Advanced Bridge; The Higher Principles of the Game Analysed and Explained

Part 5

Chapter 53,925 wordsPublic domain

If a queen is led by your partner, you should infer that the lead is from jack ten; perhaps it would be better to say that the lead shows the jack. If you find the jack is either on the table or in your own hand, the lead was evidently from a short suit; queen and one or a singleton.

{Q J 10 {Q J 9 {Q J x =The queen should be led from= {Q J {Q x {Q

=The lead of a jack= denies the ace, the king, and the queen; consequently your partner holds no higher card of the suit; against a declared trump, it usually indicates a short suit.

There is some difference of opinion among Bridge players as to this lead; the jack is sometimes led from king queen jack, from king jack ten, and even from ace jack ten. The lead of a jack as the top card does away with the confusion that is caused by numerous interior leads. It simplifies the lead and facilitates the placing of higher cards.

{J 10 9 {J 10 =The jack should be led from= {J x {J

=The lead of the ten= indicates the king jack and ten and denies both ace and queen. If either the king or the jack is in your hand or in dummy, the ten lead denies any higher card, and is probably the top of a short suit.

{ K J 10 x { 10 9 x =The ten should be led from= { 10 9 { 10 x { 10

=The lead of a nine= denies all higher cards of the suit; it is led only as a top card, and usually indicates a short suit.

{ 9 8 x =The nine should be led from= { 9 x { 9

INFERENCES FROM LOW CARD LEADS

An application of the Rule of Eleven will materially assist you to draw correct inferences from the lead of a small card. It will indicate whether the lead is from a short or a long suit.

If you see more high cards than the Rule of Eleven would allow, you can mark the lead, not as fourth best, but as the top of a short suit. If the lead indicates a long suit, you can often determine the exact combination of cards from which it has been made.

=The Rule of Eleven=

Deduct the size of the card led from eleven, and the difference will show how many cards higher than the one led are held _outside_ the leader’s hand.

The lead of an eight or a seven (except at no-trumps) is more apt to be from a short than from a long suit; combinations in which these cards would be fourth best are seldom opened by good players.

It will be easier for your partner to read your lead, if with long weak suits, headed by jack, ten, or nine, you lead the fourth best card. These cards can be led to indicate a short suit.

You can determine the length of your partner’s suit by noticing the fall of the low cards.

When it is evident that your partner has led the lowest card of his suit, his lead indicates exactly four cards. If your partner is leading from a long suit and plays down on the second round, he holds more than four cards.

EXAMPLES OF INFERENCE FROM OPENING LEADS

A is the leader, Y the dummy, Z the dealer.

7♠ 3♠ x-------x | Y | A♠ | A B | 8♠ 5♠ 4♠ | Z | x-------x

A’s lead of the ace denies the king and probably the queen; both of these cards should be placed in the dealer’s hand.

8♠ 7♠ 4♠ x-------x | Y | Q♠ | A B | A♠ 9♠ 3♠ | Z | x-------x

Third hand should play ace on queen; king is in the dealer’s hand. A has probably led from queen jack ten.

9♠ 5♠ 4♠ x-------x | Y | J♠ | A B | K♠ 6♠ 3♠ | Z | x-------x

B should play the three; his partner’s lead indicates the top card, and also shows that both ace and queen are in the dealer’s hand.

J♠ 8♠ 5♠ x-------x | Y | 10♠ | A B | A♠ 6♠ 4♠ | Z | x-------x

A’s lead of ten with jack on the table indicates the top of a short suit. King and queen should be placed in the dealer’s hand.

8♠ 7♠ 4♠ x-------x | Y | 9♠ | A B | A♠ 10♠ 3♠ | Z | x-------x

The lead indicates the top, probably, of a short suit. King, queen, and jack are all marked in the dealer’s hand.

ORIGINAL TRUMP OPENINGS

If a trump has been declared by the dealer it is not, as a rule, good play to lead trumps up to his strong hand; this lead would necessarily place any high trump cards that your partner may hold in a bad position. If, however, you hold a sequence in trumps and strength in the side suits consisting of combinations from which you do not wish to lead, a trump lead is admissible.

The following are given as examples of hands from which the trump should be led when the dealer is the maker. In these cases hearts are trumps.

+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+ | ♥ | ♦ | ♣ | ♠ | +-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+ | [K] Q J | A Q x x | K x | K J x x | | [K] Q | K J x x | A Q x | K x x x | | [Q] J 10 | A J x x | A Q x | K x x | +-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+ The underlined card indicates the lead.

