Happy New Year! by Marti Ronemus

How exciting! A brand new year, a clean slate, a new beginning. And the first day we can start breaking all those resolutions we made yesterday. Like I'm really going to give up chocolate! Who was I trying to kid.

BUT!! As a team, we can keep that resolution to improve our game. Bridge is not a destination, it's a journey. So put your shoes on and let's get to work.

We're going back to basics today and are going to think about Hand Evaluation. Every bid made changes the value of our hand.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ Q J 3 2
♥ K J 7
♦ 9 6 5
♣ 4 3 2

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♥	2♦
?

A: 2♥: Nice little warm-up question. You've got the right trump support and enough points for a minimum response.

Now let's look at the same hand with a different bidding scenario.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ Q J 3 2
♥ K J 7
♦ 9 6 5
♣ 4 3 2

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♥	2♥ *
?

* Michaels Cue-Bid: 5 Spades with a 5-card minor.

A: Pass: This time, three of our points are essentially worthless. Eddie Kantar reminds us that we need to carefully consider Quacks (that's Queens and Jacks) in the opponent's suits. This hand has lost a lot of its value, plus it's flat as a driveway.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ A Q 9 7 6
♥ K 8
♦ A J 5 4 3
♣ 9

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♠	2♦	2♠	Pass
?

A: Pass: The guy to your left has the Diamond honors, making your suit seriously suspect. Technically, you've got 16 points with distribution, but this is what we mean by every bid changing the value of your hand. If EAST had bid the Diamonds, it would be a different story.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South:

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

A: 2 No-trump: Yes, technically, we've got 10 points, BUT!! This hand is flat. It has scattered honors (rather than honors clustered in long suits) and it has no honorettes. If you bid 3 No-trump, you don't have to go directly to jail without collecting $200, but, opposite a Pard who also has a flat hand, you could be in trouble. This hand needs to be downgraded for bad texture.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ K 10
♥ A 2
♦ J 10 9 7
♣ J 10 9 8 7

Q: 5 - South:

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

A: 3 No-trump: We LOVE this hand! It has everything the last one didn't. True, it only has 9 points, but look at all those honorettes! This hand deserves to be treated with a little respect. Think what a nice dummy this will be. Last hand we downgraded a 10 point hand, this time we're upgrading a 9 pointer. This is all part of the judgment we develop as we play the game.

Speaking of playing... are you ready for your first hand of the year?

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!