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Cold, freezing weather does not deter duplicate bridge players. Nine teams showed up on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Mower County Senior Center. Both sessions start at  11:30 a.m.

Tuesday winners were:

• First place, Larry Crowe and Bill Momsen

• Second place, Edna Knobbe and  Loren Cleland

• Third place, John Leisen and Rick Stroup.

• Fourth place, Jaynard Johnson and Larry Heimsness

Wednesday winners were:

• First place, Joyce Crowe and Millie Siever

• Second place, John Leisen and Rick Stroup

• Third place (tie), Gail Schmidt and Dave Ring

and Tom Flaherty and Stan Schultz

Players come from Austin, Rose Creek, Cresco and Mason City, Iowa.

Some discussions were heard around the room about the opening of 1 No Trump. This bid should be alerted by the bidder, indicating the HCP they use is either 16 to 18, or 15 to 17. In many clubs, we will find that serious players prefer to play the 15 to 17 as the percentages are more favorable for their side.

According to Marty Bergen in his December column, if your partner has eight points opposite a 16 to 18 opener, he would be encouraged to find a bid supporting his partner; whereas if one is using the most favored 1 NT with the 15 to 17 HCP, Marty would want his partner to look deep into his hand, consider good judgment , which is the key to simply evaluating the hand. Marty states that “jacks are the most overrated honors,” thus not encouraging his partner to bid.