+---------------------------------------------------------+ | Transcriber's Note: | | The underlines have been replaced with square brackets. | | For example [K]. | +---------------------------------------------------------+

When dummy is the maker of the trump, there are many hands from which the trump should be led as an initial opening. If you hold tenace suits, or suit containing single honours, and the adversary or your partner leads to you, you are in a better position to make your high cards, hence a trump opening in order to throw the lead.

If, however, you hold a sequence in any one suit, the trump lead is not necessary. Leading from a sequence is always good play, and rarely results in loss.

The following hands are given as examples of original trump openings when dummy is the maker.

+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+ | ♥ | ♦ | ♣ | ♠ | +-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+ | [J] 10 | A Q x | K J x x |A Q x x | | [9] x | A J x x | A x x x |K x x x | | [7] 3 | A Q x | K x x x |K J x x | | [8] 5 | A Q x x x | A J x |K Q x | +-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+ The underlined card indicates the lead.

ORIGINAL TRUMP OPENINGS FROM STRENGTH

It is advisable to lead trumps from strength in comparatively few hands, for the reason that the lead indicates to the dealer the position of the trump strength held against him. If, however, you hold four or five trumps without an honour, and combinations in the plain suits from which you do not wish to lead, the trump may be led through the strong hand. This is especially true of a four-trump hand, which contains three cards of each of the other suits.

Avoid opening the trump from strength when you hold a single honour, or even two honours. You will gain, by waiting for the lead to come to you.

THE TRUMP LEAD AGAINST A SPADE MAKE

As a rule, the aggressive spirit that should characterise the non-dealer’s play of a spade hand is lacking. While a spade is not necessarily made from weakness, the declaration in itself shows sufficient weakness in the side suits to embolden the adversaries’ play. With a hand containing five trumps (spades) the initial opening should be the trump. Your partner must hold suit strength which your trump lead will protect.

If your five trumps contain a tenace and you can advantageously lead from another suit, it may be advisable to wait for your partner to lead to your tenace, particularly if by doubling you have indicated trump strength.

If you have been redoubled and your hand contains four trumps and strength in the side suits, the trump lead requires more careful consideration.

Unless your partner has doubled the spade declaration it is impossible for you to place the trump strength, and you should be cautious about leading originally from a short trump suit.

HOW TO PLAY TO PARTNER’S TRUMP OPENING

Any trump opening from your partner is an indication of strength, usually of strength in the side suits. It does not necessarily follow that your partner wants the trumps out, but _it is_ an indication that he is anxious to have his suits led to. If you win the first trick in the trump suit, look to see if dummy offers you an advantageous lead. If you hold fair strength in the side suits with no protected honour in trumps and no short suit, there can be no objection to the return of the trump lead; but if you hold a tenace over dummy’s strength in trumps, or a high card that is protected, it would be a bad play to return the trump lead. Wait until your partner or the adversary leads up to you. Do not return the trump lead if you hold a short suit. Lead the short suit. You may be given an opportunity to make one of your trumps.

LEADING TRUMPS TO PREVENT A RUFF IN THE WEAK TRUMP HAND

When the dealer seems backward about leading trumps, the inference is that he is trying to establish a ruff in the weak trump hand, and you should be on the alert to prevent this by leading trumps (through the strength). It may be necessary for you to lead the trump after your initial lead. It may be advisable to stop leading a suit, which would help to establish a ruff in the weak hand; or it may be essential that you try to place your partner in the lead, so that he can lead the trumps through the strong hand. If you are weak in dummy’s long suit, it is always more or less dangerous to lead trumps. When this is the case, your lead might help the dealer to exhaust trumps and make this long suit.

SHORT SUIT OPENINGS

In Bridge the term short suit implies a singleton or a two-card suit, although, strictly speaking, any suit of fewer than four cards is short. With a very weak hand (no high cards in any suit) it is evident that the only possible way of making tricks is by a short lead, which may enable you to ruff the suit on the second or third round. With a hand that contains tenace suits or suits with a single honour, it is often advisable to lead short; this opening gives you a double advantage; you may have an opportunity to ruff, and you throw the lead with the purpose of having your honour suits led up to.

With most players the desire to make a small trump is very strong, and often leads to thoroughly unsound openings. It is always wrong to open a short suit when you hold an ace king suit. Why play in the dark, when by leading the king of your ace king suit, you are in a position to hold the lead until you have seen dummy and can judge as to the advisability of the weak lead? A suit headed by king queen is also a safer opening than a short lead, which may establish the suit for the dealer; although, if you hold an honour that will stop the adversaries’ trump lead, say an ace or a guarded king, you are almost certain to be in the lead before the dealer has an opportunity to discard worthless cards on his established suit. Any short lead may establish a suit for the dealer or dummy; in fact, the chances are that it will. If you are weak in trumps and have little or no strength in the side suits, you have not much to lose by the short lead. The dealer will establish and make his suit with or without help. On the other hand, if you are strong in trumps, you may be able to make it most difficult for the dealer to exhaust the trumps and make a suit unless, by your weak lead, you establish it for him.

