Playing in trump suits can be frustrating. Teachers will always tell you to make a plan. Sounds easy. We can even break it down into steps:

1) Count your losers (in notrump we count winners)

2) Figure out what to do about those losers

3) Decide whether you can draw trump or not

That's the basis for a pretty good plan. The train can go off the tracks at any point, unfortunately. Sometimes it's difficult even to count losers (4-4 fits, for example). It can be difficult to see ways to get rid of losers and with some trump holdings, we don't always know if it's safe to attempt to draw them.

There's another way around, though it's a little counterintuitive. Instead of counting losers, count tricks. Yes, this goes against our standard planning, but occasionally it will simplify our approach.

Vul: Dlr:	1053 76 AK98 A765
KJ96 J8 Q742 Q108		84 AQ1032 K103 KJ2
	AQ72 K954 65 943