clubs with three honours
or five with four honours should be declared. Spades are practically only
declared with a weak hand; with only a king in the hand a suit of five
spades should be declared as a defensive measure. With nothing above a ten
a suit of two or three spades can be declared, though even with the weakest
hands a suit of five clubs or of six red cards will probably prove less
expensive.

_Declarations by Dummy._--From the fact that the call has been passed, the
dealer's partner must credit the dealer with less than average strength as
regards the rank of his cards, and probably a slightly increased number of
black cards; he must therefore be more backward in making a high
declaration whenever he can make a sound declaration of less value. On the
other hand, he has not the option of passing the declaration, and may be
driven to declare on less strength because the only alternative is a short
suit of spades. For example, with the hand: Hearts, ace, kv. 2; diamonds,
qn. 9, 7, 6, 3; clubs, kg. 10, 4; spades, 9, 2, the chances are in the
dealer's favour with five trumps, but decidedly against with only two, and
the diamond declaration is to be preferred to the spade. Still, a hand may
be so weak that spades should be declared with two or less, but five clubs
or six diamonds would be preferable with the weakest of hands.

[v.04 p.0530] _Declarations to the Score._--When one's score is over
twenty, club declarations should be made more frequently by the dealer.
Spades should be declared with six at the score of twenty-six and with five
at twenty-eight. When much behind in the score a risky no-trumper such as
one with an established suit of seven or eight cards without a card of
entry, may be declared.

Declaring to the score is often overdone; an ordinary weak no-trump
declaration carries with it small chances of three by tricks unless dummy
holds a no-trump hand.

_Doubling._--Practically the leader only doubles a no-trump declaration
when he holds what is probably an established suit of seven cards or a suit
which can be established with the loss of one trick and he has good cards
of re-entry. Seven cards of a suit including the ace, king and queen make
sound double without any other card of value in the hand, or six cards
including king, queen and knave with two aces in other suits.

Doubling by the third hand is universally understood to mean that the
player has a very strong suit which he can establish.