"National Hairball Awareness Day" by Marti Ronemus

Just when you thought you had heard it all, we find an observance totally over the top. This week, cat owners and other interested people (really?!) gather at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Silver Spring MD to learn about hairballs.

If you own a cat, you already know about hairballs. To my way of thinking, hairballs are the only negative about these wonderful, loving, schizophrenic animals. Cats practically take care of themselves, never need to be walked, adore you on THEIR terms. I think an occasional hairball is a very small price to pay for so much joy.

Unless you step on it in your bare feet in the middle of the night.

And now let's talk about our bridge hairballs... bad bids. Ready to rid yourself of yours?

(By the way, thank you Sarah, one of our Faithful Readers for making me aware of this day.)

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	2♣	p
2♦	p	2♥	p
?

A: 3♥: 4♥ would be a shutout. We've got a Pard with 8-1/2 tricks in his hand. We are bringing some very nice cards to the table, especially in trumps. We want to be encouraging. It seems counter-intuitive to many new players, but the lower bid is encouraging because it leaves more room to wiggle around till we find the perfect contract.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	2♣	p
2♦	p	2♥	p
?

A: 4♥: Unlike last hand, this one is a real hairball. We do have trump support, and we tell Pard we don't have anything except a little support.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	2♣	p
?

A: 2♠: When Pard opens 2♣, he is the star of the show, and we should stand back and let him show his hand. UNLESS!! We have 8-plus pts hand AND AND a solid gold suit of our own. This is what it looks like. BTW, the 8 pts is flexible, and usually a sort-of marker for slam interest. Pard will still be showing us his suit, but he will know we've got a rock of a suit and slam interest.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ 3 2
♥ 4 3 2
♦ J 10 9 5 4
♣ Q 8 5

Q: 4 - South:

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

A: 3♣: We are bidding our cheapest minor, a "double negative," showing neither Spade interest or points. We are warning Pard is is on his own, and he should be very careful where he's putting his feet... hairballs ahead.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ A 8 7 6 5
♥ 4 3 2
♦ Q 9 8
♣ 4 3

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	2♣	p
2♦	p	2♥	p
?

A: 2♠: This is a forward-going bid, somewhat encouraging. Pard will know that we don't have a solid gold suit of our own, or we would have bid it on our first chance. He will bid again and then we can show our Heart support, making it his problem. Good kitty.

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.
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