As East, they are red you are white, and you hold: ♠-AQx, ♥-xx, ♦-Qx, , ♣-AJxxxx.

LHO bids 1♥, partner passes, and RHO bids 2♦ (game forcing). Do you bid? Think of the consequences before putting your hand on the bidding box. Partner must be broke and N-S are in a game-forcing auction. What good will a bid from you do except to alert N-S as to where the missing points are? Those of you who bid 3♣ just gave the opponents a cold top. Those of you who passed will be rewarded for your virtuous decision.

In the actual hand, after a 3♣ bid, LHO bid 3♥ and RHO raised to game. Partner led a high club and RHO tabled the following dummy: ♠-Kxx, ♥-Qxx, ♦-Kxxx, ♣-KQx. You take dummy’s king with the ace and exit with the ♣J as partner follows. LHO takes two rounds of trumps, ruffs dummy’s last club, cashes the ♦K, and leads a low diamond ducked around to your queen. And you are sunk. A club gives declarer a ruff and slough and a spade rides to the king. Your cash the ♠A and the hand is over. Now, go back to the bidding minus your unwise call. N-S will get to the 4♥ contract but partner will now lead the ♠J from a three-card sequence, trapping dummy’s king. The defense will win two spades, one club, and one diamond for a nifty +100.

Here’s another hand where disciplined bidding would have produced a top board instead of a bottom. In fourth seat, they are red you are white, and you hold: ♠-xxx, ♥-AQ, ♦-Qx, ♣-Kxxxxxx. LHO deals and passes as does partner. RHO bids 1♠ and you overcall 2♣ - no problem. LHO bids 3♠ which is alerted as a limit raise (10-11 points and four spades). Partner passes and RHO passes. You could pass and earn a top but you persist by bidding 4♣ and you’ve just bought the farm. LHO bids 4♠ and partner who holds J10xx in clubs and a singleton spade “sacrifices” in 5♣. The opponents double and down four is -800.

Instead of engaging the brain before the hand, you could have passed 3♠. My partner - with whom I have since divorced - whined to me that they are cold for 4♠. True, very true - but they didn’t bid it(!) until you gave them the chance.

As I take a break to visit relatives in New England, please try to maximize your chances of winning by observing some discipline in your bidding. I will return in three weeks and hopefully I will have some tales to recount.