DAILY BRIDGE CLUB

Unlucky Louie had been missing from the club. His oldest daughter and her family were visiting.

“You know,” Louie told me happily, “if I’d known how much fun grandchildren were going to be, I’d have had them first.”

Not even Louie could have kids and grandkids out of order, but he often plays his cards out of order. At today’s 3NT Louie took the king of spades and led the A-K and a third diamond. He won West’s spade return and took the top clubs and dummy’s good diamonds, but when he led a heart next, East took the ace — and three spades. Down one.

Louie’s approach was doomed, but he could make 3NT by playing his cards in a different order. He must lead a club to dummy at Trick Two and return the deuce of hearts through East, who probably has the ace for his bid.

If East wins, Louie has nine tricks: three hearts and two of everything else. If instead East plays low, Louie wins and shifts to diamonds to get four diamonds, two clubs, two spades and a heart. DAILY QUESTION

You hold: S A K H K J 6 3 D 5 4 2 C K 9 5 3. Your partner opens one heart, and the next player bids one spade. What do you say?

Answer: You expect to make game (at least), but a direct leap to four hearts would show a shapely hand with skimpy high-card strength. A jump to three hearts would be an invitational “limit raise” (or, in some styles, a preempt). Your best action is a forcing cue bid of two spades to show a fine hand with good heart support.