Playing a hand
In brief
- Before playing the first card from dummy, declarer counts their tricks (in notrump) or their losers (in a suit contract) and makes a plan.
- The finesse consists of leading toward an honor, hoping the opponent's higher honor is well placed: it works about half the time.
- Against notrump, the defense often leads its longest suit; against a suit contract, it looks for quick tricks or ruffs.
The opening lead
The opening lead is the only card played without seeing dummy. A few principles, valid in most cases:
- Top of a sequence: with K-Q-J or Q-J-10, lead the highest honor. It costs nothing and sets up tricks.
- Against notrump: the longest suit, often the fourth card from the top Convention: 4th best.
- Against a suit contract: avoid leading away from an ace; a singleton may aim for a ruff; the suit named by partner is often a good choice.
Spades: king, queen, jack, ten, four. Hearts: eight, three. Diamonds: nine, seven, five, two. Clubs: six, four.
With K-Q-J-10-4 in spades, lead the king of spades: once the ace has fallen, the three remaining honors become winners.
Declarer's plan
In notrump, count the sure tricks: those you can cash without giving up the lead. If you are short, choose the suits to establish, making sure the opponents cannot cash enough tricks in the meantime. In a suit contract, count the losers in declarer's hand instead, then look for ways to eliminate them: a ruff in dummy, a discard on an established suit, a finesse.
Spades: ace, queen, four. Hearts: king, jack, five. Diamonds: queen, nine, six, three. Clubs: king, jack, two. 16 HCP.
Spades: six, five, three. Hearts: ten, seven, four, two. Diamonds: ten, four, two. Clubs: ace, seven, three. 4 HCP.
Spades: jack, ten, nine, seven. Hearts: ace, eight, six. Diamonds: ace, eight, seven. Clubs: ten, nine, six. 9 HCP.
Spades: king, eight, two. Hearts: queen, nine, three. Diamonds: king, jack, five. Clubs: queen, eight, five, four. 11 HCP.
Contract: 3NT played by North. Opening lead: East.
| West | North | East | South |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1NT | Pass | 3NT | |
| Pass | Pass | Pass |
North plays 3NT on the lead of the jack of spades. The sure tricks: the ace, king and queen of spades, so three. Six tricks are missing. By driving out the ace of diamonds, then the ace of clubs, North wins three tricks in each minor: 3 + 3 + 3 = 9. With all the cards visible, the contract makes 10 tricks.
The finesse
With A-Q in dummy and the opponents holding the king, playing the ace then the queen wins only one trick if the king is well guarded. The finesse means leading from the opposite hand, toward A-Q: if West, who plays before the dummy, holds the king and doesn't play it, the queen wins.
Spades: ace, queen, two. Hearts: ten, seven, four. Diamonds: seven, six, five, four. Clubs: ace, six, five. 10 HCP.
Spades: king, jack, nine. Hearts: nine, six, two. Diamonds: king, queen, jack, ten. Clubs: jack, ten, nine. 11 HCP.
Spades: ten, eight, seven, three. Hearts: eight, three. Diamonds: nine, eight. Clubs: queen, eight, seven, three, two. 2 HCP.
Spades: six, five, four. Hearts: ace, king, queen, jack, five. Diamonds: ace, three, two. Clubs: king, four. 17 HCP.
Contract: 4♥ played by South. Opening lead: West.
| West | North | East | South |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pass | 1♥ | ||
| Pass | 2♥ | Pass | 4♥ |
| Pass | Pass | Pass |
South plays 4♥. South has three sure or likely losers: two diamonds and a spade. A fourth loser in spades depends on the king. South leads a low spade toward A-Q-2 and, if West plays low, puts in the queen. Here the king is with West: with all hands visible, South makes 10 tricks, the contract.
Spades: ace, queen, two. Hearts: ten, seven, four. Diamonds: seven, six, five, four. Clubs: ace, six, five. 10 HCP.
Spades: six, five, four. Hearts: ace, king, queen, jack, five. Diamonds: ace, three, two. Clubs: king, four. 17 HCP.
Contract: 4♥ played by South. Opening lead: West.
With the same cards in North-South and the king of spades with East, the finesse fails: with all hands visible, South makes only 9 tricks. Without any other clue, each position of the king is equally likely: the finesse works one time in two.
Establishing a suit
Establishing a suit means driving out the opponents' cards in that suit so that your small cards become winners. With A-K-5-4-3 opposite 7-2, five cards are missing. If they split 3-2 (about 68% of the time), the ace, the king and a third round conceded are enough: the last two cards are winners.
| Opponents' cards | Split | A priori probability |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3-1 | 50 % |
| 4 | 2-2 | 41 % |
| 5 | 3-2 | 68 % |
| 6 | 4-2 | 48 % |
Probabilities calculated before any information: the bidding and the first tricks change them.
Ruffing in dummy
Ruffing in the hand with more trumps gains nothing: those trumps would have won a trick anyway. Ruffing in the short hand, usually dummy, adds one trick per ruff.
Spades: ten, seven, five. Hearts: four. Diamonds: king, jack, five, two. Clubs: queen, nine, seven, three, two. 6 HCP.
Spades: nine, eight, three. Hearts: king, queen, jack, ten, nine. Diamonds: ten, nine, eight. Clubs: ace, king. 13 HCP.
Spades: six, two. Hearts: eight, seven, six, five. Diamonds: queen, seven, six. Clubs: jack, ten, eight, four. 3 HCP.
Spades: ace, king, queen, jack, four. Hearts: ace, three, two. Diamonds: ace, four, three. Clubs: six, five. 18 HCP.
Contract: 4♠ played by South. Opening lead: West.
| West | North | East | South |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♠ | |||
| 2♥ | 2♠ | Pass | 4♠ |
| Pass | Pass | Pass |
South plays 4♠ and loses two clubs right away. South's small hearts are losers, but dummy has only one heart: after the ace, South can ruff both small hearts with dummy's trumps. With all hands visible, the contract makes 10 tricks. You must keep enough trumps in dummy: in general, don't draw all the opponents' trumps before ruffing.
Entries
An established trick is only useful if you can get to the hand that holds it. These ways of getting from one hand to the other are called entries.
- Play the honors from the short hand first, so as not to block the suit.
- Keep an entry (an ace, a king) in the hand that holds the long suit.
- In notrump, holding up the opponents' suit once or twice can cut the defenders' communications.
Defense
- Second hand low, third hand high: a defender who plays right after the declarer often plays low; their partner, in third seat, plays a high card.
- Count the declarer's points from the bidding, and their cards in each suit from the cards played.
- Signal to your partner: a high card to encourage, a low card to discourage, or a suit-preference signal Convention: signaling.
To practice these techniques, see the finesse exercise and counting tricks.