Opening lead tables Larry Hammick larry@hammick.com 2000.04.03 Contents ;Introduction ;Trump leads ;Traditional leads vs. NT ;Traditional leads vs. suits ;Variations on the traditional leads ;;Lead from three small ;;A from AK ;;Top of nothing ;;QJ98 and KQT9 ;Rusinow and Roman honour leads ;Journalist leads ;Exceptions re unblocking ;Spot leads from known length ;Introduction This article is not about what suit to lead, but only about the card to lead from a given collection within a suit. The choice of card is usually governed by conventions whose aim is to give partner an idea of what else you have in the suit and why you are leading it. The more widely used conventional lead tables are described here, along with a few circumstances in which it may be good business to deviate from convention. ;Trump leads We will dispense with trump leads first, in order not to have to make various exceptions later. Which card to lead from a collection of trumps is not determined by a conventional lead table, but just by the logic of the situation. Unless _all_ your cards are in sequence or headed by the ace, it is unsafe to lead anything except the lowest. To illustrate, leading the 9 from 986 cannot gain and will sometimes allow declarer an extra entry to dummy by finessing against the 8 on the second round; to lead the J from JT8 can waste a trick if partner has the singleton K or Q, and in some other cases as well. From Ax, assuming that you will want to pull two rounds, it would be normal to start with the ace. If declarer's trump suit is so good that you might bring down a singleton honour from partner, then you probably shouldn't be leading a trump. Robert Ewen has suggested leading the middle card from three negligible trumps, to be followed by the lowest. This extends the carding convention whereby an echo in trumps shows three. If you use this convention, you will have to lead low from xx, even if they are in sequence. ;Traditional leads vs. NT The (rare) lead of an ace against notrump shows a very good suit and requires partner to drop an honour if he has one, and otherwise to signal length. This convention goes all the way back to Bridge Whist. Without an honour, the original treatment was to follow high from a doubleton, low from three, and second-highest from four or more. Currently, the convention is to echo with any even number and play the lowest from an odd number. Doubleton Lead the higher card, except from AK. Trebleton 9xx or less Lead the highest, to be followed by the middle (second highest) card. One or more honours third Lead high if the top two are in sequence (except from AK). Lead the top of an interior sequence. Else lead the bottom card. Four or more The fourth highest is led unless a fairly good sequence is held. Lead the top of a 3-card sequence, except K from AKQ. Lead the top of a broken sequence, except K from AKJ: KQTx K QJ9x Q JT8x J T97x T Lead the top of an "interior seqence", if that card is the ten or better: KJTxx J AT9xx T J98xx Fourth best. KQT9x K, not the T AQT9x The T is conventional, but the Q is advisable if the K is apt to be in dummy. Some players want a stronger sequence before they lead high, so that it is safer for partner to unblock with a doubleton. Examples: QJ9xx Fourth best QJ98x Q T98xx Fourth best T976x T From AKxx, there is no advantage in leading low (to prevent blockage if partner has a doubleton), so the K is led, to keep the lead and give the leader a chance to shift. ;Traditional leads vs. suits The ace is led whenever it is held without the K. From AK doubleton, the A is led; when the K follows, it conventionally shows the doubleton. From AK not doubleton, the king is led. From any other combination headed by two honours in sequence or by T9, the highest card is led. From an interior sequence, the second-highest (i.e. the top of the interior sequence) is led. In the remaining cases the conventional card is the same as against NT. ;Variations on the traditional leads ;;Lead from three small Nowadays there is no concensus on the lead from xxx. The traditional lead is the highest; this immediately denies an honour, but the trouble is that partner cannot always tell, even after the second round, whether the lead was doubleton. To conventionally lead low from xxx trades one advantage for the other: it immediately denies a doubleton but leaves open the question of an honour in the suit. The MUD ("Middle, Up, Down") convention calls for the middle card, to be followed by the highest. This makes the position clear after two rounds but usually leaves it quite ambiguous after one. Against that, if the lead is the 8 and partner can see the 9 (or it is the 7 and he can see the 8 and 9) he knows at once that the lead is not from xxx. MUD players allow themselves to follow with the smallest card on the second round, either to deceive declarer or to avoid losing a trick by wasting a relatively high spot card. Another treatment worth considering is to lead high _or_ low from xxx, to deny an honour or to deny a doubleton, whichever seems more important in the present circumstances. This is in line with the optional top-of-nothing lead from four or more spot cards. The lead from xxx _in partner's suit_ frequently arises. A good treatment is to lead low if you have not supported the suit during the auction, but high if you have. ;;A from AK Leading the K equally from AK and KQ can give partner a real problem. 