"Rattlesnake Strikes" by Marti Ronemus

How horrifying! A striking rattlesnake's head is moving at 175 miles per hour. This is very bad news for those who insist on annoying the normally very shy reptile. A startling number of the (roughly) 5000 bites a year in the US involve alcohol. Another large number involve religious ceremonies.

The good news is that only around 5 of those bites result in death. Our advice? Stay sober around snakes. Common sense should prevail!

And isn't THAT wishful thinking! Let's show some common sense as we wend our way through these bidding challenges.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	3♠
?

A: Pass: Oh how we hate to do it. We've probably got the nicest hand at the table, BUT!! If we double, Pard may think we've got four Hearts. Our Diamonds are too weak and the Clubs are unbiddable at the four level. We just gotta pass and hope Pard can come up with something.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	2♠
3♥	4♠	Dbl	Pass
?

A: 5♦: Pard obviously has points, as the opponents don't. He also has surely got a fit for one of our suits!! Bidding 5♦ isn't that much of a stretch, and there is no sound of a rattle!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♦	Dbl	2♦
?

A: 2♥: Pard should have four Hearts, definitely three, and opening-ish points. We certainly have enough to tell him about our lovely Hearts. Not much danger of getting bitten here.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♥	Dbl	3♥**
?

**Preemptive, showing an extra trump and a minimum hand. With a nice hand, he'd redouble.

A: 3♠: We actually have a nice hand holding what should be the ninth Spade and that lovely singleton in their suit. We like our outside five-card suit, also... Want to bet we can make something of that? Pass would just be too cowardly. East is hoping that's what we are. Wrong!!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♥	Pass	Pass
?

A: Double: I know, I know. It looks like we might be stepping right on that snake, but Pard is rated to have a nice nice hand. Remember that a Pass in the overcall seat doesn't say "I don't have anything," it says "I don't have a bid." With East holding less than 6 pts, we've got to bid to protect Pard's points. Reopening with a double is our best bet.

And now, on to our 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.
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