This hand verified the old saying that it is always better to be lucky than good. I was sitting West in a pairs game, and we were vulnerable. After North’s pass my partner opened with a club. Holding the following array, I figured that we probably had game.

♠ A K J    ♥ A Q 9 7    ♦ 10 9 8 6 4    ♣ 5

Faced with the choice between hearts and diamonds, I chose 1♥. I expected to bid diamonds on the next round. My partner, however, gave me a raise to 2♥, and I signed off in 4. To my shock, he waited a few seconds before proffering the 6♥ card. What in the world could he have? Maybe he discovered that his doubleton in diamonds was actually a second heart suit. I have done that.

I waited anxiously as North decided on a lead. Her choice was the ♣K. This was what I saw in dummy.

♠ 7    ♥ K Q 3    ♦ A J 7    ♣ A J 10 9 6 2

Well, this should be easy. We are only missing six trumps, the ♠Q, and KQ combinations in both minors. What could possibly go wrong?

My approach was ill-conceived, but it worked. I took the first trick and immediately finessed the spade, which worked. I dropped dummy’s two diamond losers on my ace and king of spades. I then drew two rounds of trumps in the dummy and then led the ♣J. North took it with her queen and returned a trump, which allowed me to claim the rest: three spades, four hearts, one diamond, and four clubs. In actual fact, I ended up ruffing a good club on the thirteenth trick. Maybe we were underbid.

The reason why this was a poor approach was that North could have ruined me by simply leading a diamond back. I was lucky that she held K5, not an attractive holding from which to lead.

This is how I should have approached the hand:

• Do I need to make this, or will down one be an acceptable score? The answer is clear. No sane team would bid a slam with these cards. Everyone else will be in a comfortable game. I must take whatever risks were necessary to make the bid in order to avoid getting a 0.
• Which hand should be the master hand? Well, it never hurts to count tricks. There are three or four trump tricks, two or three spade tricks, and two aces. So, I certainly need four tricks in one of the minor suits. After the first trick I have a certain club loser. Therefore, I cannot afford to attack diamonds at all. That means that the dummy, even though it only has three trumps, must be the master hand. It also means that the spade finesse is essential in order to make the contract. I absolutely must have three spade winners in order to discard the dummy’s losing diamonds.
• Is it necessary to draw trumps? I must concede a club to North (presuming that she did not lead a singleton king). But what if South should ruff in first? If North holds up, and South is able to ruff the third club trick, then I will be set if North started with four hearts. Similarly, if North wins the second trick and then leads another club for South to ruff, I will be set if North started with four hearts. That possibility can be eliminated by taking out two rounds of trump. If both opponents follow, I need not worry about South ruffing in, and if one of them has five trumps, I never had a chance to make it.
• Which trump should be led? The key is to preserve two entries to dummy. There are two considerations: (1) I must end up in dummy so that I can start on the clubs; (2) I must preserve an entry in trumps. So, a low trump should be led to the hand. The finesse at that point is a 50-50 play, and playing the Ace commits declarer to playing for the drop, which is slightly less than a 50-50 play. So, it is a little better to take the finesse. If it works, a low heart should be led back to the board.
• If the trumps split three-three, it is clearly safe to start on clubs. At some point North will take the king, or South will ruff in. If North takes the king first, declarer can win any return, draw the remaining trumps with dummy’s queen, and then play on trumps. If South ruffs, North can overruff, return to the dummy with the ♦A, and then resume the clubs. When North takes the king, declarer wins any return, and goes to the board in hearts.
• If South has four trumps, and North takes his ♣K before South ruffs, he will be caught in a trump coup in clubs as long as declarer has not exhausted his entries. If North has four trumps without the jack, declarer’s only hope is that she has exactly one fewer club than the dummy. In that case, declarer can trump the last club with the ace, and take the last trick with dummy’s ♥Q.

So, the contract fails if North has the ♠Q. If you take the finesse, it fails if North has the ♥J. It also fails if anyone has five or six hearts. If you do not take the finesse in hearts, it fails if either opponent has four hearts. If you do take the finesse, it fails if North has any holding of four hearts and less than four clubs. Not a great slam.

On hands like this one, you can bid poorly and play poorly, and still get a good result. On others you can do everything right, and still get the shaft.