Bridge: Virtue is its own reward

If you consistently overbid your values, it stands to reason you should be a better-than-average declarer, since the combination of overbidding your hands and then underplaying them tends to lead to a rapid diminution of your assets.

The percentage play

This deal occurred in the World Olympiad Pairs some years ago. South reached three notrump as shown, and West led the jack of diamonds, which held. West continued with a diamond to the ace, and East returned the queen to declarer's king.

South's prospects were far from bright at this point, but he combined good luck with good judgment and came out smelling like a rose.

This deal: From gloom to glory

This deal occurred during the national championships in Phoenix in 1962. At one table the bidding went as shown. West's four-notrump bid was conventional and asked partner to bid either clubs or spades.

East obliged with five spades, which West raised to six after South bid six diamonds. When this came around to South, he decided to chance seven diamonds.

Contract Bridge: When a bizarre play is the correct maneuver

Occasionally, declarer may make a play that on its face appears totally bizarre, but when the play is later examined, it may well prove to be absolutely essential.

Take this deal where West led his singleton club, on which dummy played the deuce, East the seven and South the ace.

Bridge: Maximum security

Card-reading - the ability to figure out how the opponents' cards are divided based on bids and plays they have or haven't made - is a crucial element in the play of many hands.

Consider this deal where West leads the king of spades, on which East plays the seven. West continues with the ace and another spade, East playing the six on the ace and the ten on dummy's nine.

A game of rules, but there are exceptions

Bridge is a game with lots of rules, but it is important to remember that just about all of them have their exceptions. When a player's common sense tells him that following a general principle can't gain and might lose, he should abandon customary procedure on that occasion.

Plan ahead to be ready for chances when they occur

Two chances are certainly always better than one, and this is especially true at the bridge table. Consider this case from a national team-of-four championship, where both North-South pairs reached four spades on the bidding shown.