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 "Gaze Into My Eyes" Responding to Overcalls with No Fit by Marti Ronemus

Arguably one of the best TV show ever, "Frasier" generated stunning amounts of fan mail. Can you guess who got the most? Eddie, the Jack Russell. Moose (the dog who played Eddie) initially was surrendered to a shelter because of his relentless Bad Behavior. He barked incessantly, Dug holes everywhere, destroyed furniture and was even able to run far enough up a tree to escape his yard.

(A brief aside: Faithful Readers will remember when I nominated my little dog Sparky for president back in 2016. He is half-Jack Russell, and I gotta admit, I recognize this behavior!)

Rescued from who-knows-what, his new owner channeled that behavior into star-quality performances. What won Moose the role was his ability to stare at Kelsey Grammar on command, giving viewers one of TV's funniest gags.

And what about us bridge players? We should begin every game by gazing into the eyes of our Pard and thanking him for putting up with us, promising to work on our partnership.

Today's partnership challenge is responding to our Pard's overcall when we have no fit. Some reminders: A new suit in response to Pard's overcall is forcing for one round (if we are unpassed), so we need extra... 10 pts.

A No-trump response shows a little extra also. Remember, Pard's overcall can be weak! Caution is the by-word here.

Question 1

  Your Hand
 Q J 7 5
 4 3
 A 9 5 4
 5 4 3
 
Q: 1 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
-11Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: Pass: We aren't going to get Pard in deeper. We have no fit with his Hearts, we have no Club stopper, we have no five-card suit of our own. Pathetic. Remember, you have no responsibility to save your Pard.

Your result so far:
Open Question

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Question 2

  Your Hand
 Q 5 4
 
 J 4 3 2
 J 8 7 4 3 2
 
Q: 2 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
-11Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: Pass: It doesn't matter how much sunshine Pard brings into your life. You aren't going anywhere. Remember we have no responsibility to save Pard, and all we can do is dig the hole deeper. With luck the opponents will bid again and it will be their problem.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 3

  Your Hand
 Q 9
 A Q J 10 9 3
 K 6
 A 8 4
 
Q: 3 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
-11Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2: We don't need to jump. Just naming a new suit is forcing for one round. We have plans for this hand.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 4

  Your Hand
 3 2
 Q J 4
 A J 10 6 5
 A Q 9
 
Q: 4 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
-11Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2 No-trump: If we had a fit with Pard, we could cuebid the opponent's suit to show game interest. Now, however, we see ourselves in a No-trump contract. We don't know if Pard has 7 or 17 points, so let's invite. We are promising stoppers in Clubs also. Let the sun shine.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 5

  Your Hand
 K Q J 8
 8 4
 K 10 9 5 4
 A Q 8
 
Q: 5 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
-12Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 3 No-trump: Pard must have at least 10 points for that two-level overcall. We've got enough points for a No-trump game, so let's just bid it.

We're working well with Pard today, so let's tackle 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.

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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