s, and the dealer
has a fair hand, he ought to name the trump. As regards strength, the
average hand would contain ace, king, queen, knave and ten, or equivalent
strength. Hands stronger or weaker than this by the value of a king or less
may be described as featureless. If the dealer's hand is a king over the
average, it is more likely than not that his partner will either hold a
stronger hand, or will hold such a weak hand as will counteract the
player's strength. The dealer would not generally with such a hand declare
no trump, especially as by making a no-trump declaration the dealer
forfeits the advantage of holding the long trumps.

_Declarations by Dealer._--In calculating the strength of a hand a knave is
worth two tens, a queen is worth two knaves, a king is worth a queen and
knave together, and an ace is worth a king and queen together. A king
unguarded is worth less than a queen guarded; a queen is not fully guarded
unless accompanied by three more cards; if guarded by one small card it is
worth a knave guarded. An ace also loses in value by being sole.

A hand to be strong enough for a no-trump declaration should be a king and
ten above the average with all the honours guarded and all the suits
protected. It must be a king and knave or two queens above the average if
there is protection in three suits. It must be an ace or a king and queen
above the average if only two suits are protected. An established black
suit of six or more cards with a guarded king as card of entry is good
enough for no trumps. With three aces no trumps can be declared. Without an
ace, four kings, two queens and a knave are required in order to justify
the declaration. When the dealer has a choice of declarations, a sound
heart make is to be preferred to a doubtful no-trump. Four honours in
hearts are to be preferred to any but a very strong no-trump declaration;
but four aces counting 100 points constitute a no-trump declaration without
exception.

Six hearts should be made trumps and five with two honours unless the hand
is very weak; five hearts with one honour or four hearts with three honours
should be declared if the hand is nearly strong enough for no trumps, also
if the hand is very irregular with one suit missing or five of a black
suit. Six diamonds with one honour, five with three honours or four all
honours should be declared; weaker diamonds should be declared if the suits
are irregular, especially if blank in hearts. Six