INFERENCES REGARDING THE MAKE
In many hands the declaration and the cards in dummy will show you the dealer’s probable strength; and will also suggest the number of trumps held by your partner.
For instance, should you hold three trumps with three in the dummy, you cannot expect your partner to hold more than two trumps, allowing for at least five in the dealer’s hand.
Should you hold four trumps, with three on the table, your partner cannot have more than one; he may have none.
Although at times you can place high cards in the trump suit, it is difficult to locate honours in a “no-trump” hand. However, keeping the general rules for the make in view, you can form some idea of the adversary’s strength.
When the dealer has passed the make you can often infer from his subsequent play the absence of certain cards. For instance, should the dealer, having passed the make, play two aces, he probably does not hold much strength in the other two suits.