Understanding which of your honors are well-positioned and which are not can often guide your decisions during the play of a hand.
The following is a simplified method for evaluating the placement of your honors. Simplifications are a helpful starting point when learning.
Aces
A defender has a harder time assessing the value of their aces compared to the declarer. Without the ability to see their partner’s hand, they must rely on inferences drawn from their own hand and the cards visible in the dummy.
What do we know about aces?
✔ Aces are always valuable—they guarantee a trick.
✔ An ace is well-placed if you can play it to capture the declarer’s king.
✔ An ace is poorly placed if the declarer’s king plays after your ace, making it less effective.
Example 1: Well Placed Ace
| Partner ♠ ? | |
| West ♠ ? | East ♠ K 4 2 |
| You ♠ A 5 3 | |
Your ♠A is a well placed ace because you play after the ♠K. Maybe you’ll get the chance to squish the ♠K.
There’s an old bridge maxim: “Aces were made to put on top of kings.”
Example 2: Poorly Placed Ace
| Partner ♠ ? | |
| West ♠ K 4 2 | East ♠ ? |
| You ♠ A 5 3 | |
Your ♠A is poorly placed because you cannot use it to capture your opponents’ ♠K.
If East leads toward their partner’s losing honor (♠K), hoping the ♠A is favorably positioned, they’ll be pleased to see that you hold the ace rather than your partner. West’s ♠K will win a trick because your poorly placed ace can’t neutralize it.
What if we can’t see the king?
You may have to visualize declarer’s king, and make an assumption about the value of your ace’s location.
Example 3: Well Placed Ace
| Partner ♠ ? | |
| Dummy ♠ 6 4 2 | Declarer ♠ ? |
| You ♠ A 5 3 | |
If declarer holds the king in the closed hand, your ace is well placed when declarer is on your right.
You are in position to squish declarer’s imagined king.
Example 4: Poorly Placed Ace
| Partner ♠ ? | |
| Declarer ♠ ? | Dummy ♠ 6 4 2 |
| You ♠ A 5 3 | |
Your ace is poorly placed when you can’t see the king and declarer is on your left.
You are not in position to squish declarer’s imagined king. If he has the king, it will take a trick when he leads toward it.
Summary – Well Placed Ace
The value of a well-placed ace lies in its ability to stop the declarer’s king from winning a trick. By playing your ace over the king, you ensure that the king does not score a trick.
When declarer holds both the K and the Q
Example 5: Well Placed Ace
| Partner ♠ ? | |
| Declarer ♠ Q 7 6 | Dummy ♠ K 4 2 |
| You ♠ A 5 3 | |
…he will see these two honors as equally valuable—and so should you. Your ace cannot capture both of declarer’s honors, but capturing either one has the same value.
Therefore, your ace is considered well-placed if it can capture either the king or the queen held by declarer.
Example 6: Well Placed Ace
| Partner ♠ ? | |
| Declarer ♠ K 7 6 | Dummy ♠ Q 4 2 |
| You ♠ A 5 3 | |
I’ve swapped the king and the queen, but since these honors are of equal value, you should treat this as no different from example 5.
Your ace is well-placed. If you capture the queen, declarer will only gain one trick in this suit.
Example 2 (repeated): Poorly Placed Ace
| Partner ♠ ? | |
| West ♠ K 4 2 | East ♠ ? |
| You ♠ A 5 3 | |
I’ve repeated the first example of a poorly placed ace (example 2).
Note that the addition of the queen to the right of your ace would change this to a well placed ace, as in example 6.
If declarer has the Q you can’t see, your ace is well placed.
If partner has the Q you can’t see, your ace is poorly placed.
Suppose the only honor your can see is the Queen
Example 7: Q on your left
| Partner ♠ ? | |
| Dummy ♠ Q 4 2 | Declarer ♠ ? |
| You ♠ A 5 3 | |
Someone must hold the K.
If declarer has the K, you’ll be able to play your ace over it, making your ace well-placed.
If your partner has the K, they can play it to capture declarer’s only remaining high honor. Your ace and your partner’s king are equally effective. A well-placed king (capturing the Q) is just as valuable as having a well-placed ace.
Therefore, you can consider your ace to be well-placed.
