(b) Three suits stopped and his hand contains an Ace.

(c) Three King suits, all of which contain in addition either Queen or Knave.

(d) A solid five-card Club or Diamond suit and another Ace.

The first question to determine is what, from the standpoint of the Declarer, constitutes a guarded or stopped suit.

That an Ace comes under that head is self-evident.

So also must a King, if accompanied by one small, because the lead comes up to the Declarer, and the King must either be able to win the trick or be made good.

A Queen and one other manifestly will not stop a suit, and a Queen and two others is not apt to do so unless the leader hold both Ace and King. Queen and three others is, however, comparatively safe, and Queen, Knave, and one other is a most satisfactory guard.

Knave, Ten, and two others surely stops a suit, but Knave and three small is about as unreliable as Queen and two small. It, therefore, becomes evident that the Dealer, to count a suit as stopped, must have in it one of the following holdings:—

Some experts, with three suits stopped, bid No-trump with exactly an average hand, but experience has shown that this is advisable only when supported by exceptional skill, and cannot be recommended to most players. The average holding of high cards is one Ace, one King, one Queen, and one Knave. From the average standpoint it is immaterial whether they are all in one suit or divided. Any hand containing a face card or Ace above this average is a No-trumper, whenever it complies with the other above-mentioned requirements. When the average is exceeded by holding two Aces, instead of an Ace and King, a No-trump should be called, but two Kings, instead of a King and Queen, or even a King and Knave, is a very slight margin, and the declaration is doubtful for any but the most expert. A hand with two Queens instead of one Queen and one Knave, while technically above the average, cannot be so considered when viewed from a trick-taking standpoint, and does not warrant a No-trump call.