"Forgotten Uses" by Marti Ronemus

How about some common items we only THINK we know what they're for. Examples?
--That tiny pocket in our jeans is NOT for coins. It originated as extra protection for our pocket watches.
--The holes in our pot handles weren't planned for us to hang the pots, but rather to insert the spoon to keep it handy and not dripping on the stove.
--The drawer under the stove isn't for storing pots and pans (where else am I supposed to put them?) but as a warming oven for those who have gas stoves.
--Finally, those little tabs on the end of the rolls of foil and plastic wrap (which you never noticed until this minute) are designed to push in to stop the roll from flopping all over.

And how about some bids we may/may not be using properly? Is it time to review them? Yup.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ K 8 3
♥ K 10 9 6 5
♦ A Q 8 2
♣ 8

Q: 1 - As South, what's your next bid?

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

A: Pass: Pard's delayed preference to 2♥ strongly suggests a doubleton Heart with a minimum responding hand. It sounds like he's got four Spades and two Hearts... we've got a seven-card fit either way, and it's better to play in a five-two fit than a four-three.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♦	Pass
1♥	Pass	1♠	Pass
1 No-trump	Pass	2♥	Pass
?

A: Pass: Sigh. Pard gave us delayed support, which promises three-card support. His 2♥ bid isn't forcing, thank heavens. We have a classic misfit and are darn lucky to have a seven-card fit.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South again:

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

A: Pass: Again. We're doing a lot of passing today. Pard gave us a support double, but we pass?! Yes. You are allowed to pass a support double if you have a LONG STRONG holding in "their" suit. You have it, so pass is your best bet. We've got four tricks and we know the use for them, don't we!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South:

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

A: 4♠: With our Big Dog of a hand, we can sleep anywhere we want, and what we want is to play in a Heart slam. Since we do not have first- or second-round control of every suit (the Diamonds) we should cuebid the Spade. Pard will certainly know we don't want to play in Spades, and cuebid his controls.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - Last chance to howl as South:

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

A: 5♥: Does this bidding look familiar? Yup. We are now the partner of the Big Dog last hand. Pard cuebid his first-round Spade control, asking us to name ours. We have none, and in fact have a real Chihuahua of a hand, so we take it back to Hearts.

(Note: Do NOT fire off a nasty email to me. I am not insulting Chihuahuas. I love them and in fact currently have one. But let's face it. You can't go to slam with this puppy.)

Okay. We've found some good uses for bids. 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.
More informations on our website: www.VuBridge.com

Rate yourself:

0 - 40%	We applaud your effort. Review the subject and try again. You'll be surprised how much better you'll do. We're here for you!!
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51 - 60%	Nice improvement! One more review and you'll have this down solid!
61 - 80%	What a good job! All that's left is some fine tuning
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