If Partner follows the rules (agreements) we studied in the last two sections, Opening Leads and Third Hand Play, you can figure out a lot about who holds the honors you cannot see.
Let’s start with a quick review of those agreements.
Opening Leads:
- top of a sequence of honors
- low from one honor, or two honors not in sequence
- highest spot card from suits without honors (“top of nothing”)
- high from any doubleton
- second highest from Jack-high or Ten-high suits
Third Hand Play
- make your best attempt to win the trick – “Third Hand High”
- finesse against Dummy’s honor
- if you cannot beat Dummy’s card, play a spot card to show if you have a high card in the suit (low= no; high= yes)
- play the “lowest of equals” when trying to win a trick
- When partner leads the Ace (promising the King), play the Queen to promise the Jack.
When returning Partner’s suit:
- lead high from any doubleton
- lead the top of a sequence
- lead your original fourth best
Practice placing the honors…
Suppose you’re wondering about the ♠Q. The main deductive process for placing it goes like this…
“Partner cannot have the ♠Q because if she did, she would have played a different card.” Alternatively, it may be possible for Partner to have the missing card, but Declarer cannot have it because he would have played a different card.
We’ll practice this kind of reasoning in all of our example hands.
Example 1
| Partner ♥ K | |
| Dummy ♥ 5 4 | Declarer ♥ 2 |
| You ♥ A J 9 3 | |
You lead the ♠3 against their notrump contract.
Declarer captures Partner’s ♠T with his ♠Q.
Who has the ♠K?
If Partner had the ♥Q as well as the ♥K, she would play it on the opening lead. Third hand plays the lowest of equals.
Declarer has the ♥Q.
Example 2
| Partner ♦ Q | |
| Dummy ♦ 5 4 | Declarer ♦ 2 |
| You ♦ A T 9 3 | |
You lead the ♦3 against their notrump contract.
Partner wins with the ♦Q.
Who has the ♦K?
Partner has the ♦K.
You can’t tell from Partner’s card because she would play the same card whether or not she held the ♦K.
But if Declarer had the ♦K, he wouldn’t let partner win the trick. So he doesn’t have it.
Declarer may choose to hold up an ace, because the ace is always a winner later. But he will not hold up with a king, risking that you later put your ace on top of it. So when Declarer doesn’t capture Partner’s ♦Q, we can be confident that he doesn’t have the ♦K.
Who has the ♦J?
Declarer has the ♦J.
Partner played the ♦Q on the first trick.
If she held the ♦J as well, she would have played it instead of the ♦Q because she plays the lowest of equals.
Example 3
| Partner ♠ T | |
| Dummy ♠ 7 4 | Declarer ♠ Q |
| You ♠ A J 9 3 | |
You lead the ♦3 against their notrump contract.
Partner wins with the ♦Q.
Who has the ♦K?
Declarer has the ♠K.
Partner would have played it on the opening lead (third hand high).
Example 4
| Partner ♣ Q | |
| Dummy ♣ 7 4 | Declarer ♣ 5 |
| You ♣ K J 9 6 3 2 | |
You are happy to have such a long suit to lead against their notrump contract. You lead your fourth best ♣6, and Partner plays the ♣Q
Good. Partner has a filling honor. It would be a shame if Declarer held all the missing big clubs.
Who has the ♣A?
Declarer has the ♣A.
Partner plays third hand high, so playing the ♣Q denies the ♣A.
At trick two, Partner returns the ♣T.
Who has the ♣J?
Partner has played the ♣Q and the ♣T. If Partner had the ♣J as well, she would have played the ♣T on the opening lead (lowest of equals).
In addition, Partner would not return the ♣T if she also held the ♣J (return the top of a sequence).
So Partner cannot hold the ♣J. But you already knew that Partner cannot have the ♣J, because YOU do.
Example 5
| Partner ♥ 5 | |
| Declarer ♥ 3 | Dummy ♥ J 4 2 |
| You ♥ K T 6 | |
Partner leads the ♥5 against their notrump contract.
You finesse against Dummy’s ♥J, and your ♥T wins .
Who has the ♥A?
You can’t tell.
At notrump, Partner might lead away from the ♥A if she holds it.
And Declarer might hold up the ♥A if he holds it.
