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 The Rule of 20 by Marti Ronemus

"No! No! Not another RULE to remember!"

Stop whining. You're going to love this one, as it gives you the most up-to-date tool for opening the bidding.

You already learned to open all 12 pt plus hands. That's easy. Now you're ready for a little judgment and nuance.

Most players are also using "The Rule of 20" which rewards shapely hands. You've noticed how much better hands with long suits play, haven't you? The "Rule of 20" says that if you DON'T have 12 pts, you're going to take a hard look at the distribution of the hand, and reward shape.

Here's how it works. You take your High Card Points (HCP) and add them to the number of cards in your two longest suits. If it adds up to 20, open. Thusly an 11 HCP hand with 5-4 distribution would add up to 20 and should be opened. This is a GOOD thing, as it rewards shape.

BUT! It gets trickier. (What. You thought it was that simple? Please!) Today we're going to look at some hands that meet the Rule of 20 and see if indeed they should be opened. We're going to be thinking about Quick Tricks and "texture." Ready? Deep breath and let's get going.

Question 1

  Your Hand
 9 7
 A J 10 7 3
 K Q 7 6
 J 9
 
Q: 1 - South gets to open. What should you do?
SouthWestNorthEast
?--


 Your choice:
A: 1: This is a perfect Rule of 20 hand. You've got 11 HCP, and 5-4 distribution. Just as importantly, you've got real, live tricks... At least 1-1/2 Quick Tricks. Your Hearts are nice, and so are the Diamonds. Your shape is wonderful and your honors are "working." "Working" honors are protected, like your KQ76. NON-working honors would be for example a KQ doubleton.

Your result so far:
Open Question

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Question 2

  Your Hand
 9 7
 Q J 10 9 2
 K Q
 K 9 5 4
 
Q: 2 - You're up! What should you do in first seat?
SouthWestNorthEast
?--


 Your choice:
A: Pass. Yes, it meets the Rule of 20, but you have ZERO quick tricks and your KQ are not working honors. The texture of the hand is ratty as an old dust rag. Go back and look at hand one again, and compare.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 3

  Your Hand
 K Q 8 4 3
 9
 A J 7 4 3
 8 7
 
Q: 3 - You get first swing at the ball. What do you say?
SouthWestNorthEast
?--


 Your choice:
A: 1: Ten HCP plus two 5-card suits equal 20. And we've got two nice source-of-tricks suit. There are people who would pass this hand, but they aren't usually the winners. Live a little! Look at that shape! No wasted honors! Plus, when evaluating a hand, we love it when the honors are tucked in the long suits rather than straying all over the hand. It's called "texture."

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 4

  Your Hand
 Q J 10 8 3
 A
 K 9 4 3 2
 8 4
 
Q: 4 - South, you, gets to open. What do you think?
SouthWestNorthEast
?--


 Your choice:
A: Pass. There are those who would open this, and so would we, IF! We were not Vul or were in third seat. But we're not crazy about the quality of the trump suit and we wish that ace were in one of our long suits. This could be a toss-up, but our vote is "Pass". Not our favorite word, but with luck, we can enter the auction with guns blazing later.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 5

  Your Hand
 K Q 10 9 8 6
 6 5 4
 3
 A Q 6
 
Q: 5 - As South, we face another dilemma. What do you say?
SouthWestNorthEast
?--


 Your choice:
A: 1: A great Rule of 20 opener. 11 HCP plus a six-card suit and a 3-card suit. We love this hand. Not too long ago, this hand would have been opened with a Weak Two pre-empt. I know, I know, hard to believe, but Once Upon a Time, people pre-empted with 6-11 HCP. Nowadays, we open this at the one-level. Much more positive. We've got a nice quality trumps suit, and a rebid. And Quick Tricks.

In just a minute, you'll get to see if you've made a good decision. We'll see the rest of the auction, and you'll get to test The Rule of 20.

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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