Deal 93	♠   ♥   ♦   ♣		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass  BID        The bidding has gone as shown. Decide what you would say, then click on BID above.
	♠ A 10 4 3 ♥ 7 3 ♦ K Q 8 7 4 2 ♣ 7

 

Deal 93	♠   ♥   ♦   ♣		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass 2♣ pass 2♠ pass  BID      It is tempting to just bid 3NT and hope the ♦s come in. But not when you have a 4-card Major suit. Instead you bid a Stayman 2♣. Partner says 2♠; what do you bid next?
	♠ A 10 4 3 ♥ 7 3 ♦ K Q 8 7 4 2 ♣ 7

 

Deal 93	♠ 8 7 5 2 ♥ A K ♦ A J 3 ♣ A 6 4 2		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass 2♣ pass 2♠ pass 4♠ pass pass pass   It is tempting to just bid 3NT and hope the ♦s come in. But not when you have a 4-card Major suit. Instead you bid a Stayman 2♣. Partner says 2♠; what do you bid next? Well, he has 4 ♠s. That's why you used Stayman so you bid 4♠. Click NEXT to continue.
	♠ A 10 4 3 ♥ 7 3 ♦ K Q 8 7 4 2 ♣ 7

 

Deal 93	♠ 8 7 5 2 ♥ A K ♦ A J 3 ♣ A 6 4 2		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass 2♣ pass 2♠ pass 4♠ pass pass pass   The contract would be 4♠ played by North. To make South the declarer click ROTATE .
	♠ A 10 4 3 ♥ 7 3 ♦ K Q 8 7 4 2 ♣ 7

 

Deal 93   4♠ OL: ♣K	♠ A 10 4 3 ♥ 7 3 ♦ K Q 8 7 4 2 ♣ 7		WEST   NORTH   EAST   SOUTH 1NT pass 2♣ pass 2♠ pass 4♠ pass pass pass South plays 4♠. West leads the ♣K. Seeing 10 top tricks sort of makes you wish you had just bid 3NT. Make a Plan, then click NEXT .
	♠ 8 7 5 2 ♥ A K ♦ A J 3 ♣ A 6 4 2

 

Deal 93   4♠ OL: ♣K	♠ A 10 4 3 ♥ 7 3 ♦ K Q 8 7 4 2 ♣ 7		Loser List: ♠ = 2/3/4 : ♥ = 0 : ♦ = 0 : ♣ = 0 :: Total = 2/3/4 Missing 5 ♠s, the most likely split is 3-2, (68% of the time). You win the ♣A and play a small ♠ toward dummy. West puts on the ♠Q which you take with dummy's ♠A, East following with the ♠6. Do you play ♠s again? or not?  NEXT
	♠ 8 7 5 2 ♥ A K ♦ A J 3 ♣ A 6 4 2

 

Deal 93   4♠ OL: ♣K	♠ A 10 4 3 ♥ 7 3 ♦ K Q 8 7 4 2 ♣ 7		Loser List: ♠ = 2/3/4 : ♥ = 0 : ♦ = 0 : ♣ = 0 :: Total = 2/3/4 Missing 5 ♠s, the most likely split is 3-2, (68% of the time). You win the ♣A and play a small ♠ toward dummy. West puts on the ♠Q which you take with dummy's ♠A, East following with the ♠6. Do you play ♠s again? or not? Not. With both defenders following suit, the possibility of 4 ♠ losers is gone so you can lose at most 3. But that ♠Q from West is ominous. If you play another ♠ and they do split 3-2 you will make 11 tricks, losing only 2 trumps. But if East has 3 ♠s left he will win the trick, pull all the rest of the trumps, and lead a ♣ to West. The guaranteed way to make the contract is to play no more ♠s, but to start playing ♦ winners. The defenders can make their 3 trump tricks but you maintain control of the hand. Click NEXT to see the full deal.
	♠ 8 7 5 2 ♥ A K ♦ A J 3 ♣ A 6 4 2

 

Deal 93   4♠ OL: ♣K	♠ A 10 4 3 ♥ 7 3 ♦ K Q 8 7 4 2 ♣ 7		As you see, playing a second trump would have been disastrous. But with a different distribution, (3-2), playing the second trump would have been great. Considering probabilities it looks like this. If you play the second trump you will make 2 overtricks about 70% of the time, but you will go down 4 about 30% of the time. If you stop with the ♠s and start running ♦s you will make your contract 100% of the time but will never make an overtrick. Deal 94
♠ Q ♥ Q 9 8 6 2 ♦ 9 5 ♣ K Q J 9 3		♠ K J 9 6 ♥ J 10 5 4 ♦ 10 6 ♣ 10 8 5
	♠ 8 7 5 2 ♥ A K ♦ A J 3 ♣ A 6 4 2