This is part of a series of articles focused on Declarer Play. Each article builds upon the concepts introduced in the previous ones, so I recommend studying them sequentially to fully grasp the material and enhance your understanding.
Effective declarer play is heavily dependent on counting. Much of the counting we’ve covered so far has focused on determining how many tricks each side can potentially win and cash throughout the play.
In most hands, neither side initially holds enough winners to secure the contract. As a result, both sides will need to actively work on developing additional winners throughout the play.
That’s why no trump contracts are often referred to as a race. The goal is to establish and cash enough tricks before your opponents can do the same. Speed and strategy are key to winning the race and ensuring you secure the necessary number of tricks first.
Losing the lead while working to establish your tricks is a common aspect of playing no trump contracts. After you relinquish the lead to set up your tricks, the defense will typically regain the lead as they attempt to establish their own tricks. This back-and-forth exchange is a normal part of the process in no trump play.
Using split assumptions and counting stoppers allows you to assess when the back-and-forth of losing the lead can result in one side or the other gaining enough tricks to either secure the contract or cause it to fail. These strategies help you identify the key moments when control of the play shifts, and how to manage that control effectively to achieve your goal.
On this page, we’re going to see what stoppers are, and how counting them will improve your declarer planning.
Example 1
| Dummy ♠ A Q T 2 ♥ Q 8 ♦ K T 3 2 ♣ T 7 5 |
| You ♠ J 9 6 ♥ A K 6 ♦ A Q J 8 4 ♣ J 6 |
Contract: 3N The opening lead is the ♣4.
How many cashable tricks do you have?
What is the split assumption for clubs?
The next logical step is typically to review the bidding and identify any missing spot cards lower than the opening lead. However, for this hand, I’ll simplify things and let you know that the 5-3 split assumption is accurate.
The opponents win the opening lead and then continue to lead clubs—one after another, eventually securing five tricks. That’s a tough setback!
Our contract is already at risk (down one) because we were unable to prevent them from successfully cashing their entire club suit. This loss of control over their suit has led to a significant setback in our bid to make the contract.
If we had been able to view all four hands before committing to the 3NT contract, we would have noticed that we lack a club stopper, and we would have recognized that it was a risky contract. Opting for a trump suit instead would have given us the ability to trump their clubs, preventing them from cashing their entire suit and potentially securing the contract.
A stopper is a high-ranking card that can win a trick, allowing you to maintain control of the lead and prevent your opponents from establishing and cashing tricks in that particular suit. It’s an essential tool for blocking the opponents’ progress and preserving your chances to win the contract.
Notice that there are two parts to our definition of a stopper:
- winning a trick
- preventing them from cashing the trick(s) they establish
Example 2
| Dummy ♣ T 7 5 |
| You ♣ J 6 |
These are the clubs from example hand 1.
You have no club stopper because you cannot win a club trick.
Example 3
| Dummy ♦ K T 3 2 |
| You ♦ A Q J 8 4 |
These are the diamonds from example 1.
You have no diamond stoppers.
Yes, you can easily win 5 tricks in this suit.
However, your opponents have no diamond winners, nor can they establish any in the future. While your diamond holding is impressive and offers you plenty of winners, it doesn’t fulfill the second part of the definition of a stopper – which is to prevent the opponents from cashing or developing tricks in that suit. So, while you have many winning diamonds, you lack the necessary stoppers.
Example 4
| Dummy ♥ T 8 7 |
| You ♥ A 6 |
You can capture the lead with your ♥A.
They can develop high card winners and skaters in this suit.
Is your ♥A a stopper?
Example 5
| Dummy ♠ 7 5 2 |
| You ♠ K 8 4 |
The opening lead is a spade against your 3N contract.
Is your ♠K a stopper?
If they lead a different suit for their opening lead, will you have a spade stopper?
Example 6
| Dummy ♣ Q T 8 7 2 |
| You ♣ J 9 6 4 |
Do you have any club stoppers?
Now let’s look at this suit from the defenders’ point of view. Do they have any club stoppers?
When a stopper wins a trick, that result is final – once a trick is captured, it cannot be undone. However, stopping your opponents from cashing their tricks may only be temporary. If they regain the lead in another suit, they could return to the original suit and potentially start cashing their tricks again. Thus, while a stopper can prevent immediate trick-taking, it doesn’t always guarantee long-term control over the suit.
