4. Just as I thought I Had Seen Everything on the Zone...

5. Get More Bang for Your Buck from Our Bidding.

6. Good Cards.

7. Defensive Signaling.

6 That Ole Ace-King Thing. When you hold a suit headed by the Ace-King, which card do you lead? The lead of either the Ace or King has its advantages and disadvantages.

7 Wasted Values. Sometimes you and Pard may be bidding on the same cards. Is there a way to stay out of trouble? And how to you take full advantage of a perfect fit?

8 Trump Promotion. Even though you may be outgunned in the spade suit, there are still ways to win extra trump tricks -- if not for yourself, then for your partner!

9 Leading. There are still plenty of folks who lead the Queen or Jack from KQJx. Other players will cleverly select a different card each time. Does it matter? Which card is right? Check Jay Tomlinson's table of Standard Leads.

10 Can You Actually Have Great Results With a Pickup Partner? Certainly you can! But fresh partners need a bit of care and handling. Jay Tomlinson offers a few tips on playing with a stranger.

11 Just 12 Tricks If you don't like Spades puzzles you may skip this one. But if you enjoy such challenges, here is a truly elegant problem. Seeing all 52 cards, how do North and South win 12 tricks? It can be done, but it is not easy!

12 Squeeze Me Squeeze play at Spades is quite rare, and you can become an expert without knowing anything about squeezes. Still, if you pull one off, you definitely have something to brag about!

13 Singletons and Such We have all known Spades players who are grateful to be dealt a side-suit singleton because they now have no problem with their opening lead. But is it always right to lead a singleton? Jay has some thoughts on the matter.

14 Momma, Momma, I Don't Want to Ruff Right Now. You can often gain extra trump tricks by refusing to overtrump with a high spade. Read more about this type of strategy, known as trump promotion.

15 Present Count Here is more on Signaling. Jay takes an actual deal to show how various attitude and count signals can really pay off.

16 Opening Leads and Such The opening lead is always a piece of guesswork, but this article may suggest considerations that will help you narrow the choices.

17 Falsecards Throw the opponents off the scent! Read this article and learn an excellent trick for confusing the opposition.

18 Hand Evaluation This melange of tips includes advice on short-suit leads, avoidance, and assumptions.

19 Active or Passive? It's your lead and you don't have an AK combination or a singleton. You are forced to do something clever. Should you make an active or a passive lead?

20 The Obligatory Finesse Can you finesse against an opponent's Ace? Here is an unusual finessing situation that actually occurs quite frequently.

21 One is the Loneliest Number If you think Spades bidding offers few challenges, add the
N-1 Principle to your system, and combine it with the Spadesweiser signaling convention!

22 Have You Had Your Bath Yet? The Bath Coup is an interesting hold-up play used with great effectiveness by experts. Here's how it works.

23 Flip A Coin Have you and your favorite partner mastered the gentle art of signaling with high/low cards? Get even more versatility in signaling by incorporating Odd/Even Discard signals.

24 Duck Soup Everyone knows it is correct to play second-hand low, right? Here's how to take advantage of an opponent who plays low in second position!

25 Dang Me, Hang Me Anyone can make a wrong guess, especially if he takes plenty to time to think before he acts!

26 Here's MUD in your Eye The MUD lead convention has been around for a while, and some players find it useful. Here is a new twist on basic MUD.

27 Pip Tip 1 Events may not be going your way, but don't lose your head and make things worse. Stay, cool, calm, and collected.

28 Pip Tip 2 - Mirrors (under construction)

29 Pip Tip 3 - The Grand Illusion Here is a clever and useful device for setting up an extra winner. All it takes is a bit of hocus-pocus and misdirection.

30 Pip Tip 3 - Captaincy We have been waiting a long time for this one. Discussing the issue of captaincy can cement a good partnership into a formidable one.

31 Honor Leads and Continuations In which we extend our ability to show Pard our high-card holdings in a suit by subtle leads.

32 Building a Better Mousetrap Are you satisfied with your current bidding methods? Or do you feel that standard bidding has some major weaknesses? Read this treatise on bidding theory. It is original and potentially valuable.

33 A Subtle Signal When you take a discard your partner can well assume that your card has been carefully chosen to send a message. But will it be the right one? And can Pard read it the same way? You are the judge on this interesting deal.

34 13 Did you know there are two ways to divide the number 13? Well, two ways that apply to Spades. Jay will show you an aid to counting out a Spades hand.

35 I Saw the Light You can succeed on some Spades deals only if you have vast imagination. Half-vast is not good enough. Test yourself on this lively deal taken from actual play.

36 Jack, Tens, and Nines What does your partner have when he leads a Jack or a Ten? What are your options with A9xx? See if these lead conventions are helpful to you.

37 Two Ways to Win Find plays that put your opponents to a guess. Such plays reward you whenever they guess wrong!

38 The Cost of Being Wrong Did you make a wrong decision? Or did your decision turn out to be wrong? Jay explains the difference and how this understanding affects the rest of your game.

39 Hand Patterns - Part 1 I can tell you that hand patterns are important in Spades. Jay starts us on our journey in this worthwhile series.