Balancing as Opener by Matthias Huberschwiller

In this quiz, you will have opened the bidding, then seen West overcall, followed by two passes.

Will you balance, or let them play?

Good luck!

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A K 8 5 2
♥ K Q 9 6 3
♦ 5
♣ K 4

Q: 1 - What do you bid as South?

South	West	North	East
1♠	2♦	Pass	Pass
?

A: 2♥ - There's no problem bidding your Hearts. You're not strong enough to jump, so 2♥ is enough. Remember, your partner could have a really weak hand.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ A Q 6 2
♥ K Q J 7 2
♦ A 5 4
♣ 5

Q: 2 - What do you bid as South?

South	West	North	East
1♥	2♣	Pass	Pass
?

A: Double - You can't let them play 2♣. You need to double to show your shape: shortness in Clubs and at least three-cards in each of the other suits.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - What do you bid as South?

South	West	North	East
1♠	2♣	Pass	Pass
?

A: Pass - Yes, you have a good hand, but it's even better in a Club contract. Let them play, and try and defeat their contract.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ K J 9
♥ K 8 6 5 4
♦ 5
♣ A J 6 3

Q: 4 - What do you bid as South?

South	West	North	East
1♥	2♦	Pass	Pass
?

A: Double - Yes, even with a bare minimum hand, you need to balance. Why? Because your partner could be strong with a lot of Diamonds. He might be hoping for you to balance with a take-out double, so he can convert the double by passing. This is known as a trap pass.

Don't disappoint your partner.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ A K 5 4 2
♥ K Q 6 3
♦ 7
♣ Q 8 4

Q: 5 - What do you bid as South?

South	West	North	East
1♠	2♦	Pass	Pass
?

A: Double - You could bid 2♥, but it's better to double for two main reasons. Your partner could have a trap pass, in which case you 'save' your opponents by bidding a suit. The other reason is that your partner could be weak with five or more Clubs, and in that case, you might want to discover your Club fit.

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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