Both tables in a team competition reached three no trump on this deal. Both declarers ducked the opening diamond king lead and won the diamond queen continuation with the ace. Both declarers saw that five club tricks would see the contract home easily. This was a good chance, as three missing cards in a suit will split 2-1 78 percent of the time. A 3-0 split can be handled provided declarer cashes the right top honor first and then finesses against the missing queen.

The first declarer saw this as an easy problem. West had the long hearts, shown by his overcall, therefore East was more likely to have length in clubs. He led a low club to dummy’s king and was devastated when East showed out. The best he could do at this point was to cash his winners and settle for down three. The second declarer was in no rush to play on clubs. He knew West had the long hearts and he set out to see what else he could learn. He cashed two top spades and saw West discard a heart on the second spade. If West was also void in clubs, he would have 12 cards in the red suits and would have bid a second time in the auction. Declarer cashed the ace of clubs and was rewarded when East discarded. A simple finesse for the queen of clubs was followed by a claim. Well played!

Starting with a club to the king offered a great chance for success, but there was no rush to play on clubs. On this deal, a little patience carried a great reward along with it.