[Illustration:
🃎 🃋 🃊 🃆
]
The _=Ace=_ should not be led if it can be avoided; but it is better
to lead it from suits of more than four cards, so as to make it at
once. If the Ace is accompanied by the King, the King is the card to
lead, not the Ace. If the Ace is accompanied by other honours, such as
the Queen or Jack, it is better to avoid opening the suit, unless you
have five or more cards of it. But if you do lead a suit headed by the
Ace, _=without the King=_, be sure that you lead the Ace, when playing
against a trump declaration, or you may never make it.
All such combinations as the following should be avoided, if possible,
as more can be made out of them by letting them alone:--
[Illustration:
🃑 🃝 🃚 🃔 | 🃞 🃛 🃘 🃔
🂱 🂻 🂺 🂴 | 🂽 🂻 🂶 🂴
🂮 🂨 🂧 🂤 | 🂫 🂪 🂩 🂤
🃍 🃆 🃅 🃄 | 🃊 🃉 🃈 🃄
]
But with three honours, A Q J, the Ace should be led.
_=Rules for Leading Short Suits.=_ It will sometimes happen that the
only four-card suit in the leader’s hand will be trumps or a suit
headed by honours not in sequence, which it is not desirable to lead.
In such cases, if there is no high-card combination in any of the
short suits, it is usual to lead the highest card, unless it is an Ace
or King. Many good players will not lead the Queen from a three-card
suit, unless it is accompanied by the Jack. All such leads are called
_=forced=_, and are intended to assist the partner, by playing cards
which may strengthen him, although of no use to the leader. The best
card should be led from any such combinations as the following:--
[Illustration:
🃝 🃛 🃖 | 🃊 🃉 🃄
🃋 🃊 🃅 | 🃙 🃘 🃔
🂫 🂥 🂣 | 🂷 🂶 🂴
]
_=Small-card Leads.=_ If the suit selected for the lead does not
contain any combination of high cards from which it would be right
to lead a high card, good players make it a rule to begin with the
fourth-best, counting from the top of the suit. This is called the
“card of uniformity,” because it indicates to the partner that there
are remaining in the leader’s hand exactly three cards higher than the
one led.
Should the player be forced to lead any of the undesirable combinations
shown on the last page, he would begin with the Ace if he held it;
otherwise he would lead the fourth-best. In each of the hands shown
this would be the four, and this card would be led, even if there were
five or six cards in the suit. From this hand, for instance, the five
is the proper lead:--
[Illustration:
🃎 🃈 🃆 🃅 🃄 🃃 🃂
]
_=Rules for Leading Second Round.=_ If the leader wins the first trick,
having the best of the suit in his hand, he should follow with the
winning card; but if he has several cards which are equally winning
cards, he should lead the lowest of them. This is an indication to the
partner that the card led is as good as the best; therefore the leader
must hold the intermediate cards. When a King wins, your partner knows
you have the Ace, if he does not hold it. Then tell him what he does
not know, that you have the Queen also.
Suppose you have led the King from these combinations:--
[Illustration:
🂱 🂾 🂽 🂻 | 🂡 🂮 🂭 🂢
]
Your partner knows you have the Ace, because your King wins. From the
first, go on with the Jack, which is just as good as the Ace, but tells
your partner you have not only the Ace but the Queen, still in your
hand. From the second, go on with the Queen, the card your partner does
not know, which tells him you still have the Ace, _=but not the Jack=_.
If you have not the Queen, you will have to go on with the Ace, and
your leading the Ace _=will deny the Queen=_.
If you have not the best, lead one of the second and third-best, if you
hold both:--
[Illustration:
🃞 🃝 🃛 🃚 | 🂾 🂽 🂻 🂲
]
From the first of these, having led the King, if it wins, go on with
the ten, whether you have any smaller cards or not. From the second,
if the King wins, go on with the Jack, which denies the ten, but tells
your partner you still have the Queen. No mistake is more common
among beginners than leading a low card on the second round, on the
assumption that the partner must have the Ace. If you have led from
King and Queen only, you must go on with the fourth-best; because you
have not both the second and third-best. This fourth-best is the card
that was the fourth-best originally. Having led the King from this:--
[Illustration:
🃎 🃍 🃈 🃆 🃅 🃃
]
the card to follow the King is the six, if the King wins the first
trick.
