"Taxi! Taxi!" Advancing the Auction by Marti Ronemus

In the "Did you know?" category: The 50,000 Manhattan Yellow Cab drivers each drive more than 70,000. That's 3.5 billion miles! Yikes! Some other cab facts... there's a secret Panic Button that when pushed flashes amber lights and alerts police that the driver needs help. Also, the secret to summoning a cab isn't just waving your arms, it's making eye contact so the driver knows you aren't waving at a friend. And, try to look like a sober citizen. Drivers are not required to stop for you if you look "impaired."

Finally, a warning. Cabs are retired after three years and are either reduced to parts or sold. Cabbies' advice about buying one? Don't.

Today's challenge is advancing the auction. Should we pick up that passenger? Should we push our Panic Button? TBA.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South:

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

**13-15 pts, forcing

A: 4♠: There is a convention called Jacoby 2 No-trump that would be perfect for us as responders on this hand, but we aren't playing that yet. Our 2 No-trump response showed 13-15 pts and forced Pard to bid again. He showed nine cards in two suits with his rebid. He could have bid 3 No-trump, and so could we. But we are going to go with our nine-card Spade fit.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♠	Pass	2♠	Pass
?

A: Pass: Our hand is minimum, Pard has no more than nine. We aren't going anywhere, so we don't need to call a cab. We can walk.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♠	Pass	2♠	Pass
?

A: 3♠: We re-evaluate our hand after Pard supports. We're going to need to call a cab after all. We don't have enough for game, but we have enough to invite. What will Pard do? See next question.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South:

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

A: Pass: We're not going to pick up this passenger. We're essentially flat and with our low point count, we'll let this one go.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - South:

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

A: 4♠: No problem going to game with this one. We've got the extra trump and plenty of points.

And now for 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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