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Dear Mr. Wolff: Playing in three no-trump, I was faced with the suit combination of K-7-4-2 facing Q-10-6-3. I led low to the king and ace. Was it a blind guess on the second round between finessing and playing for the drop of the jack? – Squashed Fly, Selma, Ala.

Answer: Think of this as an extension of the rule, “Eight ever, nine never,” which states that you nearly always finesse for a queen when missing five, but play for the drop missing four. For the same basic reason (the jack is likely to be with three cards onside, rather than with two cards offside), the finesse is the percentage play.

Dear Mr. Wolff: I picked up the following beautiful hand in second chair: ♠A-K-J-10-8-2, ♥A-Q-3, ♦K-7-4, ♣2. Should I have opened with a strong two? If one spade is right, what is the best continuation over my partner’s response of one no-trump? – Upwardly Mobile, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Answer: You are about half a trick short of a strong two-bid. (Change a small diamond to the queen, for example.) If you open one spade, you may have to close your eyes and jump to four spades over the response of one no-trump. It’s not elegant, I agree!

Dear Mr. Wolff: At a recent nationals, I attended an excellent piano recital given by one of the players. Do you play at all? And why do pianists outnumber other instrumentalists among tournament bridge players? – Tuned In, Winston-Salem, N.C.

Answer: Scott Waldron in the junior program is an accomplished violinist, and there are many fine singers, too. But piano dominates the bridge world, and I do not know why, nor, I suspect, does anyone else.

I’m inclined to think there is a link to mathematics. As for me, I do not play, but I enjoy listening.

Dear Mr. Wolff: I would appreciate your expert advice on a difference of opinion my partner and I have about using Puppet Stayman after a two-no-trump opening. He says that it can be initiated without a four-card major, whereas I feel you should have at least one four-card major! – Jimmy Riddle, Macon, Ga.

Answer: Puppet Stayman can be used to locate a 5-3 fit with no four-card major. It is more about what you are looking for than what you have shown yourself. Occasionally, if opener has 4-5 pattern in the majors, he may not be able to show his second suit for fear there is no fit, but that is one of the prices one pays for off-center openings.

Dear Mr. Wolff: With ♠A-K-7-2, ♥3, ♦Q-10-4, ♣A-Q-8-7-2, I doubled my RHO’s opening of one heart and heard my partner bid one spade. Opinions in our little group now varied dramatically as to whether I should now pass, bid two spades, cue-bid, or jump to three spades. What say you? – All Over the Place, Wichita Falls, Texas

Answer: Partner’s range for the one-spade call is maybe 0-9 points. Since you are only interested in game facing the very top of his range, a simple raise to two spades would surely suffice now. Passing would be pessimistic; anything more than the raise, too much.