BRIDGE BITES
From The American Contract Bridge League
BY BRIAN GUNNELL
I 2496 Sylvia Lane, Venice, FL 34292
Venice Ranch is a quiet, clean, 55+ manufactured home community in a Office: 941-488-5672 super location. Here’s what is nearby: www.VeniceRanch.com • Shopping ...............................1/2 mile Hours: Mon.,Tues., Thurs. & Fri. • Hospital ............................ 3-1/2 miles 10:00 to noon and 1:00 to 4:00. • Restaurants ............................1/4 mile Closed Wed. • Banking .................................1/4 mile Weekends by appointment only. • Quaint, cultural, and BEST OF ALL … • Homes starting at $2,000 and up, on larger historic Venice Center ............... 3 miles • Four golf courses ...................1-3 miles than normal manufactured home lots • Beaches ................................... 4 miles • New solar heated pool • Interstate 75 ..........................3/4 mile • We have all kinds of clubs and amenities
f it’s not too late already, try looking at just the N-S hands and decide how you are going to play that Spade suit. Where’s the lady?
Venice Area Chamber of Commerce Recent New Members
• The Sembler Company – Michaelann Murphy – 1091 N. Tamiami Trail, Nokomis, 727-384-6000 (owners of local shopping centers) • Valpak of SW Florida – Vivianne Quinones – 10681 Airport Pulling Rd., #22, Naples, 239-594-3531 (marketing, advertise, direct mail) • Authentic Fusion, LLC – Deb Peters & Lynne T. Murphy – 101 W. Venice Ave., #17, Venice, 813-731-8767 (fitness & wellness) • Babe’s Plumbing Gallery – Teresa Dalton – 116 E. Miami Ave., Venice, 941-485-9102 (kitchen & bath showroom, new construction, remodel) • Fins at Sharky’s – Justin Pachota – 1600 Harbor Dr. S., Venice, 941-786-3068 (fine dining in a casual atmosphere) • G. Fried Flooring – Jack Dean – 4608 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, 941-921-7704 (floor coverings & installation; carpet, wood, laminate, vinyl, tile) • iTeachTech – Gretchen Miscik – 941-786-2617 (technology training classes for iPad, Android, PC’s and apps) • JJ Taylor Distributing – John Williams – 5102 S. 16th Ave., Tampa, 813-248-3545 (beer & ale; wholesale) • NY’s Finest Pool Service – James Crowley – 941-484-8148 (swimming pool maintenance & cleaning, pool service) • Origin USA Inc – Ben Halvorsen – 771 Commerce Dr., #16, Venice, 941-486-4246 (windows & doors, aluminum bifolding door manufacturer) Lifestyles After 50 • May 2014 • page 28
That 1NT opening showed 15 – 17 HCP, after which the auction inches its way up to 4♠. West leads the ♦Q, which is won by your Ace. You have one loser in each of the side-suits, so to make your contract you must avoid losing a trump trick.
Cherchez La Femme
In the play of the Spades you could choose to finesse against West, or to finesse against East, or to play “for the drop” (hoping that the suit is 2 – 2 or the ♠Q is singleton). The general rule, when holding a 9-card fit, is to play for the drop, all things being equal that is about a 58 percent chance. But why settle for 58 percent when you can have 100 percent? Yes, it’s time for some counting. N-S have a combined 22 HCP, that leaves E-W with 18. West has already played the ♦Q, leaving precisely 15 or 16 HCP in the East hand. As East has already advertised 15 – 17 he must have all the missing high cards with the possible exception of one of the missing Jacks. So at Trick 2 you lead a Spade to Dummy’s Ace and then, when East plays low on the second round, you finesse the Jack with complete confidence. That’s 10 tricks for those who count, but only 9 for the rule-followers. Visit acbl.org for more about the fascinating game of bridge or email marketing@acbl.org. To find a bridge club in Florida, go to district9acbl.org /D9Clubsmap.htm. Bridge article provided courtesy of St. Petersburg Bridge Club: stpetebridge.org.
Forgetfulness—Should I Be Concerned?
E
veryone experiences a decreased ability to learn and memorize things over time, but while some degree of forgetfulness is normal, memory loss is not usual. For instance, it would not be concerning to forget the name of a movie you saw last weekend, but you shouldn’t forget that you saw a movie at all. Memory loss may be caused by emotional states such as anxiety or depression, uncontrolled metabolic disorders such as diabetes and thyroid
problems, hearing and vision problems, certain drugs, anemia, certain infections and brain tumors. From The Science of Staying Young by Morley and Colberg.