_=The Fourth-best.=_ From any combination of cards, if you have not the
best, or both the second and third-best, in your hand for the second
round, lead your original fourth-best. From all the following, the
proper lead on the second round would be the fourth-best, in each case
the four of the suit:
[Illustration:
🂡 🂭 🂧 🂤 🂢 | 🂾 🂽 🂸 🂴
🃁 🃋 🃉 🃄 🃃 | 🂮 🂭 🂧 🂤
🃑 🃙 🃘 🃔 🃓 | 🃎 🃋 🃊 🃄
]
_=Leading Trumps.=_ A trump lead is sometimes adopted when all the
plain suits are bad ones to lead away from, such as A Q, or A J, or K
J in each and no length. If a player holds high cards which are not in
sequence, such as the major tenace, ace and queen, it is very probable
that the declarer holds the king. By refusing to lead such suits, and
waiting for them to come up to the tenace, the declarer’s high card may
be caught and a valuable trick saved. When a good player opens his hand
with a trump, right up to the declaration, his partner should lead his
best supporting cards boldly up to dummy’s weak suits.
_=The Pone’s Leads.=_ When the pone gets into the lead, if he does not
return his partner’s suit, he should open his own suits according to
the rules already given for all the high-card combinations. If he has
no high-card combination, it is usually better for him to lead some
card that will beat Dummy than to lead his fourth-best. Suppose he
wishes to lead a diamond, in which he holds Q 10 8 4 3; Dummy having
the 9 and 6 only. It is better to lead the ten of diamonds than the
fourth-best, because if the declarer does not follow with an honour,
your partner will not have to sacrifice an honour to keep Dummy from
winning the trick with the 9.
After the opening lead, when Dummy’s cards are exposed, the knowledge
of his cards may change the aspect of the game greatly; but the proper
cards to lead to and through Dummy will be better understood in
connection with the play against no-trumpers.
_=No-trump Leads.=_ The chief difference in the leads against
no-trumpers is, that there is no hurry to make your aces and kings, the
chief thing being to make some of the smaller cards good for tricks.
When you are long in a suit, if you lead out the winning cards first,
your partner may have none to lead you later on, and if you cannot make
every trick in the suit before you lose the lead, you may never make
anything but your one or two high cards.
The difference in the leads at no-trump is covered by a very simple
rule; if you have only two honours in sequence, do not lead either of
them, but begin with the fourth-best, even if your honours are the Ace
and King. But if you have three honours in the suit, two of them in
sequence, always lead an honour against a no-trumper.
The exception to this rule is, that when you are so long in the suit
that you may catch some high cards with your high cards, you lead them
first. With six or seven in suit to the A K, for instance, lead the
King, on the chance of dropping the Queen. With seven in suit headed
by the Ace, lead the Ace, but never with less than seven without the
King. With six in suit, you may lead the King from K Q, without either
Jack or 10; but with less than six in suit never lead the King from K Q
unless you have the 10 or the J also.
_=THIRD HAND PLAY.=_ The leader’s partner must do his best to inform
his partner as to the distribution of his suit. The method of doing
this is entirely different when there is a trump from that which is
adopted when there is no trump. In the first case, all your partner
wants to know is, who is going to trump his suit if he goes on with it.
In the second case, what he wants to know is his chance for getting his
suit cleared or established.
_=With a Trump.=_ When third hand makes no attempt to win the trick,
either because his partner’s or Dummy’s card is better than any he need
play, he plays the higher of two cards only, the lowest of three or
more. This is called playing _=down and out=_. Suppose third hand holds
7 and 2 only, and the lead is a King. The 7 is played. The leader goes
on with the Ace, denying the Queen, and the third hand plays the deuce.
If the Queen is not in the Dummy, the declarer must have it. In any
case, the leader knows that if he goes on, his partner, the third hand,
can trump that suit.
With three cards, the lowest falling to the first round, followed by a
higher card, will show the leader that the third hand still has another
of that suit.
It is not necessary to play down and out with an honour, because the
leader can read the situation without it. Suppose third hand holds the
J 5. He plays the 5 to the first round, because one of his two cards is
an honour. The leader goes on with the Ace, and the Jack falls. Now
the third hand must have the Queen or no more, and no matter which it
is he can win the third round, with the Queen or with a trump.
_=Against No-Trumpers.=_ When there is no trump, the third hand uses
what is called the _=Foster echo=_. This consists in playing always the
_=second-best=_ of the suit, when no attempt is made to win the trick.
Suppose the leader begins with the King. Third hand holds 10 8 7 4, and
plays the 8. This marks him with only one card higher than the 8, and
is a great exposer of false cards played by the declarer.
