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 "Wise Quackers" by Marti Ronemus

Is there any heart so cold it doesn't respond with a smile to a bright yellow Rubber Ducky? Here's it's story. In the mid 1800s when uses were being found for rubber, toys became a big hit. The first known Rubber Duckies were used as chew toys designed to lure kids into the tub for their (Back in the Day) infrequent baths.

In 1949, the familiar shape we have now was sculpted and patented by Peter Ganine (let's not lose his name to history, folks), and in the 14 years the patent held, he sold over 5 million of the little rubber smiles. in 1960 when the patent died, the little guys became ubiquitous, helping kids everywhere over their hydrophobia.

in 1970, the Rubber Duck achieved even greater fame when Sesame Street first introduced the hit song, "Rubber Ducky, You're the One." And don't try to pretend you don't know the song and don't hum it to yourself. In fact, I'm willing to bet it will be your "ear-worm" of the day.

Sadly, in bridge, our bidding and play doesn't always elicit the smiles and feeling of well-being that our little yellow buddies do. And that's where we come in. Let's work on our bidding and play so we can make our Pards smile.

Question 1

  Your Hand
 A K Q 5 4
 Q 5 4
 K Q 10 9
 4
 
Q: 1 - South?:
SouthWestNorthEast
--1p
1p2p
?


 Your choice:
A: 4 No-trump: Pard opened the bidding. We've got 16 HCP, with fabulous sources for tricks. It's possible we only have 28 HCP, but with these tricks in hand, we have to give it a try. Bridge is a game of TRICKS, not points. If Pard responds either 0 or 1 Ace, we can bail out safely at 5.

By the way, most experts agree that using Gerber is only for No-trump auctions.

Your result so far:
Open Question

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Question 2

  Your Hand
 A J 10 9 2
 K 8 6
 A K Q 10
 2
 
Q: 2 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
--3p
?


 Your choice:
A: 4 No-trump: Once again, we need to ignore point count. Pard has between 5-9, but we know he wouldn't preempt without top honors in the suit. Vul, we don't expect him to be queen high. (If he is, it's off to prison with him.)

We see six-seven Heart tricks, plus our four quick tricks. If Pard has one Ace, we're in clover. We see a Club ruff as an extra trick (Pard will be the Master Hand), and maybe even the 10. We need to explore by asking for Aces.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 3

  Your Hand
 A Q J 8 7
 3 2
 Q 5
 A K J 9
 
Q: 3 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
--1p
1p2p
?


 Your choice:
A: 3: Pard reversed! That shows 17 plus pts. Let's pick up that $1.2 million by bidding 3. That's Fourth Suit Forcing. We're not sure if maybe Spades might be the best contract.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 4

  Your Hand
 A 6
 A K Q 10 9 4 3
 Q 2
 A K
 
Q: 4 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
2p2p
2p3**p
?

**Second negative, showing no Heart support, no aces, maybe no kings.

 Your choice:
A: 4: We have no chance of slam. It's highly unlikely Pard has a Diamond honor. Let's just get on the plane to Acapulco.

Your result so far:
Open Question

Question 5

  Your Hand
 A J 9 5
 Q 9 8 7
 
 A 10 9 5 4
 
Q: 5 - South:
SouthWestNorthEast
-335
?


 Your choice:
A: 6: Preempts do their job. Yes, we might have two losing Hearts, although it's unlikely. Pard was willing to enter the auction at the three-level, and with our Spade support, his points have to be somewhere. East's 5 bid is wildly preemptive, a true attempt to get away with the money. All members of the Clint Eastwood School of Bidding have no trouble bidding slam.

And now, let's play a big hand.

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.
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