Deal 47	♠ ? ♥ ? ♦ ? ♣ ?		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH pass  BID        You are South and it is your bid. Decide what you would say, then click on BID .
	♠ K 7 5 3 ♥ Q 8 6 4 ♦ A K 7 ♣ J 2

 

Deal 47	♠ ? ♥ ? ♦ ? ♣ ?		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH pass 1♦ pass 2♣ pass  BID      You have 13 points so you will definitely open the bidding. You don't open with a 4-card Major and you don't open with a 2-card ♣ suit. So this is the one distribution where you open a 3-card ♦ suit. Partner responds 2♣ and it is your bid.
	♠ K 7 5 3 ♥ Q 8 6 4 ♦ A K 7 ♣ J 2

 

Deal 47	♠ A 6 2 ♥ J 10 3 ♦ 8 5 4 ♣ A K 8 5		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH pass 1♦ pass 2♣ pass 2NT pass 3NT pass pass pass Be very careful! You are tempted to now bid 2♥ or 2♠. Don't give in to the temptation. That would be a REVERSE - bidding a second, higher-ranking suit at the 2-level. You should have at least 16 points to reverse. Besides, if you trust partner you don't need to bid either of those suits anyway. If he had a 4-card Major he probably would have shown it on his first bid. No, your next bid is clearly 2NT. Partner raises to 3NT and you pass. South plays 3NT. West leads the ♥2, East wins the ♥A and returns the ♥5. West takes the ♥K and plays the ♥7. Make a Plan, then click NEXT .
	♠ K 7 5 3 ♥ Q 8 6 4 ♦ A K 7 ♣ J 2

 

Deal 47	♠ A 6 2 ♥ J 10 3 ♦ 8 5 4 ♣ A K 8 5		South plays 3NT. West leads the ♥2, East wins the ♥A and returns the ♥5. West takes the ♥K and plays the ♥7. Winner count: ♠ 2 : ♥ 2 : ♦ 2 : ♣ 2 : Total = 8 You are glad the defense started with ♥s, that was a suit you would have had to play yourself. You need one more winner and your first thought may be that the ♠s are going to have to split 3-3. However, that happens only about 40% of the time so you keep looking. There is one more card that might be valuable, the ♣J. If East holds the ♣Q then you can make a trick out of the ♣J. You are already in dummy with the ♥J so you lead a small ♣. If East plays low you will play the ♣J which will hold the trick and become your 9th winner. If East plays his ♣Q you will have the ♣J for your 9th winner later. And if East doesn't have the ♣Q at all? then you STILL have the possibility of a 3-3 ♠ split. Click NEXT to see the full deal.
	♠ K 7 5 3 ♥ Q 8 6 4 ♦ A K 7 ♣ J 2

 

Deal 47	♠ A 6 2 ♥ J 10 3 ♦ 8 5 4 ♣ A K 8 5		As you see, this time the ♠s didn't split so you had to make the ♣J to succeed.  Deal 48
♠ 10 4 ♥ K 9 7 2 ♦ J 9 3 ♣ 10 9 7 6		♠ Q J 9 8 ♥ A 5 ♦ Q 10 6 2 ♣ Q 4 3
	♠ K 7 5 3 ♥ Q 8 6 4 ♦ A K 7 ♣ J 2