This Week in Bridge
(623) Card Play: Goals with Your Cards – Seat Based
© AIB Robert S. Todd
Level: 3 of 10 robert@advinbridge.com
General
Getting the most out of the cards we hold is our goal when we are the Declarer or when we are defending a hand. That means we want to use our cards to allow us to take as many tricks as possible, while making it as difficult as possible for the opponents to take tricks. Let’s take a look at how we try to accomplish these feats based on when we play to a trick – our perspective will be different in each of these situations.
Playing First to a Trick – The Lead
When we are on a lead to a trick, then we get the advantage (power) of deciding which suit to lead. But because we play first to the trick, if we play an honor, then both opponents have an opportunity to “capture our honor”. This means that most of the time it is best not to waste our honor by leading it. Instead, we often lead a suit, starting with a small card, and letting partner play their honor to try to win the trick. The exception to this is when we have lots of honors (usually a sequence).
Playing 2nd to a Trick – Frustrating Situation?
You may have heard the advice “2nd hand low”. What this is trying to tell us is don’t waste your honor by playing it when partner still has a chance to play to the trick. When we play second hand, only one opponent is left to play, but partner still has our back. We often do not spend an honor unless we are trying to win a trick cheaply or we want to ensure our RHO has to spend a big card in order to try and take the trick.
Playing 3rd to a Trick – Last Line of Defense
When we are the third player to play to a trick, partner has chosen which suit to attack. So, partner wants us to try to win this trick. But we are also the last member of our side to play to the trick, so we need to make sure the opponents don’t win this trick too cheaply. This is the advice, “3rd hand high”! But this position is also flawed, because there is an opponent sitting after us, waiting to capture any honor we play. That makes this a complicated position. We don’t want to play an honor if it is not going to help our side, either to win the trick or force the opponents to spend two honors to win the trick.
Playing 4th to a Trick – The Best Place to Play
When we are the last person to play to a trick, we do not get to decide which suit is led. But most importantly, we do not get any of our honors captured by the opponents. We get to decide to spend an honor if we need it to win the trick, or otherwise we save it to try to win a future trick. This is the best place to play, as we get to save our honor cards and use them only to win tricks – not sacrificing them to the opponents.
Conclusion
The earlier in a trick you put your card on the table, the more likely it is to be captured by one of the opponent’s honors. That makes it difficult for us to use our honor (just one honor) to win the trick. The later in the trick we play, the less chance there is of the opponents capturing our honors. Playing last to a trick is best. You do this by getting your RHO to lead a suit, right around into your hand… Make sure you find every way possible not to waste your honors. Use them to force the opponents to spend lots of honors or to win a trick by avoiding being captured.