard's bid Stayman? Are systems on when you overcall a Pre-empt with No-trump? While some play System Off, we prefer Systems On, as it gives you more flexibility and keeps the big hand off the table.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	2♣*	Pass
2♦	Pass	2♥	Pass
?

*Strong and artificial

A: 3♣: Wouldn't you know that Pard would open 2♣ when you are absolutely flat broke? There are those who would jump to 4♥ with the 3-card support, but without even a 10 or 9, we prefer the second negative.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ K Q J 9
♥ 10 8
♦ J 10 5 4
♣ 6 5 4

Q: 3 - South:

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

A: 3♦: Pard reversed. How do we know? He bid a suit we by-passed and is higher ranking than his first suit. He has more Clubs than Diamonds, probably 5-4. His bid is forcing. We have two 8-card fits, but experience has shown that 4-4 plays better than 5-3.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South:

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

A: 3♦: We've been told repeatedly that if you don't have a first- or second-round control OF ALL FOUR SUITS in our hand, we shouldn't use Blackwood. If we did, and Pard responded with one ace (or control) what would we do? Since we've agreed on a suit, a new suit at this point is control-showing. Pard will know we've got a first-round control of Diamonds and will take it from there.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ A Q J 7
♥ K 10 8 5
♦ A Q 5 4
♣ A

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	4♥	Pass
?

A: 4 No-trump: This is a sort-of no-brainer, but it provides a good contrast to our last question. We didn't have a first- or second-round control of each suit in that situation, so we showed our cheapest first-round control. Here, we have all four suits covered.

AND!! No contract is too high when Pard has to play it. We'll see what comes next, because this is our hand for today.

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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