Who holds the ♥Q?
Partner holds the ♥Q.
Declarer can’t hold up the ♥Q. He would then be unsure of ever wining a trick with it.
So when Declarer doesn’t play the ♥Q, he doesn’t have it.
What card do you play at trick two?
Play the ♥K (high from two remaining).
If it wins, continue with your last heart. Only then will you find out who holds the ♥A.
Example 6
| Partner ♠ 5 | |
| Declarer ♠ A | Dummy ♠ J 4 2 |
| You ♠ K 7 6 | |
This is almost the same as the last example. Against a notrump contract, Partner leads a spot card.
You don’t have a lessor honor to finesse against the Dummy, so you play the ♠K, and Declarer captures it with his ♠A.
Why should Declarer be confident that his ♠J in the Dummy is worth a trick?
When you played the the ♠K, you denied the the ♠Q. Unfortunately, such inferences are available for Declarer too.
So if Declarer doesn’t have the ♠Q, he knows your partner holds it.
Declarer can later “lead toward a losing honor” (♠J). This will work for Declarer because the ♠Q is known to be on sides.
Example 7
| Partner ♦ Q | |
| Declarer ♦ ? | Dummy ♦ 8 5 |
| You ♦ K 3 2 | |
Against their 3♣ contract, Partner leads the ♦Q.
What do you play on this trick?
Play the ♦3.
This is the best you can do for “a high spot card,” to show Partner that you have a high card in this suit.
Partner will see that the ♦2 does not appear on the first trick, and maybe she’ll figure out what you have.
Who has the missing honors?
Declarer has the ♦A. Partner doesn’t lead away from aces at a trump contract.
Partner has the ♦J. The lead of an honor promises the lower touching honor.
Example 8
| Partner ♣ 8 | |
| Dummy ♣ 5 4 | Declarer ♣ 6 |
| You ♣ A K T 9 7 | |
You lead the ♣A at their notrump contract.
Partner plays the ♣8 and Declarer the ♣6.
Who has the ♣Q?
Who has the ♣J?
Declarer has the ♣J.
If Partner had both the ♣Q and the ♣J, she would have played the ♣Q to promise the ♣J.
What do you lead at trick two?
Lead the ♣7 to Partner’s ♣Q.
Partner will return a spot card, if she has one, and you will cash three more club skaters.
Example 9
| Partner ♥ 8 | |
| Declarer ♥ ? | Dummy ♥ Q 4 2 |
| You ♥ A K J 5 | |
At notrump Partner leads a heart and Dummy plays low.
What do you play?
You finesse the ♥J.
You know this will win because all the high hearts are accounted for and Declarer doesn’t have any of them.
What do you play back?
Our general rule says to play back your original fourth best, the ♥5.
But that’s silly when you can see the winning hearts in your hand. Play them from the top down and your ♥5 may be a skater.
Example 10
| Partner ♠ T | |
| Dummy ♠ 7 5 4 | Declarer ♠ Q |
| You ♠ A J 8 6 3 | |
The contract is 3 no-trump.
You hope to establish some skaters in your spade suit, so you lead your fourth best ♠6. Partner plays the ♠T and Declarer wins with the ♠Q
Who has the ♠K?
Declarer has the ♠K.
If Partner had it, she would have played it on the first trick. Third Hand High.
You later capture the lead in another suit, and you wonder if it’s possible for Declarer’s ♠K to be his only remaining spade. It would then drop if you played your ♠A.
Are there any spot cards you can be sure about? Hint: Partner played the ♠T, which tells you something.
Declarer is known to hold the ♠9.
If Partner held the ♠T9, she wouldn’t have played the ♠T on the opening lead. Third hand plays the lowest of equals.
Declarer holds a spot card to protect his ♠K. The ♠K doesn’t drop. So don’t play your ♠A now unless you can set the contract by playing it.
Wait for someone else to lead spades, so your ♠AJ can play after Declarer and you can finesse his ♠K.
Example 11
| Partner ♦ K | |
| Dummy ♦ 4 2 | Declarer ♦ 3 |
| You ♦ A J 97 | |
Another no-trump example…
You lead your fourth best ♦7. Partner wins with the ♦K.
Who holds the ♦Q?
Declarer holds the ♦Q.
