Bridge Play Basics
Opening Leads
Deciding on what to lead begins with listening to the auction. Once you’ve decided on the suit you want to lead, the next question is, which card in that suit?
From A–K combinations, lead the ace. (Some pairs agree to lead the king from this holding, discuss with your partner.)
With an honor sequence, lead the top honor:
K–Q–5
J–10–9
Q–J–10–3
10–9–8–5
From suits that have “interior” touching honors, lead the top of the interior sequence:
K–J–10–5
Q–10–9–7–4
From a four-card or longer suit without touching honors, lead the fourth-best card:
K–9–7–4–3
10–7–5–2
J–8–7–6–4–3
From a three-card suit without touching honors, lead the lowest card:
J–9–6
Q–4–3
8–6–5
From a doubleton, lead the top card:
8–2
J–7
Q–10
Best Bidding
Opener’s rebids after Jacoby 2NT
Last month, we discussed major-suit raises, one of which is the conventional “Jacoby 2NT,” a game-forcing raise that shows four (or more) trump. What does opener do after a Jacoby 2NT raise?
3♣/3♦/3OM (other major) = Shortness in the bid suit – a singleton or void. (Alert! Because this bid is not natural, partner should Alert it.)
3M (rebidding three of the major) = A good hand (16+) with no shortness.
3NT = 14–15 HCP, balanced.
4♣/4♦/4OM = Natural, five-card suit.
4M (jumping to game in the major) = A minimum (12–13 HCP), balanced hand.
Try it!
After partner responds 2NT to your 1♠ bid, what is your rebid?
A: ♠A Q 10 8 3 ♥K J ♦5 ♣K J 10 9 8
B: ♠A K 9 5 3 ♥K J 9 ♦A 9 ♣Q 10 9
C: ♠K Q 9 4 2 ♥9 3 ♦A 5 4 2 ♣K J
D: ♠Q J 8 6 5 ♥K J 10 ♦A 8 ♣Q J 8
E: ♠A 10 9 8 7 ♥3 ♦K J 5 4 ♣A K 9
A: The first problem is kind of tricky. Do you show your singleton or the second five-card suit? Generally, the priority is to show the side suit if it’s a potential source of tricks.
B: 3♠, a balanced hand with “extras.”
C: 4♠, a balanced minimum.
D: 3NT, 14–15 HCP, balanced.
E: 3♥, showing a singleton heart.
