Menu Vu-Bridge | Play like a Champion!

 "Oh Yes We Can!" Hand Evaluation by Marti Ronemus

Can we possibly consume 3800 calories in ONE sandwich? Is such a thing within the realm of sanity? Yes and no. Here's the sandwich -- it's called a Fluffernutter. Take a big hunk of egg-loaded bread. Fill it (and we mean FILL it!) with marshmallow cream and peanut butter. Add as much bacon as can be squashed into it. That's right -- pack it in there! Soak it in egg wash and deep fry it. Not GRILL it, but DEEP FRY it. Then serve it with hot Nutella to dip it in.

The state legislature of Massachusetts debated for two weeks in 2006 whether or not to make this the State sandwich. The motion passed.

Just because something is possible doesn't mean we should do it. Although, admit it. The temptation is there.

And temptation is always part of our lives as bridge players. We are going to be responder, today and we'll need to evaluate our hands, judging whether it's worth under- or over-bidding. We are going to be dummy, and a very important concept is in play.

We've said over and over that the main ways of getting rid of Declarer's losers (in a trump contract) are: TRUMPING losers in dummy or DUMPING losers on dummy's length. Can you see that the respect you show your hand as dummy depends on the hand's shape?

We're going to look at five hands and judge if they should be eaten or passed by. We know we CAN bid, but SHOULD we? (Maybe we can share the sandwich?)

Question 1

  Your Hand
 A J 9
 4 3 2
 J 6 5 4 3
 9 4
 
Q: 1 - South: What should we bid and what does this hand bring to the table?
SouthWestNorthEast
--1Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2: Pathetic. Yes, we've got gorgeous trump support and a Club doubleton. BUT!! Our long Diamonds are probably going to be useless as we don't have enough entries for Declarer to develop the suit. We are going to give a minimum response. Yuch.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Bridge Boot Camps

With Marti Ronemus

2017 Boot Camp Schedule
New locations!
New Class Levels
Ask to be sure you receive your schedule!



Spend a week combining a vacation and improving your bridge game. You’ll be playing the best bridge of your life. For details and locations,
mronemus@comcast.net

Question 2

  Your Hand
 7
 A 9 4 3
 J 10 9
 A 10 4 3 2
 
Q: 2 - South: What do we think of this hand?
SouthWestNorthEast
--1Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 3: We are faint with joy. We've got a nine-card (at least) trump fit, a singleton, and a develop-able (is that a word?) Club suit. Our hand is worthy of serious respect. We're going to add 3 pts for our Spade shortness which brings our hand to 12 pts. 3 shows 10-12 pts.
With that said: A strong case for bidding 2 can be made also, in that it is forcing, guaranteeing at least 10 pts and is unlimited. Give yourself credit if that's your bid.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 3

  Your Hand
 J 8 2
 9
 7 6 5 4 3
 K Q 8 2
 
Q: 3 - South: How much respect do we give this hand?
SouthWestNorthEast
--1Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2: It's hard to be tempted a hand that looks like this. All we've got going for us is Heart shortness and a wee trump fit. The hand is worth 9 pts because of the 3 pts. for a dummy singleton. Don't look excited when you bid.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 4

  Your Hand
 K Q 10 3 2
 Q J 10 2
 
 A K 9 3
 
Q: 4 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
--1Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 1: We sniff the marshmallow fluff aroma of a slam. We've got 20 pts with the Diamond void (worth 5 pts in dummy!). AND!! We've got a nine-card trump fit. There is no Heart bid that would work so we need to make a forcing bid to get things rolling. The beauty of the 1 bid is it leaves all the room in the world for Pard to give us more info on his second bid.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 5

  Your Hand
 A J 10 9
 7 4 3
 8 4
 Q 4 3 2
 
Q: 5 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
--1Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2: With our 7 HCP and our 1 pt for distribution, we only have 8 pts., but we do like this hand. Marvelous trump support, some shape. Minimum bid for a minimum hand. Pard will love our trump support.

And now, let's earn those calories with our outstanding play. Ready for a nice hand?

Your result so far:
Open Question

Play this Hand

Now that you've bid five hands, let's see how your play goes.

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!