With strength in trumps the short opening is unsound, particularly with four trumps is it apt to ruin your hand. One force given your hand makes it easy for the dealer to exhaust your trumps and to make the suit that you, by your short lead, have established.

With four trumps open your long suit. The maker probably holds five trumps, and when one force is given to his hand, you have an equal number. Even though your trumps are small the dealer must exhaust his own to draw them, and a card of re-entry in your hand or that of your partner will probably enable you to make your suit. At any rate, you have made it difficult for the dealer to establish his suit, or retrieve any subsequent error in his play.

With five trumps and any good suit the latter should be opened. When the make has been passed, should you hold no long suit, choose preferably a short red suit. In other words lead up to the dealer’s supposed weakness.

With six trumps little or no objection can be raised to the short lead. When the trump situation is known you may be forced to lead them to the maker, so that you should early in the hand try to take as many trump tricks as possible.

At all times select the highest card of a short suit for the lead. This is done to give requisite information to your partner. Unless he can see, in his hand or dummy, great strength in the suit, the lead of a very low card is most difficult to read as short.

The following are given as examples of hands from which a short suit may be led. The trump (hearts) declared by the dealer. The card underlined indicates the lead.

+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+ | ♥ | ♣ | ♦ | ♠ | +-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+ | K 5 2 | A J 6 4 |[10] 9 | A Q 5 3 | | A 9 3 |[8] 6 | 9 7 4 2 | Q 8 6 4 | | A Q 8 | K J 6 3 |[J] 10 | K 8 4 2 | | A 9 3 |[Q] | K 8 6 4 2 | J 8 5 3 | | Q 5 2 |[J] 10 4 | K 8 4 | K 5 4 2 | | J 7 3 | A Q 9 6 |[K] Q | K J 4 2 | | 8 6 2 |[9] | J 8 6 4 2 | 10 8 4 | | 7 5 | Q 6 4 3 |[9] 8 | 10 6 5 3 2 | +-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+

LEADING THROUGH STRENGTH

The fundamental idea of leading through strength is to help your partner to make his high cards by allowing him to play after the exposed hand. “Leading through” means to make a person play second hand to the trick. You always lead through your left hand adversary.

Should your partner hold K J x with A Q x in dummy, it is obvious that if you lead through the suit, your partner may win two tricks, whereas if he is forced to lead up to the strength, one trick at least would be lost. Players will often say, “How can I know that my partner has any high cards in that suit?” Perhaps you cannot be certain of the distribution of the high cards; in leading through strength you hope that your partner holds the missing honours, realising that if all the strength is with the dealer, nothing is lost. “Leading through strength” is simply looking ahead and foreseeing what may happen. In other words, not placing your partner in a position whereby he may be forced to lead up to the strength in dummy.

WHEN TO LEAD THROUGH STRENGTH

After taking the first trick, study the dummy carefully in order to see which suit may be led through advantageously. If there are two suits to choose from, select the suit in which you are short, hoping it may afford you an opportunity to make a small trump.

The fall of the cards will often indicate that your partner can trump the second or third round of the suit you are leading. Before giving him the ruff, consider that he will be compelled to lead, and if there is no suit in dummy that he can lead to advantageously, it is better for you to lead through the strength on the table than to force your partner to lead up to the strong hand. Of course, if it is necessary to save the game by all means give your partner the ruff, but if, on the other hand, you hold the ace or guarded king of trumps, _i.e._ a high card that will stop the adversary’s trump lead, it is preferable to lead through dummy’s strength. Later you can stop the trump lead and give your partner the ruff.

CHOICE OF SUITS TO LEAD THROUGH

In leading through strength, certain suits are preferable to others. A guarded king in the dummy is an ideal suit to lead through when you hold the queen, jack, ten of the same suit. By leading the queen, if your partner holds the ace, you can prevent dummy’s king from making.

In leading through strength, avoid a suit in which you yourself hold a protected honour. For instance, holding king, jack, small, it would be bad play to lead through ace, queen, ten, as this would give the dummy an opportunity to make three tricks in the suit.

