Skillful discarding passes useful information to Partner, preserves your good cards for future tricks, and avoids helping Declarer. Learn a few bridge guidelines that illustrate these plays.
Attitude discards are signals for partner
Discard a low card to tell Partner you have no interest in the suit discarded. Usually this means you have no high honors in the suit. Sometimes you may have a high honor, but you’d prefer that Partner play a different suit.
Discard a high card to say you do have a high honor, or that you’d like Partner to play the suit.
For example, holding ♠AQ962 – discard the ♠9 if you want Partner to lead spades, or the ♠2 if you want Partner to play something else.
Example 1
| You ♠ 8 6 4 ♥ T 7 5 2 ♦ A Q T 3 ♣ 7 2 |
Partner leads a small spade against your opponents’ no-trump contract. When you are unable to beat Dummy’s ♠T, Partner learns that you have no help in spades (no honors in spades).
Declarer then plays three rounds of clubs, giving you the chance to tell Partner something with a discard.
Which discard says you don’t have much to contribute in hearts?
Which discard says you have something good in diamonds?
Which discard is better?
Usually the negative attitude card (low card = “no help”) is better. On this hand, you want to preserve both your high cards and your four-card length in diamonds (hoping for a future diamond skater). That gives you the best chance of taking extra diamond tricks.
For example, if this is the layout of the diamond suit…
Example 2
| Partner ♦ 8 5 2 | |
| Declarer ♦ 9 7 4 | Dummy ♦ K J 6 |
| You ♦ A Q T 3 | |
Two diamond leads from Partner will enable you to finesse twice and take four diamond tricks – three high cards and one skater.
But if you discard the ♦T as a signal, Declarer would have a diamond stopper, the ♦9. You would have only two high card winners, with no skater. That would reduce you to only two diamond tricks. Oops… wrong discard.
Is the negative attitude discard always better? No! High card discards are a stronger message to Partner than low card discards.
So if you can set the contract with only two diamond tricks (more likely at a trump contract than at notrump), the ♦T may be the better discard.
Attitude Discards…
- low card = “no help”
- high card = “something good in this suit”
- be careful not to discard any card needed for taking a future trick
Example 3
| You ♠ K J 8 2 ♥ Q 9 4 3 ♦ 8 3 2 ♣ 7 2 |
What would these discards mean?
Protect your honors
Keep enough spot cards to follow suit when higher honors are played.
♣Q8743 – You will need two spot cards to follow suit when the ♣A and ♣K are played. Your ♣Q may then be a third round winner. So you can discard only two clubs safely.
♥K5 – You have no extra spot cards to discard. You will need your ♥5 to follow suit when the ♥A takes a trick. Your ♥K can then take the second heart trick.
♠AQ42 – The ♠Q is a third round winner, so you will need to keep one spot card to play when the ♠K is played. Only one discard is safe, unless you can see the ♠K in the dummy on your right. In that case, you are guaranteed a winning finesse and you can discard two small spades.
Example 4
| You ♠ K 9 4 ♥ A K 7 2 ♦ Q 9 4 3 ♣ Q 2 |
How many cards can you discard in each suit and still keep your honors protected?
What about this suit: ♦T642? There are four diamonds higher than your ♦T, and you have only a four card suit. It might seem useless to save your diamond spot cards in a case like this.
But consider what happens if one of the outstanding honors is captured by a higher honor. They both get played on the same trick and your ♦T becomes the fourth round master – provided you don’t discard any of your diamonds.
This is a very important bridge concept to learn. In fact, it can be surprising how small a card can be and still need protection by holding spot cards. For example…
Example 5
| Partner ♥ J T 9 | |
| Declarer ♥ K 8 | Dummy ♥ A Q 6 4 |
| You ♥ 7 5 3 2 | |
If you discard a heart, you will lose four future heart tricks. The fourth round will be a skater in the dummy.
You can hold Declarer to three heart tricks if you keep all your hearts. Your ♥7 outranks Dummy’s ♥6 and prevents the skater.
There is a phrase to help bridge beginners learn this concept…
“Keep Parity with Dummy.”
If your biggest spot card can beat Dummy’s biggest spot card, save as many cards as Dummy holds.
Example 6
| Partner ♥ ? | |
| Dummy ♥ K 8 | Declarer ♥ ? |
| You ♥ 7 5 3 2 | |
This example has the same card layout as the previous example, but the hand on your right has become Declarer, so you won’t see it in actual play.
You will have to visualize the possibility of Declarer holding four hearts and realize the importance of holding all your heart spot cards.
This leads us to another bridge guideline, though more difficult to follow in practice because Declarer’s hand is closed.
“Keep Parity with Declarer.”
The bidding will be your best clue as to the lengths of Declarer’s suits. A second clue is that Declarer usually attacks his longest suits early in the hand, leaving his shorter suits until later. Defensive count signals can uncover the lengths of Declarer’s suits, though I recommend that bridge beginners learn other aspects of the game before trying to use count signals.
Example 7
| Partner ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ | |
| Declarer ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ | Dummy ♠ A J 6 2 ♥ K Q 8 ♦ 8 4 ♣ Q 6 5 2 |
| You ♠ Q 8 5 3 ♥ A J 9 6 ♦ A 9 2 ♣ 7 4 | |
How many spades can you safely discard?
How many hearts can you safely discard?
If this were a notrump contract, and you could get Partner to lead hearts twice, you would have hopes of winning a heart skater as well as your heart honors. In that case, you wouldn’t want to discard any hearts at all.