Example 8: Q on your right
| Partner ♠ ? | |
| Declarer ♠ ? | Dummy ♠ Q 4 2 |
| You ♠ A 5 3 | |
You will be able to play your ace on top of declarer’s Q, so your ace is well placed regardless of who holds the K.
If partner has the K, declarer will get no tricks in this suit.
If declarer has the K, your well placed ace will prevent him from winning two tricks with his two honors.
Summary – when you can see the Q
If you hold the ace and the only honor visible in the dummy is the Q, your ace is considered well-placed.
Your ace will be effective regardless of which side holds the Q or who has the K.
KQx in the same hand
Example 9: KQx on your left
| Partner ♠ ? | |
| Dummy ♠ K Q 2 | Declarer ♠ ? |
| You ♠ A 5 3 | |
Now let’s examine situations where the K and Q are both in the same hand. These follow the same general principle as when only one honor is visible.
The rule is: if you can use your ace to capture one of declarer’s honors, it’s effective. In this case, your ace is well-placed.
In this setup, where the KQx are on your left, your ace is poorly placed. If declarer can repeatedly lead from your right through your poorly positioned ace, they will be able to win two tricks with their two honors.
Example 10: KQx on your right
| Partner ♠ ? | |
| Declarer ♠ ? | Dummy ♠ K Q 2 |
| You ♠ A 5 3 | |
When the KQx are on your right, your ace is well-placed. This allows you to play your ace on one of declarer’s honors, limiting them to just one trick from their two honors.
When do you PLAY your ace?
K on your left
Example 11
| Partner ♠ ? | |
| Dummy ♠ K 4 2 | Declarer ♠ 6 |
| You ♠ A 5 3 | |
When declarer leads a low card toward their K, play low from your ace. This follows the general principle in bridge of “second hand low.”
There are solid reasons for this guideline.
For example, if declarer holds the Q…
…you need to keep your ace positioned over the Q to prevent declarer from winning TWO tricks with their K and Q. That’s why you must play low when they lead toward the K. The K will win this trick, but your ace will then be well-placed to capture the Q.
If declarer does not hold the Q…
…he is leading toward his weaker honor (the K), hoping the ace is favorably positioned. Your “poorly placed” ace is exactly what he needs. He will win a trick with his K—either immediately if you play low, or later if you play your ace. You play low to guard against the possibility that declarer also holds the Q.
When he doesn’t hold the Q, you cannot stop him from making a trick with his K. It’s OK for him to get the first trick in this suit, while you get your ace later.
If declarer has led a singleton…
…and you play low, you may never get your ace because declarer may trump it.
At first, this might seem unfavorable—and sometimes it is. However, often it makes no difference whether you play low or take your ace on the first round. If you take your ace, declarer’s K becomes an additional winner in the dummy, allowing them to discard another loser—one they wouldn’t be able to get rid of if you still held your ace.
Even when declarer has led a singleton, it usually balances out when you play low.
Summary for K on your left
If declarer also holds the Q, it’s crucial for you to play low to guard against this possible holding.
If you are absolutely certain that declarer has led a singleton, you can take your ace. Otherwise, always play low!
Exceptions:
Play your ace instead of playing low if it is the trick needed to defeat the contract.
Play your ace instead of playing low if you need to gain the lead as part of a clear strategy to secure the setting tricks. For example, in a no-trump contract, you might want to take the lead to return the suit your partner led on the opening trick. This could allow your partner to cash enough tricks to defeat the contract.
Q on your left
Example 12
| Partner ♠ ? | |
| Dummy ♠ Q 4 2 | Declarer ♠ 6 |
| You ♠ A 5 3 | |
When declarer leads a spot card toward his Q, play low from your ace. The reasons for this are even more compelling than when declarer leads toward a K in the dummy.
If declarer holds the K…
…you need to preserve your ace over it so he will not make TWO tricks with his K and Q. Play low and let him win with dummy’s Q, while you retain your ace “well placed” over his K.
If declarer does not hold the K…
…he is leading toward his marginal honor (the Q), hoping to find both the ace and the K on sides. Partner’s “well placed” K will be a disappointment to him.
You play low to protect yourself against the possibility that declarer holds the K. When partner has it instead, playing low still leads to a good result for your partnership.
