North-South vulnerable.  
North deals.
                              North
                              S: 9                
                              H: A K 9 6 4   
                              D: J 10 9 5 4  
                              C: J 6     
            West                             East
            S: 8 6 3                         S: 7 5 4        
            H: 10 8 3                        H: J 7 5 2    
            D: K Q 8                         D: A 6 3             
            C: A 8 7 5                       C: 10 9 3      
                              South                         
                              S: A K Q J 10 2
                              H: Q          
                              D: 7 2       
                              C: K Q 4 2  
          The Bidding:  
                  North    East    South    West                  
                   Pass    Pass     1S      Pass
                    2H     Pass     3C      Pass
                    3D     Pass     3S  (All Pass)
          Opening lead: DK
     This is an interesting deal from a team game.  I held the
North cards.  My partner opened one spade and as a passed hand I
took some liberty and bid two hearts.  I should have ten high
card points for this bid but I had to make a bid and this seemed
like the smallest lie.  Partner bids three clubs and I think he
is telling me that he has a decent hand so I bid three diamonds. 
It is not that I am enamored with my diamond holding, but I have
to make a bid and this may allow partner to bid three no trump.
     Partner bids three spades and I am out of options.  I am
assuming that he is holding six spades and four clubs but I think
he has only thirteen or fourteen points so I pass.
     As you can see from the diagram, partner loses two diamonds
and the ace of clubs, making four for plus 170.  This is not a
good score for a team event.  In fact, it is not a good score for
matchpoints either.  If you have a suit that will stand by itself
and you can add your points to what your partner has shown and
come up with game values, just bid the game.
     But there is another point to this hand.  So many times when
something like this happens you become discouraged and as a
result, you may not give your best effort on the next couple of
hands.  Try to remember that a team game is just that - a team
effort.  Do the best you can do on every hand and let the last
hand go back into the board and be forgotten.
     When the round was over and we got back together with our
team mates we told them that we were plus 170 on this hand.  They
said that they were plus 200.  It seems that our opponents had
been even more aggressive than we had been and they got to six
spades, down two.
     You just never know!  
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