52 K led J84 ? When West leads the K, East will probably want signal for a continuation if the Q is behind it, but not if declarer has the Q. To conventionally lead the A from AK escapes such difficulties. The price one pays is that East may not know if the ace is unsupported. Against that, the K will often be visible to East (either in dummy or in his own hand), partly because West will avoid leading an unsupported A if the K is apt to be with declarer. If your partnership leads unsupported aces only in well defined circumstances, better still. ;;Top of nothing If you lead fourth best equally from K742 and 8742, partner may need to guess whether to return your suit. Many pairs therefore allow themselves to lead the highest or second-highest from a suit of four or more spot cards. This conceals the leader's exact length but makes it clearer whether a trick or two can be established there. ;;QJ98 and KQT9 To avert a Bath coup, some pairs lead the J from QJ98 or the Q from KQT9, conventionally asking partner to drop the immediately lower card (T or J respectively) if he has it. ;Rusinow and Roman honour leads In the 1930's Sydney Rusinow solved the problem of leading the K equally from AK and KQ. One simply leads the second highest of any honour sequence against _suit_ contracts _except_ in partner's suit. From two honours doubleton, the higher is led. From a sequence of three or more cards, the third highest may be played next if the suit is continued. An extension of the Rusinow convention, to lead the second-highest from an interior sequence as well, was used by some of the earlier Italian greats and is part of the Journalist lead system described below. Belladonna and Avarelli published the Blue Team's carding system along with their bidding system (Roman Club) in the 1950's, a little prior to Italy's first Bermuda Bowl victory. The Rusinow convention is used for honour leads against NT as well as suit bids. (The merit of Rusinow leads at NT is debatable; at NT, long-card winners are sought and the difference between AK and KQ is not so significant.) Further, the T always shows an interior sequence. Thus the J is lead from JTx(x) as well as from QJx(x). ;Journalist leads Named after the defunct _Bridge Journal_, this comprehensive system combines various ideas -- or fashions -- that were being developed at the time (1964-65). They express one's holding so clearly that I have sometimes been thanked for using them by gracious opposing declarers. Against NT: The ace has its traditional meaning, calling for an honour or a length signal. K from AK or KQ. Q from QJ or from KQT9, to ask partner to show the J. J from JT. The J denies any higher card. T from AJT, QT9, etc. The T is always from an interior sequence. 9 from T9. The 9 shows the T but no other honour. Lowest from length in which a continuation is requested. There is no fourth-best or similar convention at NT. A high spot card may be led from a weak suit, if a continuation may be pointless. Against suit contracts, Journalist follows a different pattern. The Rusinow convention applies to honour combinations, including interior sequences. Thus the 9 is led from QT9, for example. When leading low from length, the third best is led from an even number and the bottom card from an odd number. (For third-best leads, there is a Rule of Twelve instead of a Rule of Eleven.) But again a player may lead the highest card below the 9 to indicate that the suit is weak. ;Exceptions re unblocking The danger of blockage in your side's suit may require special attention, especially in NT contracts. We will give a few illustrations. S N 2NT 4NT Pass After such bidding, opponents will surely make their contract unless partner's values fit ideally with your own. So, if your only feature is KJx or QTx, lead an honour, not the small one, hoping that partner has some length there. QJxx JTxx If you lack side entries, it may be best to lead low even against a suit bid, to avoid blocking out a trick. AJx Partner has bid this suit but declarer is in 3NT nonetheless. You might elect to lead the J up to his presumed KQx. KJT9xx Opponents are in 3NT and you have one entry alongside this suit. You might lead the K to dispose of a possible singleton Q in partner's hand. And if he has the singleton ace instead? Then you would need two side entries to run the suit anyway. ;Spot leads from known length When leading a suit of which declarer's exact length has been advertised in the bidding, there is no need to choose a conventional spot card such as the fourth best or the top of a doubleton. A partnership should, in theory, have some other understanding in this situation. The simplest treatment is to lead a spot card at random, which at least conceals your length from declarer. Another idea is to try to attach a suit-preference connotation to a spot lead up to known length. Rather rarely, the opener's own length will have been announced in the bidding. In that case, if he leads a spot card, he may as well lead the lowest.