Opening Bids "Apology" by Marti Ronemus

I must apologize. It seems I've been misleading us all when I share my "factoids." I thought "factoid" meant an essentially useless bit of trivia, but Faithful Reader Thad (with whom I share a passion for words) has straightened me out. Here's what he sez:

" 'Factoid' is a term coined in 1973 by American writer Norman Mailer to mean a piece of info that becomes accepted as a fact even though it is not true, or an invented fact believed to be true because it appears in print.”

Huh. There's a lot of THAT goin' around, no? Thad continues:

"Another word used now is 'factlet' for a trivial item of news.
I guess eight ever, nine never to some is a fact, even though only a guideline, so it is a factoid."

Well. I stand (sit?) corrected and thank Thad. I promise henceforth no "factoids," just "factlet." And I'll start with today's quiz, which is all about opening bids.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South: What is your opening bid?

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 2 No-trump: A flat hand with 20-21 pts is generally opened 2 No-trump. Just for review, what's a flat hand? One that does NOT have nine cards in two suits, and no suit longer than five. No more distributional than 5-3-3-2, which our friend Eddie Kantar (kantarbridge.com) calls the "death hand." And that's a factlet.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ A J
♥ 6 5 4 3 2
♦ A Q J 9 8
♣ 2

Q: 2 - South: What is your opening bid?

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 1♥: Yes, yes, yes. Your Hearts are horrid and your Diamonds are spectacular. BUT!! (And this is a difficult concept for the less experienced player...) We don't bid WHERE our points are. We bid our shape and total point count. If you are playing with your usual Perfect Pard, s/he will have the ♥A-K-Q

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - South: What is your opening bid?

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: Pass: Members of the Clint Eastwood School of Bidding always look for any excuse to bid, but sadly, we don't see one. With only 11 HCP and no shape, we just can't do it. Rats.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ 9 7 5 4 2
♥ 8
♦ A J 4
♣ A Q 9 3

Q: 4 - South: What is your opening bid?

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 1♠: On this hand, we Know Something. We know the Rule of 20. We have 11 high card points, plus we add 9 points for the number of cards in our two longest suits. It adds up to 20. Next, we check to see if we've got two quick tricks. We do. Do NOT pass this hand!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ Q 4 3
♥ 5 4
♦ J 9 8 7
♣ A K Q 2

Q: 5 - South: What is your opening bid?

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 1♦: Remember, with 4-4 in the minors, we open a Diamond. Again, we don't bid WHERE our points are, we bid our total points and our shape. This is a border-line opener, but we've got three quick tricks and we want to be at the party.

How about a 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!!
41 - 50%	Buy your mentor a cuppa and ask for clarification on the ones you got wrong. No mentor? Make finding one a priority!
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
Over 80%	Wow! It's time for you to become a mentor. Find someone who needs help and share your knowledge!