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CONVENTIONAL LEADS

Holding in Suit	Lead at Suit Bids	Lead at No-Trump
A-K-Q-alone or with others	K, then Q	K, then Q
A-K-J—x-x-x-x	K, then A	A* then K
A-K-J—x-x or A-K-x-x-(-x)	K, then A	Fourth best
A-Q-J-x-x-	A	Q
A-Q-10-9	A	10
A-Q-x-x (-x)	A	Fourth best
A-J-10-x	A	J
A-10-9-x	A	10
A-x-x-x(-x)	A	Fourth best
A-K-x	A	K
A-K-alone	A	K
K-Q-J alone or with others	K, then J	K, then Q
K-Q-10 alone or with others	K	K
K-Q-x-x-(-x-x)	K	Fourth best
K-Q alone	K	K
K-J-10-alone or with others	J	J
K-10-9-x	10	10
Q-J-10-or Q-J-9 alone or with others	Q	Q
Q-J-x or Q-J	Q	Q
Q-J-8-x (four or more)	Q	Fourth best
Q-10-9 alone or with others	10	10
J-10-9 or J-10-8 alone or with others	J	J
J-10-x-or J-10	J	J
J-10-x-x or more	J	Fourth best
10-9-8 or 10-9-7 alone or with others	10	10
10-9-x-x-x (-x)	10	Fourth best
K-J-x-x (-x-x)	Fourth best	Fourth best
Any other four-card or longer suit not listed above	Fourth best	Fourth best

LEADS IN PARTNER’S BID SUIT

Holding in Suit	Lead at Suit Bids	Lead at No-Trump
A-x, K-x, Q-x, J-x, 10-x or any other doubleton	High card	High card
J-10-x or x-x-x	Highest	Highest
A-J-x or A-x-x	Ace	Lowest
K-J-x, K-x-x, Q-10-x, Q-x-x, J-x-x	Lowest	Lowest
Q-J-x(-x)	Q	Q
A-x-x-x or better	A	Fourth best
A-K-x (-x) or K-Q-x (-x)	K	K
Any other four or more cards	Fourth best	Fourth best

More Information on Making Leads. As a general gambling guide to making leads, the following principles should be observed by the defenders. They are especially helpful when a defender has no good suit of his own to play and there is no indication from partner what his best suit is.

1. Lead through dummy’s strong suit other than trump. “Leading through” means that dummy is the second hand to play to the trick and declarer last. This suit is often indicated by declarer’s and dummy’s bidding. After the dummy goes down, this kind of lead should not be made if it helps declarer establish long suit that will give him the contract before the setting tricks have been taken.
2. Lead up to the weak suit in dummy. This lead is made by the defender at dummy’s left, and it means that dummy is the last hand to play to the trick and declarer is the second hand.
3. Do not lead up to a tenace; that is, do not make lead that will permit the dummy or declarer’s hand to play last to a trick when they hold a tenace in the led suit.

The Play after the Opening Lead.

1. The Rule of Eleven. When a defender makes an opening lead which is probably his fourth highest card in that suit, his partner can get useful information by applying the “rule of eleven.” Here is the way it works: Subtract the denomination of the led card from 11. The resulting number will tell how many cards higher in denomination than the lead are outside of the leader’s hand. Since the cards in dummy and in his own hand can be counted, leader’s partner knows how many higher cards remain in declarer’s hand.
2. Third-Hand High. A defender is generally required to play his highest card on the lead of a low card by partner. This is known as “third-hand high,” as the player is the third hand to play to the trick. The principle is that a still higher card poker cheats must be played from declarer’s hand, or dummy’s as the case may be. This play helps establish cards in partner’s hand, since it is assumed he led from his best suit. However, if leader’s partner holds a sequence of high cards, he plays the lowest card of the sequence on the lead of his partner’s low card. Example: If a player holds king-queen-jack or queen-jack-ten or jack- ten-nine, he plays the lowest card of the three. This gives partner valuable information, as declarer in order to take the trick must playa card higher than the top card of the sequence.

Another exception to third-hand high would be as in the following example: Defender A leads a six. Dummy shows queen- ten-nine of that suit. Defender B holds king- jack-x. If dummy plays the nine or ten, b should play the jack, not the king, since the jack in this case is as good as the king and it will take an ace to beat it.