The following may be classed as good combinations from which to lead through strength in dummy:

=Holding= =Lead through=

J 10 9 } 10 9 x } A Q x in Dummy x x x }

x x x A J x or A x x in Dummy

10 9 x } K J x in Dummy x x x }

Q J 10 } Q J x } Q x } K x x in Dummy J 10 x } 10 9 x } x x x }

J 10 9 } J 10 x } Q x x in Dummy x x x }

In leading through any of these combinations, the top card of a sequence should be led. In fact, with three cards or fewer in a suit, it is almost an invariable rule to lead the highest card.

The following are combinations which should be led through only as a last resort:

=Holding= =Avoid leading through=

{ A J x Q x x { A 10 x in Dummy { K J x { K 10 x

{ A Q x { A J x K x x { A x x in Dummy { Q J x { Q x x { Q x

J x x x { A 10 x { K 10 x in Dummy

SUGGESTIONS FOR THIRD HAND PLAY

When you are trying to win the trick, play high third in hand; but if your cards, or your cards combined with those in the dummy are in sequence, play the lowest card of the sequence.

Do not finesse against your partner; help his hand at the sacrifice of your high card. If, however, you hold ace, jack, small,--with king or queen in dummy,--the play of the jack is permissible; your partner’s lead practically shows one of these honours.

When you hold the ace and your partner leads a jack through a guarded king or queen in dummy, it is often good play to pass the first trick. By playing the ace you will probably establish two high cards for the dealer.

If your partner’s lead clearly indicates a short suit, with the ace marked in the dealer’s hand, do not sacrifice a king. Allow the dealer to win the trick cheaply, if necessary, but keep your king guarded. By playing a low card you may deceive an unwary dealer, and at any rate you will put the dealer to some trouble to catch your king.

At “no-trump,” provided the dummy holds an honour, you should finesse deeply in your partner’s suit. The application of the Eleven Rule will materially help you in finessing. When there is a guarded queen in the dummy and you hold the king, ten, small, or ace, ten, small, to finesse is sound play. If dummy holds a twice guarded king and you hold the ace, jack, small, it often pays not to take the finesse, for should you abandon the suit to wait until your partner can again lead through the king, you may take out the only re-entry card in his hand.

Unless your partner holds two re-entries, you gain nothing by the finesse.

INFERENCES FROM THIRD-HAND PLAY

It is very important for the leader, especially in a “no-trump” hand, to be in a position to determine whether his suit should be continued or abandoned. Careful notice of the card your partner plays to the first trick will often enable you to place the high cards in that suit, and in this way suggest your subsequent play.

The following are given as illustrations of inferences to be drawn by the leader from third-hand play:

A and B are partners, and the underlined card in each example indicates A’s lead; Y’s cards are exposed.

B’s play of queen denies the jack, which should therefore be marked in the dealer’s hand. The small cards cannot be placed.

6♠ 3♠ x-------x | Y | A♠ J♠ 7♠ [5♠] | A B | 9♠ | Z | x-------x K♠

B’s play of the nine denies the eight and the queen. Both of these cards must be in the dealer’s hand. The ten should be placed with B. The leader, in order to catch the dealer’s queen, must await a return of the suit.

7♠ 3♠ x-------x | Y | Q♠ 9♠ 6♠ [5♠] | A B | J♠ | Z | x-------x A♠

The play of the jack denies the ten and the king; both of these cards are marked in the dealer’s hand. Should A continue this suit, it would allow the dealer to make tricks with both ten and king. The suit must be abandoned until the lead can come from B’s hand.

J♠ 8♠ x-------x | Y | K♠ 9♠ 7♠ [6♠] | A B | Q♠ | Z | x-------x A♠

B’s play of the queen with the jack exposed on the table denies the ten, which must be in the dealer’s hand.

10♠ 7♠ 5♠ x-------x | Y | J♠ 9♠ 8♠ [6♠] | A B | K♠ | Z | x-------x A♠

B’s play of the king denies the queen. To continue the suit might allow the dealer to make two tricks. A should abandon the suit until B can return it through the dealer’s hand.

J♠ 7♠ 2♠ x-------x | Y | 10♠ 9♠ 6♠ [4♠] | A B | Q♠ | Z | x-------x A♠

It is impossible to tell whether the king is held by the dealer or by B. The suit, however, may be continued with the ten. If B holds the king this may shut out the jack. If the dealer holds the king probably nothing will be lost.

8♠ 7♠ 5♠ x-------x | Y | [Q♠] J♠ 10♠ 9♠ | A B | A♠ | Z | x-------x

B’s play of the ace denies the king, which should be placed with the dealer.

K♠ 6♠ 5♠ x-------x | Y | Q♠ 8♠ 7♠ [2♠] | A B | A♠ | Z | x-------x