Menu Vu-Bridge | Play like a Champion!

 "Packing for Mars" by Marti Ronemus

The world is beginning to see the very real possibility of going to Mars, especially those of us who saw "The Martian." (If you haven't, do it today!)

But let's get practical. What are astronauts allowed to pack? Not much. Here's a partial list: Two sweaters and pairs of shoes. A change of undies and socks every two days of the mission, but T-shirts, workshirts and pants must be worn for ten days. (As someone who despises doing laundry, this isn't sounding so bad!)

And Faithful Readers, that's it for clothing. Forget make-up and stuff like that. One can only hope that shampoo and deodorant are allowed.

As bridge players, we have to be careful what we "pack" in terms of conventions. We can be dragging around WAY too much baggage! One we cannot do without is Stayman. Today we practice responding to Stayman. There are ONLY three allowed responses: 2 for denying a major, 2 for holding four Hearts (which incidentally does NOT deny holding four Spades... we bid up the line), and 2, which DOES deny holding four Hearts. Ready?

Question 1

  Your Hand
 K Q 8
 A 8 7 6
 K Q 3 2
 J 9
 
Q: 1 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
1 No-trumpPass2Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2: Easy, peasy. Let's continue this auction in our next question.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 2

  Your Hand
 K Q 8
 A 8 7 6
 K Q 3 2
 J 9
 
Q: 2 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
1 No-trumpPass2Pass
2Pass3Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: Pass: Pard has invited us to go to game if we have a little extra. We don't so we don't.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 3

  Your Hand
 A 10 3
 K Q J
 K Q J 9 5
 J 2
 
Q: 3 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
1 No-trumpPass2Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2: D-d-diamonds for d-d-denial, right? And let's continue THIS auction.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 4

  Your Hand
 A 10 3
 K Q J
 K Q J 9 5
 J 2
 
Q: 4 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
1 No-trumpPass2Pass
2Pass3Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 4: What on earth can Pard be holding? There's only one hand he can have: five Hearts and four Spades. He started with Stayman because if we bid either major, we've got a fit. Since we don't have a four-card major, he now shows us his five-carder along with game-going values. With our spectacular Hearts and our top-of-the-line point count, we've got everything we need for the Mars expedition.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 5

  Your Hand
 A 10 3
 K Q
 K Q 10 9 4
 Q J 2
 
Q: 5 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
1 No-trumpPass2Pass
2Pass3Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 3 No-trump: Pard's got the same hand as he did last question, five Hearts, four Spades and game values. This time, though, we don't have a fit. We're going to go to game alright, but No-trump seems to be the best place.

And now, our hand is ready for take-off. Are we?

Your result so far:
Open Question

Play this Hand

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

Play on ANY Device

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!