How many diamonds can you safely discard?
How many clubs can you safely discard?
Making Choices
Unfortunately, you can rarely keep all of the spot cards you would like to keep. So you may not be able to protect against all possible developments in the play of the hand.
But there are clues that can help you figure out which discards are the best for any given deal.
Let’s take another look at example hand 7 and consider various plays that imply different discards. I’ll repeat the diagram for convenience…
Example 7 (repeated)
| Partner ♠ ♥ ♦ 5 ♣ | |
| Declarer ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ | Dummy ♠ A J 6 2 ♥ K Q 8 ♦ 8 4 ♣ Q 6 5 2 |
| You ♠ Q 8 5 3 ♥ A J 9 6 ♦ A 9 2 ♣ 7 4 | |
| West P 1N | Partner P P | East 1♣ P | You P P |
What have we learned about Declarer’s distribution?
What have we learned about the missing high card points?
Partner’s opening lead is the ♦5. You win with your ♦A, and return the ♦9.
Suppose Partner has only four diamonds – all winners. What will you discard on the fourth round?
To defeat the contract, Partner will have to win another trick and lead hearts a second time. You will allow Dummy’s honor to win the first lead. But the second heart lead will trap Dummy’s other honor in your ♥A – ♥J finesse.
Now let’s look again at the original position, and consider your eventual discard if Declarer wins the second trick when you return the ♦9.
He then leads to Dummy’s ♥Q. You like this switch to hearts. One more heart lead and you can take three heart tricks. Without hesitating, you duck, allowing the ♥Q to win. Too bad Partner doesn’t know you like what’s going on in hearts.
Next, Declarer leads Dummy’s ♣Q and takes a finesse, losing to Partner’s ♣K. Good! Partner has the lead. Now, if we can just get him to lead hearts…
Partner cashes two more diamonds. What discard will you make on the last diamond?
Let’s try another bridge hand where your discard helps Partner learn what to lead.
Example 8
| Partner ♠ K 7 5 4 ♥ 6 2 ♦ K 5 4 ♣ K Q J 3 | |
| eclarer ♠ A Q ♥ A K J 5 3 ♦ A 9 6 ♣ A T 8 | Dummy ♠ T 8 2 ♥ Q T 8 7 4 ♦ J 8 ♣ 6 5 2 |
| You ♠ J 9 6 3 ♥ 9 ♦ Q T 7 3 2 ♣ 9 7 4 | |
Partner leads the ♣K against a 4♥ contract.
Declarer wins with the ♣A, pulls two rounds of trump, and exits with a club.
Partner takes her club winners and has to decide which king to lead away from. If she guesses wrong, Declarer makes the contract.
But it’s NOT a guess. How can you help Partner make the right decision?
artner will trust your carding and lead a small diamond, hoping for the best. The diamond lead works well, and the defense wins two clubs, a diamond, and a spade to set the contract.
Don’t help declarer
Example 9
| Partner ♣ Q T | |
| Dummy ♣ A J 7 6 4 3 | Declarer ♣ K 9 8 |
| You ♣ 5 2 | |
Declarer doesn’t want to lose a trick to the ♣Q. He cashes the ♣K and leads from the Dummy.
If you have the queen, he should finesse. And if Partner has the queen, he should play the ♣A and the queen will drop. He has a 50-50 guess.
Now suppose you’ve discarded one of your seemingly worthless clubs. You would then show out on the second round of clubs, and Declarer will make the 100% play of going up with Dummy’s ♣A, dropping Partner’s ♣Q.
Avoid discards that would tell Declarer how an important suit divides.
Example 10
| Partner ♥ Q 9 6 | |
| Dummy ♥ K J 4 | Declarer ♥ A T 5 3 |
| You ♥ 8 7 2 | |
Declarer can finesse in either direction for the missing ♥Q.
If he guesses who holds the ♥Q, he will make four heart tricks.
Now suppose you’ve discarded a small heart. Declarer knows you wouldn’t unguard the ♥Q, so your discard tells him that you don’t have it. He’ll finesse Partner for it.
Avoid discards that would tell Declarer the location of a missing honor.
The problem with defense…
A beginner might say, “I’m not sure when to follow one guideline and when to prioritize another.”
That’s a common challenge, as many guidelines for discards can appear to conflict. For instance, is it acceptable to discard from a small doubleton because there are no honors to protect, or should you keep those cards to avoid assisting Declarer? Should you discard to signal to your partner that you lack interest in a suit, or is it more critical to retain that suit to maintain parity?
The answers depend on the specific circumstances of the hand. Making these decisions requires understanding the reasoning behind each guideline and evaluating which is most relevant in the context of the hand you’re playing. While no one can predict what will be most important in the next deal, the goal is to equip yourself with the ability to think through these situations.
Even the most experienced players don’t get these decisions right every time. However, with practice and reflection, you’ll find yourself making more accurate judgments over time.
One final point: priorities can shift during the play of the hand. For example, you might initially decide to maintain parity with the Dummy, but as the hand progresses, you may realize that a different strategy takes precedence, prompting you to discard from that suit. The quicker you adapt and reevaluate as new information becomes available, the stronger your defensive play will become. Flexibility and awareness are key to improving your game.
This is the last article in the Bridge Defense folder. If you haven’t already read the previous articles in this folder, I recommend doing so now. Otherwise you can move on to Declarer Play or Bidding or the most basic folder, How To Win Tricks.