LEARNING CENTER

1. Don't open 1NT. You don't have 15-17 (I suppose the hand is worth 15 total points), but this is an easy hand to bid by starting with 1. After partner's 1, show the 4-card major (partner could easily have 4 spades).

2NT. You already bids clubs and spades. Now show that you have the fourth suit stopped. No need to jump (partner is going to game and you want to leave space for him to describe further).

4. A control-bid (ace, king, singleton or void) in diamonds, with something extra. Partner has shown quite a good hand (along with 4-card spade support); he could have just jumped to 4 at several points in the auction to get it over with.

With a dead minimum, you could have signed off in 4.

But you have a nice 14 with good trump and a source of tricks (clubs). Don't use Blackwood; you don't have enough to drive towards slam and your side might be missing the AK.

5. This shows "2 with." 2 keycards (A, K) with the trump queen (Q). Spades are certinaly set as trump.

Win and play the K. This is a "draw trump" hand. Once they are gone, you can try to run the clubs. The heart finesse can wait. You start spades this way, because if they are 4-1, the only Jxxx you can pick up is if West had them (if East has them, your 10 won't be worth anything). If trumps are 3-2, it doesn't matter how you play them. The full deal is below:

When you continue with the Q, you will see the 4-1 break. Then a spade to the 10 (a marked finesse) and draw trump. On the AK, West shows out. This time, you have a marked finesse against East for the J. You have 4 spades, 5 clubs, 2 diamonds and the A. The heart finesse is wrong, so no overtricks.

Click here to play deal 4.