JOHNNY SUPREMO'S MASTERCLASS..................................... When you have a chance to count the opponents' hands then take it.....especially if it enables you to make the right play in a particular suit later on. Take this illustrative hand as an example. South as declarer is in 6NT holding : AKx....AQ....K10876...A109 with a dummy that comes up with QJ73....K2...AQ54....Q43. The contract after a 4 of hearts lead looks so simple : 4S, 2H, 5D and 1C. So what could go wrong ? The club king could be off-side and the diamonds split 4-0. So how should diamonds be played. If East holds the four diamonds, there is no problem at all about starting off with a top honour in dummy first. However, if West holds 4 diamonds to the J9, then kicking off with the Ace would be fatal ! So it becomes imperative t0 play out 4 rounds of spades first....before touching diamonds. This way you get important information that West is void in the suit. Assuming West led his 4th highest heart from five, this gives him 8 cards in the minor suits, as compared to East's 3. Therefore, the only opponent to be in a position to hold four diamonds is of course West. So the winning line now becomes blatantly obvious. Play the king of diamonds first, and then when East shows out....you are in a perfect position to take two finesses against West's J and 9, using your Ace of hearts and Ace of clubs as entries to hand.