Bridge

If the secret of success is going from one mistake to the next without losing your enthusiasm, Unlucky Louie should be my club’s most successful player. He loses regularly (ascribing it to bad luck despite all the evidence) but keeps coming back for more.

As today’s declarer, Louie took the queen of spades and led a diamond to dummy’s jack, winning. He led a club to his king and tried a second diamond to the queen, but this time East won and returned a spade. Louie won and went to the king of hearts to cash the ace of diamonds, but when West discarded, Louie took only two tricks in each suit. “Bad luck,” Louie sighed. Louie needs only three diamond tricks to make 3NT and is in no danger of losing five fast tricks. At Trick Two he can play a low diamond from both hands.

East wins cheaply and returns a spade, but Louie ducks, wins the third spade and leads a diamond to the queen. East wins, but Louie is sure of three diamonds and nine tricks in all.