The strength take-out, above advocated, applies only to Spades and Hearts. With Diamonds and Clubs, at a love score, the distance to go for game is in most cases too great to make it advisable, but the weakness take-out should be used equally with any one of the four suits, as it is a defensive, not an offensive, declaration. With a score, Clubs and Diamonds possess the same value that Hearts and Spades have at love, and should be treated similarly.
WHEN TO OVERBID WITH STRONG CLUBS
The question of whether the Third Hand, with strong Clubs, should overbid his partner's No-trump has aroused considerable discussion. The argument in favor of such a declaration in Clubs, which does not apply to any other suit, is that the difference between a strength and a weakness overbid can be made apparent by calling three and two respectively, and yet the show of strength will not force the Dealer higher than two No-trumps, when his hand is such that the announcement that the Third Hand holds strong Clubs, but nothing else, makes the return to No-trump advisable.
On this basis of reasoning some believe in calling three Clubs whenever an otherwise trickless Third Hand contains five or more Clubs headed by Ace, King, Queen. This, it is conceded, only results advantageously when the No-trump has been called with one suit unguarded, and Clubs is one of the protected suits. When the No-trump has been declared with such a hand as
| Spades | Ace, King, X |
| Hearts | X |
| Diamonds | Ace, King, Knave, X, X |
| Clubs | Knave, Ten, X, X |
the employment of such a system of declaration is exceptionally advantageous; as the game is assured in Clubs, while if the No-trump be left in, the adversaries will probably save it by making all their Hearts before the Declarer secures the lead.
It is admitted that this case is somewhat unusual, but the advocates of the system, conceding this, argue it is advantageous to have this bid in the repertory, and, in the exceptional instance, to obtain the benefit, which is bound to ensue from its use. The contention is that it can do no harm, with such a Club holding, to force the partner to two No-trumps, if he have all the other suits stopped, and the fact that three Clubs is called with strength more clearly accentuates the principle that the two Club takeout means nothing but weakness.
Admitting the force of this argument, and conceding that the system advocated should be universally adopted were there not a wiser use for the three Club take-out, first brings forth the question of whether the case does not more frequently arise in which the long Club holding of the Third Hand is headed by King and Queen, and is it not much more probable, when the Third Hand has long Clubs, that the No-trump maker has the suit stopped with the Ace than with four headed by Knave, Ten?
It must be remembered that the three Club take-out with Ace, King, Queen, at the head of five or more, is only advantageous when the No-trump has been called with a hand in which only three suits are stopped, of which the Club is one. If the Club be the suit unstopped, the call merely forces an advance in the No-trump.
If, however, the convention be to use three Clubs to overbid the partner's No-trump only when holding an otherwise trickless hand which contains either at least five Clubs headed by King, Queen, Knave, or at least six headed by King, Queen, would not the number of instances in which the call proves of benefit appreciably increase, and would not every reason applicable in the former case be even more forceful in the latter?