Deal 20	♠ ? ♥ ? ♦ ? ♣ ?		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1♦ pass  BID        You are South and it is your bid. Decide what you would say, then click on BID .
	♠ 9 7 6 4 ♥ K 8 ♦ A 10 6 2 ♣ A Q 3

 

Deal 20	♠ ? ♥ ? ♦ ? ♣ ?		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1♦ pass 1♠ pass 1NT pass  BID      With 13 points and 4 of partner's minor suit you may be tempted to say 2NT or 3♦. Both these temptations should be resisted - your first obligation is to show a 4-card Major if you have one. As poor as the suit is, you still respond 1♠. Partner comes back with 1NT. What do you bid now? (Hint: don't rebid the ♠s.)
	♠ 9 7 6 4 ♥ K 8 ♦ A 10 6 2 ♣ A Q 3

 

Deal 20	♠ K 5 ♥ A 9 4 ♦ K 9 8 7 3 ♣ K 10 5		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1♦ pass 1♠ pass 1NT pass 3NT pass pass pass   Partner has 13/14 points and a balanced hand. You have 13 points and a balanced hand. How about 3NT? North would play 3NT. Click ROTATE
	♠ 9 7 6 4 ♥ K 8 ♦ A 10 6 2 ♣ A Q 3

 

Deal 20	♠ 9 7 6 4 ♥ K 8 ♦ A 10 6 2 ♣ A Q 3		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1♦ 1♠ pass 1NT pass 3NT pass pass pass South plays 3NT. West leads the ♥Q. Make a Plan, then click NEXT .
	♠ K 5 ♥ A 9 4 ♦ K 9 8 7 3 ♣ K 10 5

 

Deal 20	♠ 9 7 6 4 ♥ K 8 ♦ A 10 6 2 ♣ A Q 3		South plays 3NT. West leads the ♥Q. Winner count: ♠ 0 : ♥ 2 : ♦ 2 : ♣ 3 : Total = 7 You need two more winners and you can almost surely get them in ♦s. In fact, if the suit splits 2-2 you could actually get three more winners. But the danger here is that if they DON'T split 2-2 and if East happens to win the third ♦ he might lead a ♠. And that might lead to disaster! Instead, you allow for the possibility that ♦s may not split evenly and you make sure East (the Danger hand) doesn't get the lead. Win the ♥K in dummy. Play the ♦A, (which happens to draw the ♦J from West), then play a small ♦ and finesse with the ♦9. If West can win the trick then the ♦s have split 2-2 and your other 3 ♦s are good. Most importantly though, West cannot lead a ♠ without giving you a trick with your ♠K. If the finesse works, you make 5 ♦ tricks. Click NEXT to see the full deal.
	♠ K 5 ♥ A 9 4 ♦ K 9 8 7 3 ♣ K 10 5

 

Deal 20	♠ 9 7 6 4 ♥ K 8 ♦ A 10 6 2 ♣ A Q 3		Sometimes good play is just visualizing what bad thing might happen. Here the bad thing would be for East to get the lead and play a ♠. In this case you were able to avoid the bad situation by playing a suit differently than you might have done if there were no danger.  Deal 21
♠ A 3 2 ♥ Q J 10 7 2 ♦ J ♣ 9 8 6 2		♠ Q J 10 8 ♥ 6 5 3 ♦ Q 5 4 ♣ J 7 4
	♠ K 5 ♥ A 9 4 ♦ K 9 8 7 3 ♣ K 10 5