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Duplicate bridge is played Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Mower County Senior Center in Austin, starting at 11:30 a.m. Five and a half tables played Tuesday and winners were:

First place, Joyce Crowe and Millie Siever

Second place, Barb and Orrin Roisen

Third place, Barb Rofshus and Lorraine Quinlivan

Fourth place, Romelle Enderson and Gail Schmidt

Fifth place, John Liesen and Rick Stroup

Wednesday we had a yearly high of seven tables. Four to five has been normal.

Winners were, with a high score of 97:

First place, Tom Flaherty and Stan Schults

Second place, Joyce Crowe and Millie Siever

Third place, Barb and Orrin Roisen

Fourth place, Bonnie Fritz and Loren Cleland

Fifth place, Larry Crowe and Jim Fisher

Sixth place, Gail Schmidt and Dave Ring

Seventh place, John Liesen and Rick Stroup

I heard from some around the group “I won’t bid no trump  with a singleton king.” It prompts an expert to disabuse us of that notion. As 16 to 18 high card points (HCP) are normal opening points for that bid, some teams play 15 to 17 HCP. Both are correct. The team must agree on which they prefer. When a team is seated at a table, one of them must announce immediately which point count they play.  We have one person in our group that religiously does this.

The expert writes an article and said the experts realize the great potential of that singleton. The emphasis is on the bid. One no trump indicates to the partner that the opener has at the very least 16 HCP’s, More points than is required for an opening bid in a suit. This enables the partner to determine the combined points of both hands before he continues the bidding or not. He goes on to tell us that more and more teams are using the NT range of 15 to 17 HCP’s. I hope some of us get brave and test out Bergen’s Theory.

Players come weekly from Austin, Albert Lea, Rose Creek, Mason City and Northwood, Iowa.