3. Second-Hand Low. When a low card is led from dummy or declarer’s hand and defender is the second one to play to the trick, he should not, as a rule, play his highest card. He plays a low card, because declarer generally intends playing a high card anyway, since he has led the suit. There are, of course, exceptions, such as when a defender. As second hand holds a winning card which will set the contract; or when he wants to have the lead for some reason and the playing of a winning card will obtain it for him right away.
4. Come-on Signal. When a defender wishes to encourage his partner to continue a suit, he plays high then low, that is, a lower card to the second trick in that suit than he played to the first trick. This is known as a “come-on,” “high-low,” or “echo.” In general, the play of a seven ‘or better on partner’s lead’s of a card which promises to take a trick is a signal that the suit should be continued. The high-low may be also used in leading to indicate a doubleton.
5. Discouraging Signal. When a player can wishes to discourage his partner from continuing a suit, he should play the lowest card he has. This is a signal that partner should consider shifting to another suit unless he has the very good reason to continue in the suit led.
6. Returning a Lead. When a player’s partner has led a suit, the player should try to that lead that suit again at his earliest opportunity, returning his highest card in it, unless there is be a very clear indication that partner was leading from a weak suit.

Declarer’s Play

Planning the Play. Declarer’s first step Nest after the opening lead has been made and the dummy hand laid down is to take stock of the olds two poker handed . He should figure out a basic line of attack which promises to give him the needed tricks for his contract. Any bids that ma- the opponents have made may provide clues to the location of key defensive cards or the of distribution of adverse strength.
As the game progresses, he may be forced high to modify his plan, but it is better to give some thought to the matter at the beginning than to play along haphazardly, hoping that enough tricks will be made somehow. Experienced players usually plan alternate lines of play that they can switch to if the basic one does not prove feasible.
Playing at a Trump Declaration. In playing rd is a contract where there is a trump suit, it is generally best to draw opponent’s trumps at the first opportunity. This should be done even though the opponents will take a trick or tricks in trump in the process. Trumps are way, drawn to protect declarer’s good non-trump suits and prevent them from being trumped- ruffed-by opponents.
There are occasions, however, when the drawing of opponent’s trumps should be post-pond or avoided entirely. This is usually the right case when declarer is short-suited in non-trump suits in one hand or the other, or in both, and wishes to make some or all pieces of trump individually.

The play of a finesse.

Playing at a No-Trump Declaration. In playing a no-trump contract, declarer should first work out a simple problem in arithmetic. He should count the tricks he definitely is sure of, then subtract them from the number he needs for the contract. He should then plan how he Canasta make the needed tricks. These are usually to be made in the suits in which his hand and dummy’s are longest. This generally involves surrendering a trick or two in that suit to the opponents. But it does not matter since declarer Canasta usually afford to lose a certain number of tricks in the hand and still make his contract. Giving up a trick or tricks in a suit so that the remainder of the cards will be winners is known as “establishing a suit.”
Experienced players when holding no high card but the ace of a strong suit led by opponents will often refuse to take the trick until the suit is led a second or third time. This is done in the hope of breaking the connection between the opponent’s poker hands in that suit so that one player will have none of the suit to play when he is next in the lead. This type of play is known as “a holdup.”
The Finesse. The finesse is an attempt to establish a card as a winner while some higher card held by opponents in that suit has not yet been played. The combination of cards where an extra trick or tricks may be won by means of a finesse is known as a tenace. Thus, ace-queen is a tenace, and other illustrations will be found in the following examples. In each of the following cases, the finesse described is the one generally used. A good way of fixing these finesses in mind is actually to make the plays indicated with cards.

1. Lead a small card from South and assuming that West plays a low card, his normal play, put on the queen from North. If West has the king of the suit, the queen will win to provide another trick besides the ace.
2. Lead the ace from South fro the first trick. For the second trick, lead a small card from South toward North. If West has the king, the queen will be established as a trick to be taken later. Do not lead the queen from North for the first trick since that play will produce only one trick out of the two honors regardless of which opponent holds the kind.
3. Lead the queen from South. If West does not play the king, put on the small card from North. This is known as letting the queen ride. The lead of the queen in this situation offers a chance to win two tricks if West had the king.
4. The same principles as C applies.
5. Lead a small card from North and play the jack from South to the first trick. The next time, lead a small card from North again and play the ten for a second finesse. If West and East each have one of the two missing honors, or if East has both of them, this line of play is sure to win two tricks.
6. The same principle as E applies.

Examples of “double” finesses.

Lead the jack to the first trick and later finesse again by playing a small card from South and putting on the ten from North.
These plays in E and F are known as double finesses.
Unblocking. When a suit is longer in one hand than in the other, case should be taken to play the cards in such a way that the player does not prevent himself from continuing to lead that suit without interruption.
In the following examples, South is declarer and North is dummy hand.

