DAILY BRIDGE CLUB:

“Is your tutelage helping at all?” I asked Rose. She has taken on Unlucky Louie as a project, insisting he isn’t as bad a player as his results suggest.

“If I could get him to think before he plays,” Rose told me. “He operates as if the goal is to play as many deals as possible.”

Louie was today’s declarer at four spades, and West led the jack of hearts.

“He saw no problem,” Rose said. “Of course, that was because he didn’t take time to look for any. He took the ace and led a trump. West — give him credit — grabbed his ace and shifted to the king and eight of clubs. East won and gave West a club ruff for down one, and Louie grumbled about bad luck.”

Since a club ruff is the only danger, Louie should guard against it. He leads a diamond to dummy’s ace at Trick Two, discards a club on the king of hearts and then leads a trump. West can’t get a ruff, and Louie is safe.

Don’t make a Louie mistake. Plan before you play. No points are awarded for speed.

DAILY QUESTION: You hold: Q1054 K976

A10 J 3 2. Your partner opens one diamond, you respond one heart and he bids two clubs. What do you say?

ANSWER: If your queen of spades were the king, you would try 2NT. With your actual hand, a bid of 2NT would be aggressive, but the two 10s and nine of hearts might induce you to try for game. The only option would be a timid false-preference of two diamonds; two spades would be a misbid as well as an overbid.