Deal 22	♠   ♥   ♦   ♣		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass  BID      The bidding has gone as shown. Decide what you would say, then click on BID above.
	♠ 7 5 2 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ A Q 6 5 3 ♣ 7 3

 

Deal 22	♠ K Q 9 ♥ K 7 5 4 ♦ K 10 ♣ A 8 4 2		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass 3NT pass pass pass   You don't have enough points to be thinking about slam and you don't particularly want to play 5♦. So you bid 3NT and everybody passes. Click NEXT to continue.
	♠ 7 5 2 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ A Q 6 5 3 ♣ 7 3

 

Deal 22	♠ K Q 9 ♥ K 7 5 4 ♦ K 10 ♣ A 8 4 2		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass 3NT pass pass pass   The contract would be 3NT played by North. To make South the declarer click ROTATE .
	♠ 7 5 2 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ A Q 6 5 3 ♣ 7 3

 

Deal 22   3NT OL: ♠6	♠ 7 5 2 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ A Q 6 5 3 ♣ 7 3		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass 3NT pass pass pass South plays 3NT. West leads the ♠6; East plays the ♠J. Your immediate problem is whether or not to hold up. ? ? ? Make a Plan, then click NEXT .
	♠ K Q 9 ♥ K 7 5 4 ♦ K 10 ♣ A 8 4 2

 

Deal 22   3NT OL: ♠6	♠ 7 5 2 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ A Q 6 5 3 ♣ 7 3		Winner List: ♠ = 1 : ♥ = 3 : ♦ = 3 : ♣ = 1 :: Total = 8 There is some merit in a holdup. East is likely to have just 2 ♠s, so a holdup would exhaust his cards in the suit. If he later got the lead he would have no ♠s. On the other hand, East might well switch to ♣s, and that would certainly be unwelcome. Finally, if you do win the first ♠ you have another stopper if you can prevent East from getting the lead. So win the first trick with the ♠K. Notice that by winning with the ♠K you keep West in the dark as to whether you or East has the ♠Q. You need just one more trick, and either red suit might split 3-3. So is that your plan? Lead out red winners and hope?  NEXT
	♠ K Q 9 ♥ K 7 5 4 ♦ K 10 ♣ A 8 4 2

 

Deal 22   3NT OL: ♠6	♠ 7 5 2 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ A Q 6 5 3 ♣ 7 3		Winner List: ♠ = 1 : ♥ = 3 : ♦ = 3 : ♣ = 1 :: Total = 8 There is some merit in a holdup. East is likely to have just two ♠s, so a holdup would exhaust his cards in the suit. If he later got the lead he would have no ♠s. On the other hand, East might well switch to ♣s, and that would certainly be unwelcome. Finally, if you do win the first ♠ you have another stopper if you can prevent East from getting the lead. So win the first trick with the ♠K. Notice that by winning with the ♠K you keep West in the dark as to whether you or East has the ♠Q. You need just one more trick, and either red suit might split 3-3. So is that your plan? Lead out red winners and hope? Truthfully, that wouldn't be a terrible plan. The chance of a 3-3 split in a suit is about 36%. But since you need either of two 36% chances that comes to almost 60% (if you aren't Math oriented don't worry about it, you can trust me). There's a safer approach though; remember you only need 4 ♦ tricks, not 5.  NEXT
	♠ K Q 9 ♥ K 7 5 4 ♦ K 10 ♣ A 8 4 2

 

Deal 22   3NT OL: ♠6	♠ 7 5 2 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ A Q 6 5 3 ♣ 7 3		Winner List: ♠ = 1 : ♥ = 3 : ♦ = 3 : ♣ = 1 :: Total = 8 There is some merit in a holdup. East is likely to have just two ♠s, so a holdup would exhaust his cards in the suit. If he later got the lead he would have no ♠s. On the other hand, East might well switch to ♣s, and that would certainly be unwelcome. Finally, if you do win the first ♠ you have another stopper if you can prevent East from getting the lead. So win the first trick with the ♠K. Notice that by winning with the ♠K you keep West in the dark as to whether you or East has the ♠Q. You need just one more trick, and either red suit might split 3-3. So is that your plan? Lead out red winners and hope? Truthfully, that wouldn't be a terrible plan. The chance of a 3-3 split in a suit is about 36%. But since you need either of two 36% chances that comes to almost 60% (if you aren't Math oriented don't worry about it, you can trust me). There's a safer approach though; remember you only need 4 ♦ tricks, not 5. There is a wonderful "safety play" that will practically guarantee your contract. Enter dummy with a ♥, then play a small ♦ toward your hand and finesse with your ♦10! West may win with the ♦J, but even if he does he is the Safe Hand and cannot play a ♠ without giving you a trick. And whatever else he could play you would win and make 4 ♦ tricks. In the actual Deal the ♦ finesse actually works and you make all 5 tricks in the suit. Click NEXT to see the full deal.
	♠ K Q 9 ♥ K 7 5 4 ♦ K 10 ♣ A 8 4 2

 

Deal 22   3NT OL: ♠6	♠ 7 5 2 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ A Q 6 5 3 ♣ 7 3		The only way this plan could go wrong is if West held the singleton ♦J. And if that were the case you wouldn't make the contract anyway (unless ♥s were 3-3).  Deal 23
♠ A 10 8 6 4 ♥ 8 3 ♦ 7 2 ♣ K 10 6 5		♠ J 3 ♥ J 10 9 2 ♦ J 9 8 4 ♣ Q J 9
	♠ K Q 9 ♥ K 7 5 4 ♦ K 10 ♣ A 8 4 2