"Opener Parks the Car" by Marti Ronemus

So, just how do you end up at the right level contract, anyway. Simple. Once one partner has LIMITED their hand, showing a point count within 3-ish points, the OTHER partner can Do the Math, and place the contract at the right level.

Today we are going to look at five situations where responder shows a specific point count, and it's then up to opener to Park the Car in the right spot.

Here's your plan. First, see if you can determine how many points your Pard has. Then, add to what you've got. 25-plus? Game. No hope? Park the car in the cheap lot. Not sure? Invite. Ready? We'll go through this together.

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
1♥	pass	2♥	pass
?

A: Pass: First, you weren't hesitating to open this hand, were you? We LOVE this hand! Yes, it only has 12 HCP (high card points), but it has TEXTURE. We've got all our honors in two suits, we've got a singleton, and we open all 12 pt hands, even when we don't feel well.

Now, pard's 2♥ bid showed 6-9 pts and a fit. Even if he's got 9 pts, we Do the Math and see that we've got a max of 21 pts. Pass is a great bid.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

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

Q: 2 - Same hand, different response. What will you rebid?

South	West	North	East
1♥	pass	1no-trump	pass
?

A: 2♦: Pard has 6-9 pts. Not only does he not have three Hearts, he does NOT have four Spades. How do you know? He would have bid 1♠ over your 1♥. So he cannot have more than five cards in the majors. (Did you follow that? If not, read it again.) Hmmm. Then, what does he have? The minors.

Next, do you really want to play this in No-trump with a singleton and nine cards in two suits? No. This hand is shaped for a suit contract. So by bidding 2♦ (which is NOT forcing!) we give Pard a choice. He can choose Diamonds by passing or correct to 2♥.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ K Q 10 8 5 3
♥ 4 3
♦ A 4 8
♣ A 3

Q: 3 - What's your rebid this time? South...

South	West	North	East
1♠	pass	1no-trump	pass
?

A: 2♠: Pard has 6-9 pts. We've got 13 HCP with maybe 2 extra for the long Spades, but this is an ugly 15-ish points. We don't want to play the hand in No-trump and 2♠ is not forcing. It parks the car perfectly.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ A K 10 8 5 3
♥ 4 3
♦ A J 10
♣ A 3

Q: 4 - This one takes some thinking. What do you say?

South	West	North	East
1♠	pass	2♠	pass
?

A: 3♠: Pard likes our suit and in fact we've got a nine-card (maybe more) trump fit. In favor of Spades, we've got 18 pts. Let's Do the Math. We have between 24 and 27 pts. We don't know if we have game or not. So, we throw the ball back at Pard. When we bid 3♠, we are inviting to game. All invitational bids mean the same thing: "If you are at the top of your stated range, take us to the next bonus level. If not, Pass." Pard will either Pass or go to game. We have successfully made our problem his. Cool beans.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ A 4 3
♥ A K Q 8 6
♦ K 3
♣ Q 10 3

Q: 5 - One more time. Do the Math and park the car. South.

South	West	North	East
1♥	pass	2♥	pass
?

A: 4♥: Unlike the last hand, we don't care if Pard has 6 or 9 pts. We've got 19 pts (include your distribution once you have a trump fit!). Even if Pard only has 6 pts, we've got our game. He who knows, goes.

And you now get to see if you made the right decision. We're going to play this hand together. Ready?

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

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What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
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