36 Fun Questions
By Mike Lawrence
TWELVE EASY QUESTIONS
1. Which of these Bridge Immortals acquired the most master points in tournament competition?
- Alfred Sheinwold
- Charles H. Goren
- Oswald Jacoby
- Eli Culbertson
2. Which has the highest percentage chance of happening?
- A finesse for a queen
- Six cards dividing three - three
- Taking two tricks with 432 opposite the AJ10
3. Which U.S President achieved near expert status as a bridge player?
- John F. Kennedy
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Harry S. Truman
4. Which of the following holdings represents ONE QUICK TRICK?
5. How many points does it take to make three notrump in general?
6. If you open three spades when vulnerable, how many tricks should you expect to take in your own hand?
7. You bid 4NT asking partner for aces. What does he bid if he has all four aces?
8. In first seat, partner opens 4H with nobody vulnerable. How many high card points should he have?
9. If you can arrange the cards any way you like, how many trumps do you need to make 6S?
10. Which distribution is dealt most often?
11. Traditionally, what is the Worst sin you can do in bridge?
- Revoke
- Ruff your partner's ace
- Lead from the wrong hand.
12. Which statement is common to bridge, tennis, and golf?
TWELVE MEDIUM QUESTIONS
1. If you are allowed to arrange the cards any way you want, what is the fewest number of high card points you need to make a grand slam (All thirteen tricks) in a suit contract?
- Sixteen
- Five
- Thirty three
- Eleven
2. If you play that a double of an opening three spade bid is for penalty, you are playing which convention?
- The Negative Double
- Fishbein
- Asking Bids
3. If you are in 3NT doubled and redoubled vulnerable and go down 3400, how many tricks did you take?
4. Partner opens with 1C. What is your correct response with AQ107, J1064, Q84, 93
5. The opponents end up in 4S. Your side hasn't bid. You have the A974 of hearts. How often will a good player lead the ace of hearts?
- 2% of the time
- 15% of the time
- 35% of the time
6. Your Right Hand Opponent opens 1S. Which convention do you use to ask your partner to bid a minor suit?
- Cheaper Minor for takeout
- The Unusual Notrump
- The Negative Double
7. How many points, counting distribution, does it take to make a takeout double when your RHO opens 3S?
- 14 points
- 17 points
- 20 points
8. If you open 1NT with a void suit, you have:
- Made a perfectly legal bid
- Done something silly
- Possibly misarranged your hand
- All of the above may apply
9. Partner opens 1S. RHO bids 1NT. Which spade should you lead from the Q82?
- The queen
- The eight
- The two
10. Partner opens 1C, and you respond 1H. Which of the following rebids by partner shows the strongest hand?
11. How many spade symbols are on the Jack of Spades?
12. You open 1H, your LHO doubles for takeout, and your partner jumps to 3H. How many high card points does your partner have?
TWELVE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS
1. What is the Vienna coup?
- When you intentionally revoke
- A necessary unblocking play to help you play for a squeeze
- You ruff partner's winner in order to gain the lead
2. Which card is known as the "curse of Scotland"?
- The nine of diamonds
- The queen of spades
- The jack of clubs
3. Which is more likely to occur?
- Holding all thirteen cards of any suit
- Holding thirty seven high card points
- Holding no card higher than a five spot
4. If you bid a slam requiring three finesses to work, what are your chances of success?
5. The opponents bid 1NT - 3NT. What card should you lead from the KJ1074 of spades if using normal leads?
- The jack
- The ten
- The seven
- The four
6. In bridge parlance, what is a "Hook"?
- A finesse
- Rescuing partner from a doubled contract
- Dropping a singleton king offsid
7. Which aspect of bridge is generally thought to be the hardest?
- Playing the hand
- Bidding
- Defending a hand
8. How often might it be right to lead from the king of an unbid suit against, say, 6S?
- 2% of the time
- 10% of the time
- More than 20 % of the time
9. How many club symbols are there in total on the two and three of clubs?
10. What is the maximum number of bids (counting passes) possible to end up in a contract of 1D?
11. Which of the following is NOT a modern bidding system?
- The Big Pass
- Precision Club
- The Variable Diamond
- Standard American
12. When in doubt, what should you do?
- Pass
- Review the bidding
- Lead a trump
- Claim
ANSWERS
TWELVE EASY QUESTIONS
1. Which of these Bridge Immortals acquired the most master points in tournament competition?
- Alfred Sheinwold
- Charles H. Goren
- Oswald Jacoby
- Eli Culbertson
2. Which has the highest percentage chance of happening?
- A finesse for a queen. 50%
- Six cards dividing three - three. 35%
- Taking two tricks with 432 opposite the AJ10.
75%
3. Which U.S President achieved near expert status as a bridge player?
- John F. Kennedy
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Harry S. Truman
4. Which of the following holdings represents ONE QUICK TRICK?
5. How many points does it take to make three notrump in general?
- 24
- 26.
This is the guideline that Charles Goren touted when he started writing books. Today, with dummy play being much improved, twenty-four is closer to the truth.
- 32
6. If you open three spades when vulnerable, how many tricks should you expect to take in your own hand?
7. You bid 4NT asking partner for aces. What does he bid if he has all four aces?
8. In first seat, partner opens 4H with nobody vulnerable. How many high card points should he have?
9. If you can arrange the cards any way you like, how many trumps do you need to make 6S?
- 4.
You have AKQJ opposite a void. Draw four rounds of trump, leaving one outstanding, and then play your winners. It is likely that you should have been in seven notrump.
