How should you bid after you hear your partner go nil? One expert I know insists its proper to underbid because you may have to sacrifice a trick or to to provide proper coverage. On this deal, a codger with many years of experience playing duplicate Bridge shows us he can be just as crafty in Spades.

A973 Q10942 K3 J9 82 J J109876 AQ86 K4 8653 Q2 105432 QJ1065 AK7 A54 K7 West North East South nil 4 2(!) 7 North led the K

After West bid a 1st-seat nil, North automatically upped his bid by 1, which is one notion of dealing with an opponent's nil bid. East looked at his miserable hand. It was worth at most a 1-bid, and even that level might be too high. Wordt of all, he had very poor nil coverage. So what did he do? He bluffed a 2-bid!

When South made his normal call of 7, the table total was set at 13 tricks. This maximum total put extra pressure on North and South. Fearing that East might actually be able to win two tricks, they dared not allow West to win a single trick lest they go set themselves.

The actual play is of little interest. North and South led high cards at every opportunity and brought home their 11-bid with an overtrick. They passed up a chance to set the nil in hearts so West had no trouble making the nil. East was set at his 2-bid, as he had planned, and didn't mind a bit.

Did it pay off? North and South received 70% for their efforts, a fine score. But the codger and his partner's 80 points fared even better - a 90% result. A nice triumph for old age and treachery.

"Over the hill? What hill? I didn't see no hill!"