Both sides can have stoppers in the same suit.
Example 7
| Dummy ♦ Q 7 |
| You ♦ K 9 |
Do they have a stopper?
Do you have a stopper?
Example 8
| Dummy ♠ K Q 7 |
| You ♠ 5 4 |
Do they have a stopper?
Do you have a stopper?
Example 9
| Dummy ♥ K Q 7 |
| You ♥ J 3 |
You can develop two high card winners.
Do they have a stopper?
They can develop skaters. The split assumption for their 8 hearts is a 5-3 split, so we expect them to be able to develop 2 skaters.
Do you have a stopper?
Example 10
| Dummy ♠ 9 8 3 |
| You ♠ A J T 5 2 |
Do they have a spade stopper?
Do you have a spade stopper?
Example 11
| Dummy ♣ 2 |
| You ♣ A K 6 |
What is the stopper situation?
When your stoppers are gone, how many skaters do you expect them to have?
Example 12
| Dummy ♦ J T 9 8 |
| You ♦ 5 3 |
How many stoppers do they have?
How many stoppers do you have?
Who cashes first?
Example 13
| Dummy ♦ K J T 9 3 ♣ 6 2 |
| You ♦ Q 2 ♣ A K 3 |
How many club stoppers do you have?
How many diamond stoppers do they have?
You have more stoppers than they do. So if they persist with club leads and you persist with diamonds, you will be able to cash your diamond tricks before they can cash their club skaters. Like this…
- They start, and knock out your first club stopper.
- You lead diamonds, forcing out their ♦A
- They persist with clubs, forcing out your second club stopper.
- You cash all your diamonds.
Whichever partnership has more stoppers in the opponents’ suit(s) gets to cash their own tricks first.
Stay ahead in the stopper race!
You have more stoppers than they do, but if they force out your first club stopper and then you fiddle around with hearts or spades and lose the lead, they will cash their suit before yours.
Let’s follow how that would work:
- They start, and knock out your first club stopper.
- You lose the lead when you lead hearts or spades. (So sad…)
- They force out your remaining club stopper.
- Then you lead diamonds (too late), forcing out their ♦A .
- They cash their club skaters.
Example 14
| Dummy ♦ K J T 9 3 ♣ 6 2 |
| You ♦ Q 2 ♣ A 7 3 |
This example is almost the same as the previous one. I’ve taken away one of your club stoppers.
Now you have the same number of stoppers as they do. You have 1 club stopper, and they have 1 diamond stopper.
Remember… if the number of stoppers is the same, whoever starts knocking out the opponents’ stoppers first gets to cash their tricks first.
How does the play go?
- They start, and knock out your only club stopper.
- You lead diamonds, forcing out their ♦A .
- They cash their club skaters. They started first, so they cashed first.
If you are lucky, they might make an opening lead in hearts or spades, failing to knock out your club stopper. If you can win their heart or spade lead, you can be the one to win the club-diamond race by starting first.
- They lead a heart or a spade.
- You win, and seize the opportunity to lead diamonds.
- They stop you from playing more diamonds (with their ♦A), and belatedly switch to clubs.
- You play your club stopper, and cash your diamonds.
The group of players all clap in appreciation, though their applause is quiet, as the sound of hands meeting is muffled by their attire.
Example 15
| Dummy ♠ 5 4 ♦ J T 9 8 2 |
| You ♠ A Q 2 ♦ Q 3 |
Spades are led from your left. Good, your ace-queen play last.
If they are able to force out your second spade stopper, they will have 3+ spade skaters to cash.
And if you are able to knock out their diamond stoppers, you will have 3 diamond skaters to cash.
Who cashes first?
Example 16
| Dummy ♥ A 5 ♣ Q T 9 8 4 2 |
| You ♥ K Q 3 ♣ K J 3 |
They lead hearts.
The split assumption is 5-3. If correct, they have enough hearts to establish 2 future skaters. And you have enough clubs to establish 5 club winners.
Who cashes first?
But suppose you don’t play clubs right away. Instead, you try to do something with spades or diamonds, and unfortunately you lose the lead. They return to leading hearts, and…
Now who’s ahead in the heart-club race?
