Sam Levenson, a humorist, journalist, teacher and television host, said, "You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself."

This week we have learned that when you have long suits and a fit with partner, you win more tricks than the combined point-count would normally suggest.

What do you think of the auction in today's deal?

South, after two passes, was tempted to open four hearts. (If he had, no doubt West would have doubled, and East would have pulled to four spades. Then what? Who knows?) When South chose one heart, maybe West should have preferred a takeout double.

Over North's two-heart raise, East should have jumped to four hearts, a Texas transfer to four spades. How far wrong could that have been?

This next part is important. South's jump to four clubs said that he was willing to play in four hearts and had five clubs. He was asking North to judge what to do should the opponents bid four spades. (Here, North would have known about the double fit, but seemed to have two potential defensive tricks in the spade king and diamond ace. It would have been a close decision.) South had no trouble bringing home four hearts, losing only one heart and two clubs.

Four spades would also have made. Even if North had led the diamond ace and given his partner a diamond ruff (so that North-South took two trump tricks), after South shifted to the heart king, West would have won with the ace and cashed the diamond king-jack to discard dummy's heart eight.

Phillip Alder