“What would you call a Christmas wreath decorated with $100 bills,” Cy the Cynic asked me in the club lounge.

“I fear you’re going to tell me,” I said.

“A wreath-a Franklins,” Cy chortled.

The stakes in my club’s cut-around Chicago game are far from $100 a point, but Cy still manages to lose substantially. He is apt to seize on a line of play or defense without adequate thought. Cy was declarer at today’s four hearts — East-West had opened the bidding and responded with next to nothing — and West led the king of spades. The Cynic took dummy’s ace and cashed the K-Q of trumps. When East discarded, Cy tried a spade to the ten.

West ruffed and led his last trump, and Cy was doomed to go down one. He had to lose a spade to East plus a club and a diamond.

Cy made a typical hasty and losing play: He must let West’s king win the first spade. Suppose West shifts to a trump. Cy can draw trumps and go to the ace of spades. Then he can finesse with his ten of spades and wind up losing only one trick in each side suit.

Daily question: You hold: ? Q 10 5 3 ? A 10 6 4 2 ? A 5 ? A 9. You open one heart, and your partner bids one spade. The opponents pass. What do you say?

Answer: Your hand is worth much more than its point-count suggests. You have only 14 high-card points, but they comprise aces and the queen of your partner’s long suit. You have possible ruffing values in both minor suits, and your ten of spades may be a factor. Raise to three spades. Partner would pass two spades with many hands where a game contract would be a favorite.

West dealer

N-S vulnerable

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