On the second round, the rule is, always to keep the lowest card of the
suit until the last. If third hand held four originally, 10 8 7 4, his
play to the second round is the 7, keeping the 4. If he held 10 8 7
only, his play to the second round would be the 10, keeping the 7. This
makes it clear to the leader how many and what he holds.
_=High Cards Third Hand.=_ When the third hand tries to win his
partner’s lead, he does so as cheaply as possible. That is, holding
both King and Queen, he plays the Queen, not the King. If his cards are
not in sequence, he should always play the best he has. With Ace and
Queen, for instance, he must play the Ace if the King is not in the
Dummy. To play the Queen would be to throw it away if the declarer has
the King. If the leader has the King, third hand gets out of his way by
giving up the Ace.
_=FOSTER’S ELEVEN RULE.=_ In trying to win tricks as cheaply as
possible, third hand may often be guided by the Eleven Rule, which can
be applied to any lead of a small card.
By deducting from eleven the number of pips on any low card led by his
partner, the pone may ascertain to a certainty how many cards there are
_=higher than the one led=_, which are not in the leader’s hand. This
rule, which was invented by R.F. Foster in 1881, in connection with the
game of whist, is now used by everyone with any pretensions to being a
bridge player. The rule itself is this:--
When the eldest hand leads any card which is not an honour, deduct the
spots on it from eleven. From the remainder thus found, deduct the
number of cards, _=higher than the one led=_, which are not in your own
hand nor in Dummy’s in that suit. This final remainder is the number
of cards which are in the declarer’s hand which are higher than the
card led. The principal thing to remember is, that it is only the cards
higher than the one led that you need trouble about. To illustrate:--
Suppose you are third hand, and your partner leads the seven of clubs,
Dummy lays down the Q 9 2, and you hold A J 3, thus:--
[Illustration:
🃗
Leader
Dummy 🃝 🃙 🃒
Third hand.
🃑 🃛 🃓
]
Deducting seven from eleven, you find it leaves four. These four cards,
higher than the one lead, are all in sight, Q 9 in Dummy; A J in your
own hand, therefore the declarer cannot have any card higher than the
seven. If he has, your partner’s lead is not his fourth-best, as you
will see if you lay out the cards.
_=RETURNING SUITS.=_ When the third hand returns his partner’s suit, he
should lead the higher of two cards, and the lowest of three, unless
he has a card which will beat anything Dummy may hold in the suit, in
which case he should _=always beat Dummy=_.
_=PLAYING AGAINST DUMMY.=_ Some of the fine points in bridge arise in
situations which require a careful consideration of the Dummy’s cards.
There are three great principles in playing against Dummy:--
1st. Lead through the strong suits, and up to the weak.
2nd. Do not lead through a fourchette.
3rd. Do not lead up to a tenace.
These rules must not be blindly followed in every instance. They are
simply general principles, and some of the prettiest _=coups=_ arise
from the exceptional cases.
_=Leading Through Dummy.=_ The eldest hand, when he does not deem it
advisable to go on with his own suit, may be guided in his choice by
the strength or weakness of certain suits in Dummy’s hand. The play
against Dummy is especially important at no trumps.
Suits which it is good policy to lead through are A x x x, K x x x, or
any broken sequences of high cards.
Suits in which Dummy is long, or holds any of the regular high-card
combinations, should be avoided; winning or high sequences being
especially dangerous. To lead such suits through Dummy’s strength is an
invitation to partner to force you in the suit led.
It is not necessary for you to be strong in a suit which you lead
through Dummy; and if you are both weak, is often advantageous;
especially if it avoids leading one of his strong suits.
With A Q 10 x; Dummy having J x x x; play the 10. If partner has the
King you make every trick in the suit.
With A Q 10 x; Dummy having K x x; play the Q. If Dummy passes, you
make two tricks; if he covers, you have tenace over the Jack.
With A 10 9 x; Dummy having J x x x; play the 10. If partner has the K,
your A 9 is tenace over the Q.
With A J 10 x; Dummy having Q x x x; if the suit must be led, play the
Jack; but such positions should be avoided, except in the end game, or
when you play for every trick.
With A J 10 x; Dummy having no honour in the suit; if you must lead the
suit, play the 10.
In trumps, with K Q x x; Dummy having A J x x; play the Queen. If Dummy
wins with A, play a small card for the second round, and he may refuse
to put on the J. The declarer not having the 10, would make Dummy
cover; but nothing is lost if he does, and it marks the 10 with your
partner.
With King and others of a suit in which Dummy has not the Ace; avoid
leading the suit until the Ace has fallen.
With King alone, play it if Dummy has the Ace; keep it if he has not.
