Sometimes an opponent’s opening lead can help you make an extra trick by allowing you to win a lower card than you could win if you played the suit yourself.
This is often the case when you hold the ace, king and ten in the suit led.
When an opponent leads an honour card, that opponent will usually have led from a sequence of honours. If an opponent leads the queen, you should assume that opponent also holds the jack.
If you can leave your king or ace with the ten for the second round of the suit, you may be able to finesse to win the ten on the next round of the suit.
Example: Declarer ♠K72 Dummy ♠A106
You are west and the declarer in 4♥. North leads ♠Q. Play the ♠6 from the dummy and run the lead around to your hand, winning with ♠K. Later lead ♠2 from west, and when north plays low, finesse to win east’s ♠10.
If an opponent leads an honour card and you can see the lower honour in your hand or in the dummy’s hand you know the lead is not a ‘top of a sequence’ lead. The lead is now likely to a singleton or doubleton.
Example: Declarer ♠K102 Dummy ♠A76
You are west and the declarer in 4♥. North leads ♠J. Play the ♠A from the dummy. Later lead ♠6 from east, and when south plays low, finesse to win west’s ♠10.
If you have the ace, king and ten between the declarer and dummy’s hand and an opponent leads a low card, first play low from the dummy.
If the third player to the trick plays the queen or jack, you capture that honour with your ace or king. On the next lead of the suit you may be able to finesse the player who led the suit for the other missing honour.
Example: Declarer ♠K72 Dummy ♠A106
You are west and the declarer in 4♥. North leads ♠3. Play the ♠6 from the dummy and run the lead around to your hand, hoping that south will play an honour following the maxim ‘third hand high’.
If south plays ♠Q, win ♠K. Later lead ♠2 from west, and when north plays low, finesse to win east’s ♠10.
A similarly scenario occurs when you have the have ace, jack and ten in the suit led. You will usually be able to make two tricks in the suit if an opponent leads the suit.
Example: Declarer ♠J72 Dummy ♠A106
You are west and the declarer in 4♥. North leads ♠3. Play the ♠6 from the dummy and run the lead around to your hand. You may be able to win the first trick with ♠J.
If south wins the first trick with ♠K, south may return a different suit. When you gain the lead you can play to make two tricks in spades by leading ♠2 from west. After north plays low, finesse to win east’s ♠10.
If you had played ♠A at the first trick or had to play the suit yourself, you will often only win the ace and have to lose to both ♠K and ♠Q.
Your opponent’s lead of the suit helps you make more tricks as you can finesse on the second round of the suit.
© 2022 John Roberts