Deal 18	♠   ♥   ♦   ♣		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass  BID        The bidding has gone as shown. Decide what you would say, then click on BID above.
	♠ K 8 6 2 ♥ Q 8 ♦ A 8 3 ♣ K 5 4 3

 

Deal 18	♠   ♥   ♦   ♣		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass 2♣ pass 2♦ pass  BID      With 12 points and a 4-card Major suit you automatically use Stayman; bid 2♣. Partner responds 2♦. What do you bid now?
	♠ K 8 6 2 ♥ Q 8 ♦ A 8 3 ♣ K 5 4 3

 

Deal 18	♠ A 4 3 ♥ K 7 3 ♦ K Q 2 ♣ A 10 7 2		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass 2♣ pass 2♦ pass 3NT pass pass pass   With 12 points and a 4-card Major suit you automatically use Stayman; bid 2♣. Partner responds 2♦. What do you bid now? You have plenty of points for game; with no 4-4 Major suit fit you bid 3NT. Click NEXT to continue.
	♠ K 8 6 2 ♥ Q 8 ♦ A 8 3 ♣ K 5 4 3

 

Deal 18	♠ A 4 3 ♥ K 7 3 ♦ K Q 2 ♣ A 10 7 2		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass 2♣ pass 2♦ pass 3NT pass pass pass   The contract would be 3NT played by North. To make South the declarer click ROTATE .
	♠ K 8 6 2 ♥ Q 8 ♦ A 8 3 ♣ K 5 4 3

 

Deal 18   3NT OL: ♥6	♠ K 8 6 2 ♥ Q 8 ♦ A 8 3 ♣ K 5 4 3		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass 2♣ pass 2♦ pass 3NT pass pass pass South plays 3NT. West leads the ♥6. First big decision. Which ♥ do you play from dummy? Make a Plan, then click NEXT .
	♠ A 4 3 ♥ K 7 3 ♦ K Q 2 ♣ A 10 7 2

 

Deal 18   3NT OL: ♥6	♠ K 8 6 2 ♥ Q 8 ♦ A 8 3 ♣ K 5 4 3		Winner List: ♠ = 2 : ♥ = 1 : ♦ = 3 : ♣ = 2 :: Total = 8 The Rule of Eleven tells you there are 5 ♥s in North, East and South which are higher than the ♥6. You and dummy hold 4 of them so you can place East with just 1. The missing high cards are ♥ A J 10 9. Elementary, Watson; East must hold the ♥10 because from ♥ A J 10 6, ♥ A 10 9 6 or ♥ J 10 9 6 West would NOT have led the ♥6. So your first smart move is to play dummy's ♥Q, which holds the trick. What next?  NEXT
	♠ A 4 3 ♥ K 7 3 ♦ K Q 2 ♣ A 10 7 2

 

Deal 18   3NT OL: ♥6	♠ K 8 6 2 ♥ Q 8 ♦ A 8 3 ♣ K 5 4 3		Winner List: ♠ = 2 : ♥ = 1 : ♦ = 3 : ♣ = 2 :: Total = 8 The Rule of Eleven tells you there are 5 ♥s in North, East and South which are higher than the ♥6. You and dummy hold 4 of them so you can place East with just 1. The missing high cards are ♥ A J 10 9. Elementary, Watson; East must hold the ♥10 because from ♥ A J 10 6, ♥ A 10 9 6 or ♥ J 10 9 6 West would NOT have led the ♥6. So your first smart move is to play dummy's ♥Q, which holds the trick. What next? You need to find one more winner and your best chance is the ♣ suit. You will need a 3-2 split in the suit, but you must establish the ♣ winner without letting East get the lead. East is the Danger Hand because he can play a ♥ through your ♥ K 7. Therefore it would be unwise to play ♣A, ♣K, then another ♣ because East is very likely to be the one with 3 ♣s.  NEXT
	♠ A 4 3 ♥ K 7 3 ♦ K Q 2 ♣ A 10 7 2

 

Deal 18   3NT OL: ♥6	♠ K 8 6 2 ♥ Q 8 ♦ A 8 3 ♣ K 5 4 3		Winner List: ♠ = 2 : ♥ = 1 : ♦ = 3 : ♣ = 2 :: Total = 8 The Rule of Eleven tells you there are 5 ♥s in North, East and South which are higher than the ♥6. You and dummy hold 4 of them so you can place East with just 1. The missing high cards are ♥ A J 10 9. Elementary, Watson; East must hold the ♥10 because from ♥ A J 10 6, ♥ A 10 9 6 or ♥ J 10 9 6 West would NOT have led the ♥6. So your first smart move is to play dummy's ♥Q, which holds the trick. What next? You need to find one more winner and your best chance is the ♣ suit. You will need a 3-2 split in the suit, but you have to establish the ♣ winner without letting East get the lead. East is the Danger Hand because he can play a ♥ through your ♥ K 7. Therefore it would be unwise to play ♣A, ♣K, then another ♣ because East is very likely to be the one with 3 ♣s. Did you get it? Play a small ♣ toward your hand and put on the ♣10 if East plays low. You don't expect the ♣10 to win the trick, it is more of a duck than a finesse. West takes this with his ♣J but he can do you no harm. If he continues with ♥s your ♥K will be a second stopper. If he plays any other suit you will scamper home with your 9 tricks, which of course now include those 3 ♣s. Click NEXT to see the full deal.
	♠ A 4 3 ♥ K 7 3 ♦ K Q 2 ♣ A 10 7 2

 

Deal 18   3NT OL: ♥6	♠ K 8 6 2 ♥ Q 8 ♦ A 8 3 ♣ K 5 4 3		A duck into the safe hand allowed you to establish the ♣ winner you needed. But what if East had figured out what you were going to try and played his ♣Q when you led from dummy? He would have been very, very sorry. You would have had no choice but to win the trick, and when West's ♣J fell on the next trick you would have all 4 ♣ tricks!  Deal 19
♠ 10 5 ♥ A J 9 6 2 ♦ 10 7 5 4 ♣ J 8		♠ Q J 9 7 ♥ 10 5 4 ♦ J 9 6 ♣ Q 9 6
	♠ A 4 3 ♥ K 7 3 ♦ K Q 2 ♣ A 10 7 2