_=Trumps.=_ If a player in this position is strong in trumps, he should
keep quiet about it and let the maker of the trumps develop the suit.
False-carding is perfectly legitimate in trumps, and will deceive the
declarer more than your partner.
_=End Games.=_ There are cases in which it is necessary to play as if
partner was known to possess a certain card, for unless he has it the
game is lost. For instance: You want one trick, and have Q 10 x x,
Dummy having K x x, of an unplayed suit. The Queen is the best play;
for if partner has any honour you must get a trick; otherwise it is
impossible.
You have K x in one suit, a losing card in another, and a winning card.
You want all four tricks to save the game. Play the King, and then the
small card; for if your partner has not the Ace and another winning
card you must lose the game.
You have a losing trump, and Q x x of a suit in which Dummy has K 10
x. If you want one trick, play the losing trump, counting on partner
for an honour in the plain suit. If you must have two tricks, lead the
Queen, trusting your partner to hold Ace.
_=Leading up to Dummy.=_ The best thing for the third hand, or pone, to
do, when he does not return his partner’s suit, and has no very strong
suit of his own, is to lead up to Dummy’s weak suits, and to lead a
card that Dummy cannot beat, if possible.
The general principle of leading up to weakness suggests that we should
know what weakness is. Dummy may be considered weak in suits of which
he holds three or four small cards, none higher than an 8; Ace and one
or two small cards; or King and one or two small cards. In leading up
to such suits, your object should be to give your partner a finesse,
if possible; and in calculating the probabilities of success it must
be remembered that there are only two unknown hands, so that it is an
equal chance that he holds either of two unknown cards. It is 3 to 1
against his holding both, or against his holding neither. Of three
unknown cards, it is 7 to 1 against his holding all three, or none of
them; or about an equal chance that he holds two of the three; or one
only.
If Dummy holds any of the weak suits just given, you holding nothing
higher than the Ten, you should lead it. Suppose you have 10 9 6; Dummy
having A 3 2. The K Q J may be distributed in eight different ways, in
any of which your partner will pass your Ten if second hand does not
cover. In four cases, second hand would cover with the King, and in one
with the Queen and Jack. In the remaining three your partner’s hand
would be benefited.
If Dummy has King and one or two small cards, it is not so
disadvantageous to lead up to the King as would at first appear;
because it is forced out of his hand on the first round, unless
declarer plays Ace, and it is usually good policy to force out Dummy’s
cards of re-entry early in the hand.
In leading from high-card combinations, the usual bridge leads should
be followed; but exceptions must be made on the second round when
certain cards are in Dummy’s hand. For instance: With A K J and others,
it is usual to stop after the first round, and wait for the finesse
of the Jack. This is obviously useless if the Queen is not in Dummy’s
hand. So with K Q 10, unless Dummy has the Jack; or K Q 9, unless Dummy
has the 10. The lead from A Q J should be avoided if Dummy has the King.
With A Q 10 and others, J in Dummy’s hand, begin with the Queen.
With A J 9 and others, 10 in Dummy’s hand, lead the Jack.
With A J 10, Dummy having K Q x, play the Jack, and do not lead the
suit again.
In trumps, with K Q and others, if Dummy has the J singly guarded,
begin with the King as usual, but follow it with the Queen instead of
the smallest; for declarer may have passed in the hope of making a Bath
coup with both Ace and Jack. In plain suits this is a dangerous lead,
as declarer having Ace, and wishing to force Dummy, would hold his Ace
as a matter of course.
With short suits, such as K x, Q x; or even with King or Queen alone,
the honour is a good lead if Dummy has no court cards in the suit. The
Queen is rather a better lead than the King, the only danger being that
second hand holds fourchette.
With Q J x, or J 10 x, one of the high cards should be played. With Q
10 x, Dummy having Ace or King, the Queen should be led.
With K 10 x, Dummy having Jack, the suit should not be led.
With such combinations as K x x x, Dummy having Q x, the suit should
not be led.
When you have a suit which is both long and strong, such as A K x x
x, and Dummy has no honour in the suit, it is a common artifice to
underplay, by beginning with the smallest, if playing against no-trumps
and you have a card of re-entry. This should not be done unless you
have the general strength to justify such a finesse.
If you open a long suit, Dummy having only small cards, and your
partner wins with Q, J, or 10, and does not return it, he has evidently
a finesse in the suit and wants it led again.
_=End Games.=_ In the end game there are several variations which are
made possible by the fact that the cards on your right are exposed.
With A J x, Dummy having Q x x, the small card should be led.
