02.04.13 Board 20

V North ♠ A 10 7 ♥ J 9 7 2 ♦ 10 9 ♣ Q J 6 4
D V West ♠ Q J 6 5 ♥ K 10 4 ♦ A J 7 4 2 ♣ 5	Board20	V East ♠ K 9 8 4 2 ♥ 8 3 ♦ K 6 ♣ K 9 7 2
	V South ♠ 3 ♥ A Q 6 5 ♦ Q 8 5 3 ♣ A 10 8 3	8 9 11 12

I am writing about this hand to illustrate a principle about opening fourth in hand.

I suspect that most players West players would open one diamond as dealer. However, at our table, there were three passes to South. I passed the hand out because my singleton was in spades. At most tables, East played in 2S making with overtricks due to the fortunate lie of the cards. So we achieved a good pairs score.

The point I wish to make is that, where the points are equally shared between the two partnerships, the side with a spade fit will usually win the contract. Therefore, if you do not have spades, you need a good hand to open in 4th position. 

A good rule of thumb is the "rule of 15". You should open in 4th position only if your high card points plus your number of spades equals 15. The extra "spade points" are sometimes known as "Pearson points".