A Counting Shortcut
Example 17
| Dummy ♠ A J 3 ♥ 7 6 5 ♦ K J T 9 3 ♣ 6 2 |
| You ♠ K 8 5 2 ♥ K Q J T ♦ Q 2 ♣ A K 3 |
This hand has the same diamonds and clubs as one of our earlier examples, but now I’m including the other suits as well to highlight an important point about the race to cash tricks.
We’ve previously learned that counting stoppers helps us determine which side gets to cash their tricks first.
However, this concept of “cashing first” applies only to the specific suits we are currently comparing. It doesn’t necessarily mean you will be able to establish and cash all the tricks in every suit across the entire hand.
Let me clarify…
Earlier, we compared their clubs to our diamonds. We have two club stoppers, while they only have one diamond stopper. Since we have more stoppers, we are able to cash our diamonds before they can start cashing their clubs.
But now, let’s consider hearts. Ideally, we want to drive out their ♥A and establish three cashable heart tricks to complement the four cashable diamonds we already have. Unfortunately, we’ve already used up our club stoppers to establish and cash those diamonds. If they have too many ready-to-cash club tricks remaining, we must avoid leading hearts, as it could give them the opportunity to set up their clubs and defeat our contract.
There’s a counting shortcut to figure this out:
You cannot make any plays until you first capture the lead. Once you’ve taken control, it’s crucial to count your remaining stoppers in the opponent’s critical suit—the suit that they must not be allowed to cash. The number of stoppers you have remaining in that suit determines how many times you can afford to lose the lead without jeopardizing your contract.
After the opponents make an opening lead in clubs, you will use one of your club stoppers to win the trick and prevent them from cashing any club winners. At that point, you will have just one remaining club stopper. This means you can only afford to lose the lead one more time.
Since you only have one club stopper left, you won’t be able to drive out both of their aces. Instead, you will focus on establishing diamonds, as this strategy will yield more tricks than attempting to play hearts. As a result, you will leave the hearts suit untouched for the time being.
Making a Plan
How to declare a no trump hand:
The general approach is usually called “count and plan,” but I’m going to divide count-and-plan into more detailed steps to help you understand what to do.
- Take inventory, including counting stoppers and winners for both sides, doing split assumptions, and adjusting split assumptions based on the bidding and the opening lead.
- Assess the threat, especially how many additional winners they can cash when your stoppers are gone. The number of stoppers you have tells you how many times you can safely lose the lead when developing the tricks you need.
- Make a plan to win the race. This plan must be based on the information from the first two steps. Don’t just play cards and hope for the best.
Let’s practice…
Example 18
| Dummy ♠ K Q T 7 ♥ 8 6 3 ♦ K T 3 2 ♣ A 5 |
| You ♠ J 9 ♥ A K J 5 ♦ Q J 8 7 4 ♣ K 6 |
Take inventory:
Your contract is 3N (you need 9 tricks).
The opening lead is a club. What is the split assumption for clubs?
You have 4 winners (♥AK and ♣AK). They have two winners (♠A and ♦A). Neither side has enough, so both sides will work to establish more.
- They have good prospects to establish club skaters.
- And you have prospects in all three other suits. We’ll see in the “Make a plan” section which suits to play.
How many stoppers do you have?
Assess the threat:
Would it be OK if they establish and cash club skaters?
Example 18 (repeated)
| Dummy ♠ K Q T 7 ♥ 8 6 3 ♦ K T 3 2 ♣ A 5 |
| You ♠ J 9 ♥ A K J 5 ♦ Q J 8 7 4 ♣ K 6 |
Make a plan:
You will win the opening lead with one of your club stoppers. After that, you can only lose the lead one more time because you only have one club stopper left.
You cannot play both diamonds and spades. They have aces in both suits, so you would lose the lead twice and your contract would fail.
You can drive out one of those two aces, but you’ll have to leave the other suit untouched. Of course you’ll play the suit that gives you more tricks. Is that spades or diamonds?
After you force out their ♦A, they will force out your last club stopper. You now have the lead and 8 winners (the four you started with, plus four new diamond winners). You still need another winner, but we’ve already figured out you cannot play spades.
So where can you get one more winner, without losing the lead?