An example of unblocking

If declarer leads his king to trick one and his queen to trick two, he will find himself in the South hand after playing trick three. This will prevent him from continuing the suit without getting back into the North hand in some other way.
But if he first leads his ace from South and then continues with a small card from South on the next trick, he will find himself able to play the suit uninterruptedly. The principle to remember is that the high card or cards should first be how poker played from the shorter holding.
The End Play. This is a stratagem by which declarer gives opponents a trick, which they must win in any case, at a time when it will be to declarer’s advantage to have the opponents in the lead. In the following example seven tricks have already been played, leaving this situation:
North, the declarer, must win five out of the remaining six tricks to fulfill his contract spades are trump. His first lead is the ace of trumps from dummy, exhausting West of trump. He then leads the four of clubs, which he trumps with one of the two remaining trumps in North. This play strips South of clubs.
North’s next play is the ten of hearts, giving up a trick that he would have to lose in any case. This play is known as the throw-in. West is now in the lead. He must lead a club or a diamond. If he leads a club, declarer Canasta trump in his own hand and discard the losing jack of diamonds from dummy. But if West chooses to lead a diamond instead of the club, declarer will win two tricks in diamonds. Thus, two apparent losers have been reduced to one.
The Squeeze. This is a stratagem buy which declarer squeezes an opponent out of an apparent winner by giving him a choice of plays. In the following example, after ten tricks have been played, this is the situation:
South, the declarer, must win all three tricks, to fulfill his contract. Hearts are trump. South’s first lead is the ten of trumps. East is in trouble no matter which card he discards to the lead. If he discards one of the spades, South’s next lead is the four of spades and he wins both spades in North. On the other hand, if East discards the nine of diamonds on the lead of the ten of hearts, that makes South’s eight of diamonds a good card, on which he will discard the losing three of spades.

Other Notes on General Play

Splitting Honors. When holding two touching honors, such as king-queen or queen-jack, it is generally wise to play one of them on the lead of a low card by opponent. This is known as splitting honors. It forces opponent to play a higher honor, thus promoting the other honor in the hand to a winner or near winner.
Covering an Honor with an Honor. When an opponent leads an honor, it is generally wise for a player to put a higher honor on it if he has one. This is known as covering an honor with an honor. It forces declarer to play a still higher honor if he wishes to win the trick, that is, two honors for one. This play may also promote a lesser honor or an intermediate card in partner’s hand.
Trump and Discard. When a play known that both opponents are void of the same suit not lead that suit since it provides an opportunity for discarding a losing card in one hand and trumping in the other. This is also known as a stuff and ruff.

Examples of the end play (A) and the squeeze (B)

Correct Bridge Odds

The reason Bridge surpasses most other card games in strategy is due to the fact that in card games, all fifty-two cards are first dealt out, thirteen to each of four players to start the game. Therefore, the number of different card combinations that face each player is virtually infinite, to be specific the astronomical figure is 635,013,599,900. Because of this factor there is no such thing as 100 percent accuracy in bidding. Two partners of expert ability are doing well if they bid and get a contract which appears make able when the dummy hand is exposed. But the contract in question may stand up or fall on the way the opponent’s twenty-six cards (half the deck) are divided. Let’s take a simple example: Player A and B are partners, and they bid four hearts on cards they hold. The dummy is exposed and it seems certain that the contract will be made if one particular opponent holds the jack of trump; but A and B will be set one trick if the other opponent holds that jack of hearts. The above is true of most hands with exception of a lay down hand. no one can predict with certainty how many tricks he can win because the declarer cannot know the exact distribution of cards held by the opposing team. All that is expected of any good bridge player is to make the bid which has the highest expectation. Following is a list of tables that will help improve your bridge playing:
Possible Point counts. Almost all bridge writers agree that the point-count bidding method has improved the bidding accuracy of the average bridge player. The total number of high-card points in a thirteen-card hand is 37 (out of a possible 40). The following table gives the chance of being dealt any exact number of points from 0 to 37. The chances are expressed in terms of percentages. In other words, the number of times in 100 dealt hands you can expect to hold a specific number of points.

Total Number of Points Counts	Expected Appearance in 100 Deals	Total Number of Point Counts	Expected Appearance in 100 Deals.
0	0.364	19	1.036
1	0.788	20	0.643
2	1356	21	6.378
3	2.462	22	0.210
4	3.846	23	0.112
5	5.186	24	0.056
6	6.554	25	0.026
7	8.028	26	0.012
8	8.892	27	0.005
9	9.356	28	0.002
10	9.405	29	0.0007
11	8.945	30	0.0002
12	8.027	31	0.0001
13	6.914	32	0.000017
14	5.693	33	0.0000035
15	4.424	34	0.00000077
16	3.311	35	0.000000099
17	2.362	36	0.0000000023
18	1.605	37	0.00000000015

Possible Suit Splits Held by Opponents.

The table depicts the percentage probability of finding all possible splits of cards held by the both opponents. The number in the left-hand column is the combined total of cards held by both opponents in the suit in question. The numbers in the center column depict all possible split poker card hand held by the opponents. The percentage figures shown in the right-hand column is the chance possibility of each suit split. These values are shown in terms of percentages; in other words, the number of times in 100 dealt hands you can expect your opponents to hold the suit split in question