In a suit contract, declarer should count losing tricks in each suit rather than winners, then look for ways to discard or ruff those losers before touching trumps. This loser-count reframes planning around the specific cards that can be eliminated instead of the tricks already secure.
The trick-taking value of high cards depends on the surrounding holdings: isolated honors facing weakness underperform their point count, while honors sitting over the opponent who bid the suit capture more than their nominal worth. Point count is therefore a starting estimate to be adjusted up or down for position and concentration, not a final valuation.
A bid is a message in a shared code whose meaning is defined by prior partnership agreement, so its informational content to the partner matters more than the bidder's immediate wish to reach a particular contract. Effective bidding treats each call as describing the hand within that system rather than directly naming the result one hopes for.