- 6
- 8
10. Which distribution is dealt most often?
11. Traditionally, what is the Worst sin you can do in bridge?
- Revoke
- Ruff your partner's ace.
I was once the victim of the 'ultimate' in worst sins. My partner ruffed my ace with the ACE of trumps. This was not our most effective defense.
- Lead from the wrong hand
12. Which statement is common to bridge, tennis, and golf?
TWELVE MEDIUM QUESTIONS
1. If you are allowed to arrange the cards any way you want, what is the fewest number of high card points you need to make a grand slam (All thirteen tricks) in a suit contract?
- Sixteen
- Five.
(You have eleven trumps to the AJ in your combined hands and can set up a long suit after drawing the two missing trumps. The king and queen are both singleton and drop when you play the ace.
- Thirty three
- Eleven
2. If you play that a double of an opening three spade bid is for penalty, you are playing which convention?
- The Negative Double
- Fishbein.
Harry Fishbein, one of the most colorful players of all time used to wear a different beret to each session of bridge. It always got my attention.
- Asking Bids
3. If you are in 3NT doubled and redoubled vulnerable and go down 3400, how many tricks did you take?
- 2
- 3.
Down six. It would be 1700 if no one had redoubled. Someone got greedy
- 4
- 5
4. Partner opens with 1C. What is your correct response with AQ107, J1064, Q84, 93
5. The opponents end up in 4S. Your side hasn't bid. You have the A974 of hearts. How often will a good player lead the ace of hearts?
- 2% of the time.
If you read these questions and remember only one thing, it should be that leading aces against a suit contract is a very bad tendency. It may work out now and then, but in the long run, it is a horrible choice.
- 15% of the time
- 35% of the time
6. Your Right Hand Opponent opens 1S. Which convention do you use to ask your partner to bid a minor suit?
- Cheaper Minor for takeout
- The Unusual Notrump.
Thank Al Roth for this convention. It is at the same time one of the best and the worst of conventions. All depends on how you use it.
- The Negative Double
7. How many points, counting distribution, does it take to make a takeout double when your RHO opens 3S?
- 14 points
- 17 points.
Give or take, assuming you have proper distribution. Many players double with just fourteen on the theory that they are being robbed, but this is not quite true. If you double with fourteen and find partner with a weak hand, you will go down quite a bit.
- 20 points
8. If you open 1NT with a void suit, you have:
- Made a perfectly legal bid.
- Done something silly.
- Possibly misarranged your hand.
- All of the above may apply.
9. Partner opens 1S. RHO bids 1NT. Which spade should you lead from the Q82?
- The queen
- The eight
- The two
10. Partner opens 1C, and you respond 1H. Which of the following rebids by partner shows the strongest hand?
- 2NT. This bid shows 18-19 high card points. The other two bids
show lesser values. All three bids are invitational.
- 3C
- 3H
11. How many spade symbols are on the Jack of Spades?
- 2
- 4
- Lots,
assuming your deck is like mine.
12. You open 1H, your LHO doubles for takeout, and your partner jumps to 3H. How many high card points does your partner have?
- 3-7.
This is a weak bid. In practice, it will usually be in the lower range. Oh, yes. Your partner better have four or more trumps too, never just three.
- 8-11
- 12-15
TWELVE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS
1. What is the Vienna coup?
- When you intentionally revoke.
- A necessary unblocking play to help you play for a squeeze.
- You ruff partner's winner in order to gain the lead.
2. Which card is known as the "curse of Scotland"?
- The nine of diamonds
- The queen of spades
- The jack of clubs
3. Which is more likely to occur?
- Holding all thirteen cards of any suit (Four possibilities)
- Holding thirty seven high card points (Four possibilities)
- Holding no card higher than a five spot.
There are 560 possibilities. You might enjoy working out the possible combinations. For starters, there are four possible hands that have the two, three, four, of each suit and one of the four fives.
4. If you bid a slam requiring three finesses to work, what are your chances of success?
5. The opponents bid 1NT - 3NT. What card should you lead from the KJ1074 of spades if using normal leads?
- The jack.
Lead the top of your interior sequence.
- The ten
- The seven
- The four
6. In bridge parlance, what is a "Hook"?
- A finesse
- Rescuing partner from a doubled contract
- Dropping a singleton king offside.
7. Which aspect of bridge is generally thought to be the hardest?
- Playing the hand
- Bidding
- Defending a hand
8. How often might it be right to lead from the king of an unbid suit against, say, 6S?
- 2% of the time
- 10% of the time
- More than 20 % of the time.
Not many get this one.
9. How many club symbols are there in total on the two and three of clubs?
10. What is the maximum number of bids (counting passes) possible to end up in a contract of 1D?
- Ten
- Twelve
- Sixteen.
(P-P-P-1C-P-P-DBL-P-P-RDBL-P-P-1D-P-P-P)
11. Which of the following is NOT a modern bidding system?
- The Big Pass. This is a real system requiring that you pass in first or second seat if you have an opening bid or more. Some players refer to this as the 'Fert' system, a short and polite way of calling it the 'Fertilizer' system.
- Precision Club. This is one of the best of the current strong club systems we have today.
- The Variable Diamond.
There was indeed a system called the big diamond but never the Variable Diamond. Stick around, though. Someone will invent this system in the next few years.
- Standard American. Everyone plays this once in their life and usually moves on to two over one of perhaps Precision.
12. When in doubt, what should you do?
- Pass
- Review the bidding
- Lead a trump.
All of the answers in this list are good to do when you are not sure but this is the one that is the answer to this classic question.
- Claim