"Purple Haze" Responder's First Choice by Marti Ronemus

"Purple Haze," by the great guitarist Jimi Hendrix, describes how we often feel when Pard opens 1♣. What should we do? Does that require us to bid? Is Pard asking us to bid a major? We can clear the haze simply by reminding ourselves that we want to bid our four-card (or longer) suits up the line. That way we'll find our fit. Let's practice our basic scales. (And expect that in bridge, there are always exceptions to the "rule.")

Question 1

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

Q: 1 - Pard opens 1♣:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Pass
?

A: 1♥: I know, I know. They are lost in the haze, but that is irrelevant. We bid them up the line. Period.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ Q 10 9 3
♥ K 9 6 2
♦ K 9 7 6
♣ 2

Q: 2 - Pard opens 1♣:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Pass
?

A: 1♦: We bid ALL four-card suits up the line. This may not be where we end up, but rest assured we will not miss our major suit fit. Pard will bid up-the-line too. If we are ultimately going to be in No-trump, Pard will know we've got Diamonds covered.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - Pard opens 1♣:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Pass
?

A: 1♠: The five-card suit takes precedence. Later when we bid our Hearts, Pard will know we had more Spades than Hearts. He'll get the tune.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ J 7 6 3 2
♥ A K 9 8 2
♦ 2
♣ Q 5

Q: 4 - Pard opens 1♣:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Pass
?

A: 1♠: With five-five, bid the higher-ranking suit, just like opener does. You know this song.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - Pard opens 1♣:

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Pass
?

A: 1 No-trump: The most we can have is a seven-card major fit. We're going to tell Pard that by bidding 1 No-trump, which shows 6/9-10 pts and denies a four-card major. No sour notes on this one.

That was our warm up. Now it's time for the main act...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

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