With Q x, and an odd card, Dummy having K x x of the first suit; it is
better to play the odd card; but if for any reason this should not be
done, lead the Q, hoping to find A 10 with your partner.
The state of the score must be a constant guide in all end games. For
instance: You hold Q 10 x, Dummy having J 9 x. If you want only one
trick, play the Queen; but if you want two, play the small card.
_=SECOND HAND PLAY.=_ The easiest position to play as second hand, is,
of course, with the Dummy on your left, because Dummy’s cards will
show what is best to be done. If a small card is led, you having King,
put it on if Dummy has not the Ace; unless you want partner to get the
lead. If Dummy has only two cards of the suit, neither of them the Ace,
always play your King.
When the declarer leads a suit it is often important to count how many
he and your partner can possibly hold. For instance: You have four, K
x x x; Dummy has four, A J 10 x, and declarer leads the Queen. It is
useless to play your King; for either the Queen is a singleton, and
the declarer cannot continue the suit, which will compel Dummy to lead
it to you eventually; or, the third round will be trumped, perhaps by
your partner. If you have only two small cards with the King, put it on
the Queen. You cannot save it, but you may establish your partner’s 9.
In the last three tricks, if you find yourself with a doubtful card,
and the best and a small card of a suit which the declarer leads
through you, win the trick and lead the doubtful card, for if the
declarer held the best of that suit he would have led it first, to be
sure of a trick.
_=Dummy on the Right.=_ When Dummy leads through you, your skill in
avoiding any traps the declarer may be setting for you will depend on
your knowledge of how he manages his hand, and your ability to infer
what he holds.
As a general principle, it may be assumed that any high card led by
Dummy forms part of a combination, the unseen part of which is in the
declarer’s hand. If Dummy leads a Queen from Q x x, you holding A J x,
it is almost a certainty that the declarer holds the King. If you have
A K x, the dealer must have J 10 and several others. If you have K x x,
the declarer probably holds Ace, or a long suit headed by J 10.
When Dummy leads strengthening cards, they must be to give the declarer
a finesse. If he leads a small card from small cards, some high-card
combination must be in the declarer’s hand. In such cases it is useless
for you to finesse. If you have any sequence superior to the card
led, cover with the lowest. There should be no false-carding in this,
because your partner is the only one that can be deceived.
With A K and others, play the King, whatever Dummy leads.
With A Q and others, Dummy having nothing higher than the 9, play the
Ace.
With K Q 10, play the Queen on a small card led, unless Dummy has the
Jack.
With A J 10 x, play Ace if Dummy has no honour in the suit. But if
Dummy leads the 9, cover with the 10; if it loses, you lie tenace over
the declarer.
With A J x, play the Jack on a 9 led. This prevents the finesse of the
9, and retains command of the suit. If Dummy has both K and Q, play
your Ace. It is useless to play the Bath coup, for the declarer knows
your cards, and your partner only is deceived.
With K x x, if Dummy has not the Ace, do not play the King, no matter
what is led.
With Q x x, unless Dummy has both A and K, do not play the Queen. If
your partner has the Jack guarded, one of you must make a trick. If
Dummy has A J, and leads J, put on the Queen; it may make the 9 or 10
good in your partner’s hand.
With A x x, Dummy leading Jack, play the Ace.
With any fourchette, cover the card led.
If Dummy remains with one or two small cards of a suit that has been
led, and you have the best, play it on the second round. Dummy’s play
is evidently for the ruff, and if the declarer has not the second best,
your partner has.
If you have King, and only one or two small cards, Dummy leading Queen
from Q 10 x x, play your King. You cannot save yourself; but you may
make the 9 good in partner’s hand. If you have three or more small
cards, do not play the King, for either partner or the declarer must be
short in the suit. So if Dummy leads Jack from J 10 and others, play
the King with a short suit. If partner has Queen you establish it; if
not, you cannot make a trick in the suit.
With short suits it is usually best to cover an honour with an honour;
but with several small cards, such as K x x x, Dummy leading a
singleton Queen, you should pass.
With K 10 x, Dummy having J and others, play honour on honour; small
card on small card, whichever Dummy leads.
It is often important for the second hand to cover with what is called
an _=imperfect fourchette=_. A true fourchette is the card immediately
above and below the one led; such as K J over the Q, or Q 10 over the
J. An imperfect fourchette is the card above the one led, and another
next but one below it; such as K 10 over a Q led, or Q 9 over a J led.
Covering forces the opponents to play two honours to win one trick, and
will often make an intermediate card good in your partner’s hand.