"Two Reasons to Quit" Opener Rebids by Marti Ronemus

We are nine days into the New Year, and I'm willing to bet there are still some Faithful Readers out there who haven't yet broken their New Year's Resolutions. For those stalwart souls, I offer two temptations that might break the firmest resolve, each a sandwich that just might be waiting for us when we enter the Pearly Gates.

In Louisville KY, there's a specialty called a Hot Brown. Picture an open-face masterpiece with turkey, bacon and a fried egg, topped with Mornay sauce-- secret ingredients including gobs of cheese. Originally created as a hangover cure, it's now a regional staple.

Or how about this? In Detroit, we can get a Yardbird, considered by locals to be an out-of-body experience. Chicken with mustard sauce, mushrooms, cheddar cheese and crispy bacon. Just the mental image makes me weak in the knees.

If you're still determined to hold firm, allow us to distract with some bidding problems. Let's keep our minds on bridge.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♥	Pass	2♥	Pass
?

A: Pass: When we Do The Math, we realize we have at most 22 pts. That doesn't make it worth breaking our resolutions. We hate to Pass, but anything else is asking for trouble.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♥	Pass	2♥	Pass
?

A: 3♥: We still only have 14 HCP, which is a minimum opener, but look at this Trick Taker! The singleton! The fantastic second suit! Once Pard supports our suit, our hand jumps in value to 16 pts. Let's tempt Pard with the opportunity to take us to game if he's at the top of his values.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♥	Pass	1♠	Pass
?

A: 1 No-trump: No temptation to go further here. Pard's bid is unlimited and forcing, so we must bid. With no second suit to mention, no support for Pard's suit, we make a boring 1 No-trump, which tells him all the above info. It's all up to him now. He knows we're minimum and can't have anything except 5-3-3-2 distribution. (Think about that for a minute.)

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♥	Pass	1♠	Pass
?

A: 2♣: We get a second serving, er, chance to bid here. Pard's forcing, unlimited bid enables us to name our second suit as cheaply as possible. Pard will know we have at least nine cards in two suits and a minimum hand. Once again we've succeeded in making our problem his.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♦	Pass	1♥	Pass
?

A: 2♥: We want to put two items on Pard's menu: First, we've got Heart support, and secondly, we've got a minimum hand. Our bid does the trick.

And now 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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