"You Deserve a Treat Today" by Marti Ronemus

Combine the Winter doldrums with unsettling times and you've got a need for comfort and distraction. Dr. Janet Sprauge tells us "Caring for your emotional self is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation." Here are some thoughts she shares.
1. Keep a "warm fuzzies" file. When you get a nice email, file it. A nice note? Ditto. On bad days, dig 'em out.
2. Assess your internet and TV diet. Is it balanced? Are you glomming onto negatives? "Purge your list. Add positive feeds."
3. And this is my favorite idea... "Snuggle and hug. These act as wonder drugs, flooding your body with endorphins. It can be a person, a cat or a dog. The act of hugging is magical to the body and soul."
And we bridge players can add another one... the distraction and pleasure of a well-bid and played hand.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♣	Dbl	1♦
?

A: 3 No-trump: Many would double here, asking Pard to in effect pick his own darn suit, but we like 3 No-trump. Pard has an opening-ish hand, and so do we. We have lovely stoppers everywhere, and see game.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ K 9 2
♥ 8 2
♦ K J 10 7 2
♣ A K 6

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♦	4♥
?

A: 5♦: We know there's a 93% chance Pard has at least four Diamonds and an opening hand. We've got 15 dummy pts and it makes us feel all warm and fuzzy to take candy from babies. Passing is unthinkable and a double won't pay as much as our vulnerable game. Are we making a good decision? We'll find out when we play this hand at the end.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	2♥	Pass
?

A: 4♥: Pard must be holding the ♥K-Q for his preempt. We've got six heart tricks and at least four Spade tricks. If we were interested in slam, we'd bid our Spades, but why not just bid what we know we can make? We need very little from Pard to make our game... one outside trick will do it.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ 3 2
♥ K Q 10 9 8 6 2
♦ K J 10
♣ 2

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Pass
1♥	Pass	2♥	Pass
?

A: 4♥: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pard has shown a minimum hand with as few as 12 pts, and we've only got 9 HCP. BUT!! How often do we have to say, "Bridge is a game of TRICKS, not points!" We've got an eleven card trump fit, a singleton and a doubleton. This hand is at least as good as a hug, but not quite as good as a puppy kiss.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ 10 9 7 6 5
♥ 7 4 3
♦ A 7 6
♣ A Q

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♦	1♥
1♠	2♥	2♠	Pass
?

A: 3♠: This hand doesn't have the sumptuous shape the last one did. We've got a nine-card trump fit, but a lot of losers. Let's invite, showing 10-12 pts. Now it's Pard's problem.

And ready for our hand? It's a real feel-good... if we can make it.

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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