"Fruitcake Toss Day" by Marti Ronemus

By now, that fruitcake Great Aunt Agatha gave you is good and stale. Don't despair. Hop on a train, bus, plane or car and head for Boulder CO where they have an annual Fruitcake Toss Day.

Faithful Readers, I know Winter can get boring, but really? Fruitcake toss? We bridge players are very fortunate. We have no possible excuse for being bored. We've got great hands, crazy partners, confusing bids, all designed to prevent us from having to toss fruitcakes, for heaven's sake.

Let's try a few bids and play an interesting hand. Then break up the fruitcake and scatter it for the birds.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A 9 7
♥ 4
♦ A K J 6
♣ A K 10 9 8

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♣	Pass	1♥	Pass
?

A: 2♦: 3♦ would be a jump-shift and certainly would describe the strength of our hand. 3 No-trump is where we probably will end up ("probably" being the operative word). BUT!! Why would you bid anything except 2♦. It's a reverse, thusly forcing, it guaranteed a fat intermediate or better hand, and it guarantees that the first-bid suit is longer than the second. No reason to use up all that bidding space for any other bid.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
Pass	Pass	1♦	Pass
?

A: 1♠: Here's the story, folks. It's almost impossible for a passed hand to force the auction. You may only get one shot here, so let's tell Pard about that gorgeous Spade suit. Yes, 2♣ shows your point count. Yes, it reflects your shape. BUT!! What if Pard opened light in third seat. He could easily pass your 2♣ bid.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♦	Pass
?

A: 2♣: Here, we're NOT a passed hand. Our bid is forcing, we got game values. There's no chance we'll miss a major fit. Just a reminder... you don't have to be hit on the head with a fruitcake to see the difference.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♣	Pass	1♠	Pass
?

A: 2♦: What, you cry? You need a fat 16 for a reverse? Bridge is not a game of points, it's a game of tricks. This hand is a trick-taker. A case can be made for other answers, but we think 2♦ perfectly describes the hand. We need to force the auction.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ A Q 9 8 7
♥ A Q 10 8 6 4
♦
♣ 3 2

Q: 5 - South:

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

A: 2♠: Once again, we're going to reverse. Do we care this hand only has 12 points? Not hardly! This is no stale fruitcake. This is a gorgeous Plum Pudding. Spectacular shape! Eleven cards in two suits! A void! You need to make a forcing bid and show off a little.

How about a 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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