Keep the Same Number as Dummy


But What if I have Three 4-carders?


J 4
J 9 4
A Q 8 3
Q 5 3 2
K 9 8 3 Q 7 6 5
5 10 6 3
J 7 5 4 K 10 6 2
A 10 7 4 9 8
A 10 2
A K Q 8 7 2
9 Contract: 6 hearts, 4 hts
K J 6 Opening lead: 5 of hts, A of clbs

One declarer made slam on this hand, while another went down in 4 hearts. I'll take up the former declarer first. How'd he achieve that result? Well, not without help from the defense, you can be sure. Declarer won the opening heart lead and cashed a second heart, then went to the A of diamonds, coming back with another diamond whieh he ruffed, switching back to a heart lead. East played his diamonds right and now held K 10 over the Q 8, while West who threw a low spade on the second round of trump, now pitched club on the third round.
A club? Yes, oftentimes with three four-card suits it's difficult to know what it's best to discard on a run of trump, but here declarer had gratuitously given West instructions: he'd ruffed the second round of diamonds. West has to know that his partner thus started with four diamonds and must have the K, and by golly, either the 10 or the 9 hasn't been played. He must turn over control of the diamonds to his partner, period.
But wait a minute: West's incautious sluff of a club only gave declarer one spade sluff. He still has to lose a spade, doesn't he? Well, not exactly. Afte that third round of trump, declarer knocked out the A of clubs, ruffed a diamond return from West, cashed a fourth round of trump, then the K of clubs, low to the Q, then dummy's fourth club on which East pitched the diamond K! To save the Q 7 of spades! This is unbelievable, a far more flagrant flouting of common sense than West's earlier discard of a club. I mean, declarer's in dummy, the Q of diamonds is showing. Discarding the K of diamonds necessarily establishes the Q as a winner, whereas blanking the Q of spades, may or may not cost a trick, and indeed, with a suit thus far untouched, either declarer has the A K or he doesn't, but the Q can't do much. Or to put this another way, better to save the card that clearly inhibits a winner than one that may or may not do so.
Of course the hand should bring in 11 tricks. A careless declarer might bring in 10. But how does one bring home nine? Opening lead the A of clubs! I mean, man, this makes plus 5 kindergarten stuff. Declarer doesn't even hafta look for an even split in clubs or a defensive error. And he doesn't hafta lose a spade so as to get a ruff, for that third spade now is known to be assigned to the fourth club lead.
After the A of clubs, West continued with the suit, won in the closed hand, two rounds of trump were cashed before declarer went to the third round of clubs, ruffed by East. Well, since he's always gotta lose the second round of spades, this necessarily holds him to plus 4, when he shouldn't have plus 5. But he should get that trick back, since that ruff was the defense's last trump and declarer still has one left dummy for the third round of spades. Now declarer took a spade lead from East and finessed . . . finessed . . . the Q of diamonds! ! ! ! There was nothing he could do with the A of diamonds had the finesse held! Well, he can sluff the deuce of spades, but that's not a loser (at that point). It can be ruffed. So instead of a diamond winner, declarer managed to lose one club (unavoidable), one diamond (inexcusable), one trump (inexcusable) and one spade (unavoidable). Down one. And yes, this inept declarer tells us he or she is an advanced player!