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} Well, in certain regions of Indiana, they like to do things their own
} way -- they never go on Daylight Savings Time, they don't participate
} in cow tipping (preferring the much more manly sport of bull tipping),
} and instead of the standard American game of contract bridge, they play
} a variant called covered bridge, so called because nobody gets to see
} his/her own cards during the bidding (this cuts down on the problems
} of covert signalling). A typical hand:
}
} North: ?
} ?
} ?
} East: ? ? West: ?
} ? ?
} ? ?
} ? South: ? ?
} ?
} ?
} ?
}
} The bidding: North East South West
} Pass 1 Club Double 4 Spades
} Pass Pass Pass 4 No Trump
} Pass 6 Diamonds Pass Pass
} Pass Pass
}
} East starts by bidding one club, reasoning that since there are only
} four suits and he has thirteen cards, he's bound to have clubs of some
} kind. South doubles, reasoning that he is just as likely to have clubs
} as East is. West, in response to South's double, decides that he had
} better get out of clubs, and decides to try for game in spades.
} The three subsequent passes give him no additional information,
} so he bids the usual 4 notrump to ask East how many aces he has.
} East's response, under the Modified Blackwood Convention, means
} "How the hell should I know how many aces I have?", and thus East and
} West end up in a small slam diamond contract. (Subsequent play showed
} North to have a total of 37 points, so E/W did not make this contract,
} but it was generally agreed that the bidding had been well-played
} anyway).
}
} You owe the Oracle a penny a point.
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