ll; having declared his full strength, his lips must thereafter be
sealed.

His partner is already counting upon him for two high-card tricks,
which is the maximum his hand can possibly produce; should he call two
Hearts on the basis of the Ace, the original Heart bidder would expect
assistance to the extent of at least three tricks. He might receive
only one.

If, however, the dealer's hand be

Spades X
Hearts X, X, X, X
Diamonds King, Knave, Ten, X, X
Clubs Ace, X, X

a very different proposition presents itself. While this combination,
had No-trump been called, would not be stronger than the other and
should not advance the bid, with Hearts Trump it is a most valuable
assistant, and being worth at least three tricks, is fully warranted in
calling at least two Hearts.

The fact that it contains four Hearts is one material element of
strength and the singleton Spade is another, neither of which has been
announced by the original call.

One of the most difficult tasks of the bidder is to accurately estimate
the number of tricks the combined hands of his partnership can
reasonably be expected to win. It sometimes occurs, especially in what
are known as "freak" hands, that one pair can take most of the tricks
with one suit declaration, while with another, their adversaries can be
equally successful. This is most apt to happen in two-suit hands, or
when length in Trumps is coupled with a cross-ruff. In the ordinary run
of evenly divided hands, there is not such great difference in the
trick-taking ability of two declarations. The player who, except with
an extraordinary hand, commits his side to ten or eleven tricks, after
the adversaries have shown that with another declaration they do not
expect to lose more than two or three, is extremely venturesome, and
apt to prove a dangerous partner. In normal deals, a change in the
Trump suit does not produce a shift of seven or eight tricks.

WHEN TO ADVANCE THE BID

It is frequently most difficult for a bidder to determine whether he is
justified in advancing his own or his partner's declaration, and when
in doubt it is generally better to err on the side of conservatism.

The continuation of a No-trump without the adverse suit thoroughly
guarded is most dangerous, and should be risked only when the Declarer
is convinced beyond doubt that his holding justifies it, or when the
partner has shown that he can stop the threatening suit.

Wh