If declarer has led a singleton…
…and you play low, you will not lose your only chance to win the trick. Partner will win the trick with his K. The K has to be somewhere, and if declarer holds a singleton, it must be partner who has the K.
Summary for Q on your left
If declarer also holds the K, it is so important for you to play low, that you should always play low to protect yourself against this actually being declarer’s holding.
Unlike when declarer leads toward the K, there is no danger that he will steal a trick if he holds a singleton.
KQx on your left
Example 13
| Partner ♠ ? | |
| Dummy ♠ K Q 2 | Declarer ♠ 6 |
| You ♠ A 5 3 | |
Declarer leads a spot card toward his KQx combination in the dummy. Your ace is poorly placed. Declarer can make certain of two tricks from his two honors by repeatedly leading towards them.
If you play your ace, declarer can easily cash his two tricks. It’s not good to make things easy for declarer, so you play low. (Does this sound familiar?)
What have you gained by playing low on declarer’s first lead?
Declarer wins with the Q, gaining the lead in dummy. He wants to lead toward his K again, but the lead is now in the wrong hand. To do so, he must use an entry from his hand (a winner in his own hand) to lead another small card toward his “losing honor.” Sometimes, there aren’t enough entries to accomplish everything declarer wants. Running out of crucial entries could cost him a trick.
Play your ace on declarer’s second lead.
If declarer “crosses to his hand” (forced by your decision to play low from your ace on the first lead) and then leads another small card toward the K, take your ace at this point.
Why do you take your ace on the second lead?
By doing so, you aim to make it harder for declarer to cash their second trick in this suit. To do so, they’ll need either a third card in the suit to lead from their hand or an entry in another suit in the dummy to access their now-established winner.
Taking your ace on the second round may force declarer to use extra entries from both hands.
What’s the risk of playing low on the first round?
If declarer started with a singleton in this suit, you may lose your chance to take a trick with your ace altogether.
Caution… If you need to win your ace as part of a clear path to defeating the contract, take it on the first lead of the suit.
TOtherwise, play low on the first round, and take your ace on the second round.
KQx on your right
| Partner ♠ 4 | |
| Declarer ♠ 3 | Dummy ♠ K Q 2 |
| You ♠ A 7 5 | |
When the KQx is on your right, your ace is well-placed. You should be able to capture one of declarer’s honors with your ace, limiting them to just one trick from their KQx combination.
Declarer hopes your ace is in your partner’s hand—”favorably placed” from their perspective. In that scenario, their KQx would win two tricks. Discovering the ace in your hand will be a disappointment for declarer.
When declarer leads a low card toward the dummy and plays the Q, it’s often best to play low. This might seem counterintuitive—after all, isn’t capturing one of declarer’s honors the best use of an ace? Yes, it is. But don’t worry—you will capture one of declarer’s honors on the next round.
What do you gain by playing low on the first round?
Declarer still won’t know which defender holds the ace. To continue the play, they may need to use an entry to their hand to lead toward their remaining Kx, hoping your partner holds the unplayed ace. When you eventually capture their second honor, declarer has wasted an entry attempting something that failed. This could leave them without enough entries for other plays that might have succeeded.
What do you risk by playing low on the first round?
If declarer started with a singleton in this suit, you may lose the chance to win a trick with your ace entirely.
Caution… If you need to win your ace as part of a clear path to defeating the contract, take it on the first lead of the suit.
Otherwise, play low on the first round, and take your ace on the second round.
Follow-ups when your Ace is well placed
If you can play your ace over one of declarer’s honors, your ace is well-placed. Not only does it win a trick, but it also prevents one of declarer’s honors from taking a trick.
As a result, lower honors in your hand or your partner’s are promoted.
This is a crucial concept. Up to this point, we’ve only focused on the ace, K, and Q, while disregarding the J and 10. Holding promoted honors means you’ll be in a position to take more tricks. However, if declarer holds those lower honors, they will be the one gaining extra tricks.
This is the final article in the “How to Win Tricks” section. If you haven’t yet read the previous articles in this section, I recommend doing so now. Otherwise, feel free to explore the topics on Bidding, Bridge Defense, or Declarer Play.