The one bridge resolution I made years ago was that if you have a 5-4 fit in a suit, play for the drop (i.e. play for the outstanding cards to be 2-2) unless there is a huge reason not to. The one time I deviated from my resolution was in Hungary, in a very strong teams tournament. I bid a rather optimistic grandslam, missing the Queen of trumps, and I froze when drawing trump. Resolutions were forgotten and as I sat there wondering what on earth to do, I didn’t play them to split and I went down! Hero to zero in one card. Obvs I was the only nutter to bid it.
A good principle is not to let the opps lead you away from a good plan (see diagram).
Pre-empts vary, but with an 8-bagger and an Ace, 4 Spades can’t be too dangerous. West leads the ◆Q, ducked all around, and the next Diamond goes to East, who plays a Club.
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