Unlucky Louie insists that his luck will change. He's like a man who goes to the courthouse every week to see if his marriage license has expired.

In a penny game, Louie was North with a hand that was hideous, even for him. South opened one spade, West doubled, East bid 1NT and South tried two clubs. West doubled that, and when Louie grimly bid two spades, East doubled.

West led the king of hearts, and Louie’s dummy was greeted with guffaws. But when West led a second high heart, South ruffed and led the king of clubs. West won and shifted to a diamond (too late). South won and led the Q-J and then his last club, pitching two diamonds from dummy.

West shifted to a trump: deuce, king, ace. South ruffed a diamond, ruffed a heart and ruffed his last diamond at the 11th trick. East overruffed, but South’s queen of trumps won his eighth trick.

“Maybe your luck is changing,” I told Louie. “There must be hope for anyone who can be plus 670 points with your hand.”

Daily question: You hold: ? 8 ? A K Q 7 ? Q 9 8 4 ? A 10 9 6. You are the dealer. What do you say?

Answer: Minimum three-suited hands can be hard to describe, and expert opinions would vary here. Some would open one diamond, planning to bid two clubs over the likely response of one spade. A few experts would open one heart. My preference would be to open one club and bid 1NT over one spade by partner. With K, A K 9 7, Q 9 8 4, A 1 0 9 6, some experts would open 1NT.

Souther dealer

Both sides vulnerable

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