Partner would have played the lowest of equals if she held both the ♦K and the ♦Q.
At trick two, Partner returns the ♦5.
How many diamonds did Partner start with?
Exactly four.
Partner’s ♦5 is the lowest outstanding diamond. It’s her original fourth best.
When Partner returns the ♦5, you capture Declarer’s ♦T with your ♦J.
Now what?
You can count the diamonds and you know that Declarer’s ♦Q is now singleton.
Play your ♦A, dropping the ♦Q, and follow with your fourth diamond.
Later, thank Partner for her skillful carding.
Example 12
| Partner ♣ K | |
| Dummy ♣ 7 4 | Declarer ♣ 2 |
| You ♣ A J 8 6 3 | |
At no-trump you lead the ♣6.
Partner plays the ♣K, and returns the ♣9.
Who has the ♣Q?
Declarer has the ♣Q.
Partner denies the ♣Q when she plays the ♣K.
Can Partner have started with four clubs?
No. With four, Partner would return a low spot card, her original fourth best.
Partner has two or three clubs. Declarer has three or four.
Example 13
| Partner ♥ 3 | |
| Declarer ♥ ? | Dummy ♥ K 5 4 |
| You ♥ J 8 2 | |
Against their notrump contract, Partner leads ♥3.
What do you play on the first trick?
If Partner has the ♥A, can Declarer have the ♥Q?
No.
Declarer would have played low from Dummy on the opening lead, using The Advantage of Playing Last to make TWO tricks with his two honors.
That last question was difficult. It’s hard enough paying attention to Partner’s played cards and what they imply. It’s harder still to consider what might cause Declarer to play differently.
If Partner has the ♥Q, can Declarer have the ♥A?
Can Declarer have both the ♥A and the ♥Q?
Can Partner have both the ♥A and the ♥Q?
Yes. Partner would lead low from that holding.
And Declarer might venture the ♥K on the first round.
There is, however an inference that Partner does not hold both the ♥A and the ♥Q. If declarer had no hope of a heart stopper other than the ♥K, he might have played low on the opening lead. Then when you win the trick, his ♥K enjoys The Advantage of Playing Last should you continue hearts. He might like that, so it’s a reasonable guess that his ♥K is not his only honor. If that’s the case, he has the ♥A and Partner has the ♥Q.
Example 14
| Partner ♠ K 7 | |
| Dummy ♠ 8 4 | Declarer ♠ T 2 |
| You ♠ A J 9 3 | |
You make the opening lead at notrump.
Partner wins the ♠K, and returns the ♠7.
Who has the ♠Q?
How many spades did Partner start with?
Three.
The ♠7 is a high spot card – high because the ♠6 and ♠5 are “missing.”
Partner leads high from two remaining.
Partner doesn’t have a doubleton because that would give Declarer so many spades that he would have bid them, and you wouldn’t have led them.
How many spades did Declarer start with?
You can conclude that Declarer’s ♠Q is protected by a spot card. Therefore…
After winning your ♠J on the second trick, DON’T play your ♠A. Wait for someone else to lead spades and you will get two additional spade tricks instead of just one.
Now let’s change a couple of spot cards…
Example 15
| Partner ♠ K 7 | |
| Dummy ♠ 6 4 | Declarer ♠ T 2 |
| You ♠ A J 5 3 | |
This is almost the same as the previous diagram. I’ve changed one spot card in the Dummy, and one in your hand.
Partner still wins the first trick with the ♠K, and still returns the ♠7.
This time you can see that this spot card is the lowest she could hold because the ♠2, ♠3, ♠4, ♠5, and ♠6 are all accounted for.
Partner’s low spot card says she started with four spades. That leaves only three spades for Declarer, and he’s played two of them. Declarer’s ♠Q is now unprotected!
It’s time to cash your ♠A, felling the ♠Q. You are then free to cash a spade skater.
A beginner might say, “I didn’t realize how important it is to pay attention to the spot cards. If Partner is always communicating something with the cards they play, I suppose I should be more observant.”
That’s absolutely correct. Watching and interpreting Partner’s signals not only improves your overall gameplay but also strengthens your partnership. Clear communication through carding fosters trust, leads to better coordination, and ultimately makes the game more enjoyable for both players.