Deal 36	♠ ? ♥ ? ♦ ? ♣ ?		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass  BID    You are South and it is your bid. Decide what you would say, then click on BID .
	♠ Q J 9 8 7 3 ♥ K Q 6 ♦ 7 2 ♣ J 4

 

Deal 36	♠ 6 4 ♥ A 7 3 ♦ K Q 5 4 ♣ A K 8 2		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass 4♠ pass pass pass HE WHO KNOWS, GOES You KNOW your side has 26-28 points. You KNOW your side has 8 or more ♠s. You GO to 4♠. South plays 4♠. West leads the ♦J. Make a Plan, then click NEXT .
	♠ Q J 9 8 7 3 ♥ K Q 6 ♦ 7 2 ♣ J 4

 

Deal 36	♠ 6 4 ♥ A 7 3 ♦ K Q 5 4 ♣ A K 8 2		South plays 4♠. West leads the ♦J. Losers: ♠ 2/3 : ♥ 0 : ♦ 1 : ♣ 0 : Total = 3/4 You are definitely going to lose the ♦A and the ♠ A K. Therefore you must plan to avoid losing a third ♠. You should lead UP TO your honor cards. Cover the ♦J and lose to East's ♦A. Win his return (probably another ♦) in dummy. Lead a small ♠ to your ♠J. West wins with an honor and probably plays the ♦10. Ruff it, lead a ♣ to dummy and lead the last ♠. If East plays the other high honor you play low. If East plays low you guess whether to play the ♠K, or ♠10. Your best play is to assume the two honors were split and play the ♠Q. Click NEXT for the full deal.
	♠ Q J 9 8 7 3 ♥ K Q 6 ♦ 7 2 ♣ J 4

 

Deal 36	♠ 6 4 ♥ A 7 3 ♦ K Q 5 4 ♣ A K 8 2		Leading twice toward the ♠ Q J gives you a guarantee on this layout because East held a doubleton high honor. Now click for an alternate possible DEAL .
♠ A 10 2 ♥ 10 8 4 ♦ J 10 9 3 ♣ Q 10 5		♠ K 5 ♥ J 9 5 2 ♦ A 8 6 ♣ 9 7 6 3
	♠ Q J 9 8 7 3 ♥ K Q 6 ♦ 7 2 ♣ J 4

 

Deal 36	♠ 6 4 ♥ A 7 3 ♦ K Q 5 4 ♣ A K 8 2		Here West has taken your ♠J with the ♠A. When you again lead a small ♠ from dummy say that East plays the ♠5. You might think that West is just as likely to have held an original doubleton ♠ A K as doubleton ♠ A 10, and that playing the ♠9 would be as good a play as ♠Q. This is untrue for a very classy-named reason - The Principle of Restricted Choice. You may not even believe it when you read it, but it's mathematically sound. If West were dealt an original ♠ A K, he would have been just as likely to win with the ♠K as with the ♠A. The fact that he actually won the ♠A makes it less likely that he also holds the ♠K.  Deal 37
♠ A 10 ♥ 10 8 4 2 ♦ J 10 9 3 ♣ Q 10 5		♠ K 5 2 ♥ J 9 5 ♦ A 8 6 ♣ 9 7 6 3
	♠ Q J 9 8 7 3 ♥ K Q 6 ♦ 7 2 ♣ J 4