When you pick up a one-in-a million hand such as South’s you have various options. You can be entirely honest and bid the value of your hand straight away (here 5 ♦); maybe the pponents will let you play there (in your dreams).

Alternatively you can bid beyond the value of your hand (6 ♦); this has a number of ways to win: the opponents may bid on, taking a phantom sacrifice of 7 ♣ [whereas if you bid 5 ♦, then 6 ♦over their 6 ♣, they will not then bid on to 7 ♣ (and you’d expect to go down one in 6 ♦)]; or they may let you play (in 6 ♦) and if dummy hits with an unexpected trick you make (as here). There is a third approach: the one taken by Coventry’s Martin Jones. The slow-play or sandbag. Popular in poker when you have the likely “nuts” (best hand), you underbid (2 ♦), planning to work up slowly. The opponents do not believe you have such a good hand given your low start and let you play prematurely (doubled) when they should be bidding on.

With clubs bid at every level from One to Six and Diamonds Two to Six, West led the king of clubs v 6 ♦ doubled. “I should have redoubled, “said Jones as the paltry dummy was tabled. Rosen thought he had to be joking and you can only imagine his face as declarer was claiming 12 tricks two seconds later – his second club ruffed in dummy.