Deal 38
 
 
 
♠ ?
?
?
♣ ?
 
 WEST  NORTH  EAST  SOUTH
 BID 
 
 

You are South and it is your bid.
Decide what you would say, then click on BID .
   
  ♠ K 6
K 9 8
K J 10 4
♣ A K 8 2
 

 
Deal 38
 
 
 
♠ ?
?
?
♣ ?
 
 WEST  NORTH  EAST  SOUTH
1NT
2♠2NTpass BID 
 

With 17 points and a balanced hand you naturally open 1NT.
West overcalls 2♠. Your partner then bids 2NT.
What do you bid now?
   
  ♠ K 6
K 9 8
K J 10 4
♣ A K 8 2
 

 
Deal 38
 
 
 
♠ A 7 2
Q J 3
Q 8 6 2
♣ 9 6 4
 
 WEST  NORTH  EAST  SOUTH
1NT
2♠2NTpass3NT
passpasspass

Your partner invited you to bid 3NT if you had 17 points, and you have 17 points. You trust your partner so you bid 3NT.

South plays 3NT. West leads the ♠Q.

Make a Plan, then click NEXT .
   
  ♠ K 6
K 9 8
K J 10 4
♣ A K 8 2
 

 
Deal 38
 
 
 
♠ A 7 2
Q J 3
Q 8 6 2
♣ 9 6 4
  South plays 3NT. West leads the ♠Q.

Winner count: ♠ 2 : 0 : 0 : ♣ 2 : Total = 4

This looks scary. Needing 5 more tricks means you are going to have to establish BOTH red suits. And with only two ♠ stoppers you have to hope West doesn't have both red Aces. If he does, you're down, so just assume that he only has one of them. Now if you can just figure out which Ace West has you can establish that suit first.

But you don't have to guess, there is a better way. West overcalled at the 2-level with a Queen-high suit and one outside Ace. THAT is bold. Surely he has at least a 6-card suit to justify that overcall. If so, then a simple hold-up will be worthwhile. So you let West hold the first trick, and when he leads another ♠ you win the ♠K in your hand. If West has a 6-card suit East is now void of ♠s.

Play s to drive out the A. If East has it he will not have another ♠ to force you with. If West has it he can force out your last ♠, but then won't have the A for an entry. However the Aces are split - as long as West doesn't have both - you will establish 9 tricks.

Click NEXT to see the full deal.
   
  ♠ K 6
K 9 8
K J 10 4
♣ A K 8 2
 

 
Deal 38
 
 
 
♠ A 7 2
Q J 3
Q 8 6 2
♣ 9 6 4
  Without the holdup you could still have made the contract, but only if you had established the winners first. That would have been a total guess.

With the holdup it didn't matter which red suit you established first.

 Deal 39 
♠ Q J 10 9 8 4
A 5
9 3
♣ Q J 10
♠ 5 3
10 7 6 4 2
A 7 5
♣ 7 5 3
  ♠ K 6
K 9 8
K J 10 4
♣ A K 8 2