23 More about dummy ruffs

If you’ve read the last two tips you will see that a flat hand (FH) in a trump contract is useless except for its points. There are no real length cards (OK, sometimes the 13th of your 4-card suit). But since there are no extra ruffing tricks you may as well play in No Trumps.

Now for a pill to swallow: that goes even if that 4-card suit is a fit with declarer’s hand.

What do you do with S  QJxx   H  Kxx   D  Axx   C  xxx  when partner opens 1S? If you bid 3S, how many tricks will you make?  Whatever your answer is, won’t it make the same number of tricks in No Trumps? (No dummy ruffs.) Bid 2NT, unless the opponents have already bid a suit you fear. If you make 9 tricks both ways, you get 10 more points in NT, and this could be a top.

Another pill: Don’t use Stayman with a FH, you don’t want to play in a major, do you?

I’ve got a new rule for you if you haven’t already made it part of your system:

Once partners have agreed a suit or NT, you always end up in that category, whatever bids may follow.

You open 1H, partner goes 3H, don’t go 3NT. Dummy may have say two potential ruffs which you have now thrown away. If you’ve got extra values, 4H is your goal. (Contrast this with 1H - 1S - 3H where you have not agreed trumps and heart bidder is showing seven playing tricks. By all means go 3NT if you scent it.)