DAILY BRIDGE CLUB:

Cy the Cynic had suffered a losing session in his penny game.

“You’d do better if only you would plan your play,” I told Cy in the club lounge.

“I never do anything that’s premeditated,” Cy shrugged. “I don’t like terms that get tossed around in the legal system.”

Cy was declarer at four hearts. He won the first spade in dummy and, two seconds later, led a trump to finesse with his 10. West won and led another spade, and Cy took the ace, drew trumps, took the ace of diamonds and led to dummy’s jack. East won, and the defense cashed a spade and a club for down one.

Cy should have meditated, or premeditated, before he played. He should win the first spade with the ace and take the A-K of trumps, gaining time.

When East-West play low, Cy takes the K-A of diamonds and concedes a diamond. If East returns a spade, Cy wins in dummy and discards his spade loser on a good diamond. He loses a club, a trump and a diamond.

DAILY QUESTION: You hold: ♠ K72 ♥ J853 ◆ K J832 ♣ 8. Your partner opens one club, and the next player bids one spade. What do you say?

ANSWER: You would like to show some values and perhaps find a heart fit, but you can’t act at the two level. Your best call is a negative double, which by agreement shows hearts but the wrong type of hand to bid two hearts. You won’t like it if partner rebids two clubs, but that is only one possibility.