Example 19
| Dummy ♠ K Q T 7 ♥ 8 6 ♦ K T 3 2 ♣ A 5 2 |
| You ♠ J 9 ♥ A K J 5 ♦ Q J 8 7 4 ♣ K 6 |
Take inventory:
Your contract is 3N (you need 9 tricks).
The opening lead is the ♣3. The split assumption for their 8 clubs is 5-3, but… why do you reject this assumption?
Count winners for both sides.
“This hand seems very similar to the previous one,” the player observes. “We still can’t prevent them from cashing their club tricks before we secure our 9th trick, so I guess we’ll need to take the heart finesse to ensure we get that trick.”
“You’re thinking ahead, which is exactly the right mindset,” I reply. “We have two club stoppers, but since they have the lead, we can’t force out their two aces in time to stop them from cashing their clubs. Let’s proceed step by step. First, we’ll finish analyzing the current situation before diving into the planning phase.”
Assess the threat:
Would it be OK if they establish and cash club skaters?
Make a plan:
This time club skaters are no immediate threat, so we can go slowly and drive out both of their aces. We will establish 11 tricks – 3 spades, 2 hearts, 4 diamonds, and 2 clubs.
How many of those 11 tricks will we get to cash?
Why would it be a mistake to take the heart finesse?
If you’re feeling confused, it might be helpful to go back and carefully review each example. Take the time to work through all the steps while focusing solely on the cards shown in the diagrams.
It may take a bit of effort and patience, but if you push forward without fully understanding the concepts, you might find yourself frustrated. And frustration rarely leads to success. It’s important to solidify your understanding before moving on to ensure you’re building a strong foundation for future hands.
Example 20
| Dummy ♠ K Q 7 ♥ 8 6 3 ♦ Q T 9 8 7 2 ♣ A 5 |
| You ♠ J 9 ♥ K Q J T ♦ J 6 4 ♣ K Q 6 |
Take inventory:
Your contract is 2N. You need 8 tricks.
The defenders would defeat your contract if they take 6 tricks.
How many winners does each side have?
The opening lead is the ♣4. What is the club split assumption?
Assess the threat:
Can you afford to let them establish and cash club skaters?
You will use one of your club stoppers on the opening lead. You have 2 more, so you can lose the lead 2 times, and each time you will be able to recapture the lead with a stopper.
Let me repeat that. It’s okay to lose the lead 2 times, but not 3 times.
Make a plan:
Now let’s look at the suits and see how many tricks you can establish while losing the lead only twice.
We’ll start with diamonds. They have 2 diamond stoppers, so you would lose the lead 2 times before you could enjoy diamond skaters.
Would you get enough diamond winners to make the contract?
Maybe you could use your 2 lost-leads elsewhere and get the 5 winners you need. Like this…
How about playing both hearts and spades? They only have one stopper in each suit, and you have enough club stoppers to reclaim the lead twice.
How many tricks would you establish if you drive out their aces in hearts and spades?
If you choose the right suit(s) to establish (starting at trick 2), you will make your contract.
Example 21
| Dummy ♠ K 8 3 ♥ J 6 4 ♦ K J 8 4 ♣ K Q 7 |
| You ♠ 7 6 ♥ A Q 2 ♦ A Q 2 ♣ A J T 3 2 |
Take inventory:
Your contract is 3N. You need 9 tricks.
You have 10 winners – 1 heart, 4 diamonds, and 5 clubs. If they lead any of those three suits, you will win and cash all 10 of your winners, winning the race and making an overtrick.
But the opening lead isn’t in one of the suits where you have your winners, it’s the ♠5.
Assess the threat:
Is your ♠K a stopper? It’s only a stopper if it wins a trick and captures the lead. If it gets squished by their ♠A, how many tricks can they cash?
It seems like you need luck to have the ♠A on-sides.
- If you play your ♠K on the opening lead, you will indeed need the luck of the ♠A being on-sides.
- Too bad your ♠K isn’t playing last. If it played last, it would be promoted to a winner and be a stopper. On this hand you don’t need an extra winner, but you do need a stopper.
Make a plan:
If only RHO were the one to lead, your ♠K would play last and be a stopper. So…
…how can you pass the lead over to RHO and thereby turn your ♠K into a stopper?
