Defense Flashcards
Opening Defensive Lead - Suit Contracts - sequences
Lead top of 2 or 3 card honor sequence
Lead top of interior honor sequence
Lead bottom of 2 card honor sequence
(signals to partner ruffing possibility)
Opening Defensive Lead - NT contract - sequences
Top of 3 card honor sequence
(2 card sequence - not allowed with NT)
Top of interior honor sequence -
Bottom of exterior honor sequence
Underleading Aces -
NT versus Suit contract
NT contract - okay to underlead ace
Suit contract - never underlead ace (leading the ace is okay in a pinch)
Opening Defensive Lead against NT Contract
Lead longest suit (always)
Opening Defensive Lead against Slam Contract
Always lead ace with hope that partner has king (2 tricks defeats slam contract)
Best opening lead against suit contract when available
Always lead singleton against opponent suit contract when available - sets up ruffing for partner
Best defensive lead against suit contract when no honor sequence and no singleton
BOSTON
“Bottom of Something”
(fourth from top singleton honor)
“Top of Nothing”
(with no top honor - lead top card)
Old Reliable Opening Defensive Lead that partner will never question
Lead suit that partner bid during auction - applies to major suits only (convenient minors can be short)
Signaling - with partner defensive leads to show preference
With defensive partner leads - playing high card signals “I want more” and playing low card says “no interest”
Signaling with first defensive discard when void in suit led - applies to partner and opponent led suits
My first discard when void - high card means “lead this suit” - low card means “do not lead this suit” - when your preferred suit contains only high cards, discard low from unwanted suit so partner, through deductive reasoning,
will lead your preferred suit
How many times should we return partner’s defensive lead suit?
Twice unless suit is void on opponent’s board - partner had a reason to lead that suit - that reason is often not evident to other partner - just have faith
After the opponent board is laid down - what are good defensive strategies relative to LHO and RHO locations?
LHO - when opponent board is LHO - lead into strength - lead to strongest suit that contains honor gap (hoping partner has missing honor)
RHO - when opponent board is RHO - lead from weakness - lead the weakest suit in RHO board (effectively finessing opponent)
Reducing opponent trump length in (unexposed) opponent hand
Lead suit that you know opponent is void within unexposed hand - make sure lead card will win trick unless opponent plays trump card - thus reducing trump length in longest trump hand
Signaling - Count - Opponent Leads - how, when and why do you show count signal to partner when defending
WHEN - only with opponent leads - does not apply to partner leads - HOW - you have to follow suit when opponent leads - by playing high or low card you can let partner know how many cards you have in that suit (high is even - low is odd) - WHY - primarily to identify ruffing opportunities - count signal enables partner to estimate card distribution within that suit
Signaling - Attitude - Partner Leads - define 2 ways that attitude works with partner defensive leads
Attitude can be used in 2 ways - when responding partner has cards that partner has led - high says I like this suit (continue leading) - low card says I do not like this suit (discontinue) - when responding partner is void in suit led by partner - high in new suit says please lead this suit - low says please do not lead this suit
