Every experienced Spades player knows the value of leading a long spade suit, a strategy that's sheer poison to intermediate players. But pulling trump is not always the right play. In this deal, curiously enough, the rules of the game prevented a player from guessing wrong.

AKQ975 A1043 95 2 106 J952 A72 AK54 J8 KQ87 KQ83 863 432 6 J1064 QJ1097 West North East South 3 5 2 1 North led the 2

North's 5-bid is a dramatic underbid and a possible attempt to slicker the opponents. Such tactics are usually not effective in 2nd seat. If North had bid a normal 6, East would still have no reason to lower his bid. The result was an 11-total, but this had no effect on the ensuing play.

West won the club lead and switched to a low diamond. East won the Q and returned the suit to West's A. West tried the 9 and North immediately took her Ace. We'll never know what North, a strong player would have done if spades had been broken. As it was, a heart was the only permissible play. When South trumped North's lead of the 3, North/South had found their crosstrump. It was so effective that North was even able to sacrifice a winner to hold down the bags.

Suppose West had tried a third round of diamonds instead of switching to hearts. North trumps, and now what? It is tempting to play two or three rounds of spades. If this is done, North's side will fall one trick short of the set. South needs to cut twice to beat the hand. North was fortunate to have been spared a guess by the rules of the game.