At trick 2, RHO is stuck.
- If he leads another spade, your ♠K is promoted, stopping them from cashing the setting tricks. You would be ahead in the race to cash your tricks before they cash theirs.
- If he leads something else – anything else – win the trick and cash the rest of your 10 winners, making an overtrick.
We’ve solved the hand. But let’s continue with some additional counting practice:
If RHO leads spades at trick 2, how many tricks would you make?
At trick 2, suppose RHO switches to leading a heart. If the ♥K is on-sides you could finesse twice, winning the first finesse with Dummy’s ♥J, and make 2 extra overtricks. Is this a risk-free finesse?
If you don’t finesse when East leads a heart at trick 2, what will you do?
When you take inventory, you know both sides have enough possible winners to win the race. So when they give you a chance to win the lead, seize the opportunity, cash your tricks, and make your contract.
It’s true that if you are psychic and you know the ♠A and the ♥K are both on-sides, you can win the ♠K on the opening lead, take the winning heart finesse, and make 12 tricks instead of only 10 or 11.
If you’re playing a typical hand, it’s often best to take the safer approach and use your ♠K as a stopper by playing low from Dummy on the opening lead. This will help ensure that your contract remains secure without taking unnecessary risks.
Example 22
| Dummy ♠ Q J T 9 2 ♥ K 7 ♦ A Q J 7 2 ♣ 8 |
| You ♠ K 4 ♥ Q J T 4 ♦ K T 9 8 ♣ A 9 5 |
Take inventory:
Your contract is 3N.
A quick glance at our cards makes it seem like you can drive out the two major suit aces and have 4 spade tricks, 3 hearts, 5 diamonds, and 1 club. That’s 13 possible tricks total.
“With 13 potential tricks available, it might seem like reaching 9 tricks to fulfill a 3NT contract should be a simple task,” the player remarks.
“Not always, my friend,” I reply, “It’s not quite that simple.”
..because those pesky opponents start with a club lead, and persist with clubs until they drive out your only club stopper. What is the split assumption for clubs?
Assess the threat:
As soon as you lead a major suit, they play their ace to get the lead, and cash their club skaters. How many tricks can they take before you can get the lead back?
“Wait, what about my overtricks? I was hoping for some overtricks!” the player says, looking disappointed.
“Unfortunately, you begin with just 6 cashable tricks and only one stopper in a critical suit,” I explain. “What seemed like an easy contract quickly turns into a set because your opponents manage to cash their tricks first. As a result, you’ll end up discarding some of your planned winners on their club tricks, and your overtricks are no longer possible.”
The player sighs in frustration, clearly hoping for a better outcome.
Make a plan:
This contract didn’t have a reliable plan in place. Some hands simply can’t be made when facing optimal defense. While it’s always possible to get lucky and have the opening lead come from a different suit, not clubs, that would give you a chance to establish additional winners before your club stopper is compromised. However, with the right defensive strategy, even the best-laid plans can be thwarted, leaving you without a way to make your contract.
Now let’s change the hand just a little and see what happens.
Example 23
| Dummy ♠ Q J T 9 2 ♥ K 7 ♦ A Q J 7 2 ♣ 8 |
| You ♠ K 4 ♥ Q J T 4 ♦ K T 9 8 ♣ A K 5 |
Take inventory:
This is almost the same hand as above… I’ve given you the ♣K.
Now when the defense attacks clubs, you have a second stopper. You might think this would increase your tricks by one, or maybe two (plus one for you and minus one for them because we took away their ♣K). But that’s not what happens.
They drive out your first club stopper, and you drive out the ace that gives you the most tricks.
They drive out your remaining club stopper, and you cash your tricks.
How many tricks will you have (in total)?
- On the previous hand they established and cashed their tricks first. You had to make discards on their club skaters.
- On this hand you cash yours first. They have to make discards on your spades and diamonds.
That’s why we often describe no-trump contracts as a race.
In these situations, the key isn’t necessarily the total number of tricks you can establish, but rather being the first to reach the critical number of tricks required to either make your contract or prevent your opponents from breaking it. Speed and timing play a crucial role in determining the outcome, as you need to stay ahead in establishing your tricks before your opponents can claim theirs.