DEFENSIVE CARDING

By Larry Matheny

 

 

Defending a bridge contract is often difficult but it is much easier when you and your partner are communicating.  For this to happen, you must agree on the meaning of each card you play and that isn’t easy.  Let’s start with some carding methods to improve your defense. 

 

When following to a trick or discarding, there are three basic signals you can give your partner: attitude, count, and suit preference.  In today’s session I will give a brief overview of each of these along with examples.

 

There is a general rule that states: “When partner leads you give attitude and when declarer leads you give count”.  This is not always true but is a good guideline.  Let’s start with the first message you want to send to your partner.

 

 

ATTITUDE

 

The most common carding method is for a high card to encourage while a low one discourages.  Some players reverse this but for today’s session we will encourage with hi-low.  Here is an example that clearly demonstrates that method.

 

HAND #1

           SKQ42  HK86 DJ632 CK3

S96                                             S85                 

HQJ105                                       HA974

D874                                           D1095

CJ1074                                       C9865

      SAJ1073 H32 DAKQ CAQ2

 

North-South are in 6S and West leads the queen of hearts.  South ducks and East should encourage with the nine.  This is a very obvious case of attitude.  (It also shows North should bid 6NT to guard his heart king from the opening lead but that’s not today message.)

 

Now, while you may think that is automatic, let’s change to this layout:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HAND #2

           SKQ642  HK8 DJ632 CK3

S9                                               S5                   

HQJ105                                       HA9632

D874                                           D1095

C97654                                       CAQJ2

      SAJ10873 H74 DAKQ C108

 

North-South are now in 4S and West leads the queen of hearts.  If East will just stop and analyze the hand he will see that a club shift at trick two may be the only way to defeat this contract.  Accordingly, he follows to the first trick with the deuce.  That should wake up West who sees that any diamond loser isn’t going away but a club trick might.  Therefore he switches to a low club.  After winning two club tricks, East cashes the ace of heart for down one.  Note that if a heart is continued at trick two, declarer will discard a club on the fourth diamond and wrap up his game.

 

 

Here is another example of attitude that occurs frequently but is often overlooked:

 

HAND #3

           SKQ64  HK82 DJ93 CA93

SA8                                            S92       

HQJ105                                       H973

D1074                                         DQ852

CKJ54                                         C10762

      SJ10753 HA64 DAK6 CQ8

 

North-South reached the contract of 4S and West leads the queen of hearts.  Looking at the problem from East’s point of view, he does NOT want West to shift to another suit.  To send this message he follows with the seven of hearts to trick one.  If he played the three, when West regained the lead he might shift to one of the other suits and allow declarer to succeed.  East will follow to the second heart with the nine so his partner will not read him for a doubleton. 

 

Point to remember:  THE CARD YOU PLAY TO PARTNER’S LEAD DOESN’T NECESSARILY PROMISE OR DENY A CERTAIN HOLDING IN THAT SUIT; RATHER IT SHOWS ATTITUDE  ON WHETHER IT SHOULD BE CONTINUED.  TO PLAY A LOW CARD STRONGLY SUGGESTS YOU CAN STAND A SHIFT TO ANOTHER SUIT.

 

 

 

 

Here’s an opportunity to show attitude in a side suit:

 

HAND #4

           SK76  HAQ10 D1075 CK763

SJ1098                                       S5432   

H76                                             HKJ984

DAQJ                                          D86

CJ942                                         C108

      SAQ H532 DK9432 CAQ5

 

West leads the jack of spades against South’s 3NT.  East follows with the deuce to show no interest in the suit.  Declarer will attack diamonds or clubs and on the third round of either suit, East should discard the nine of hearts.  This high spot asks West to shift to a heart when given the opportunity.  It’s also important to point out that a low heart would deny interest in that suit.

 

 

COUNT

 

It also helps to be able to tell partner how many cards you hold in a suit.  The standard way to show count is to hi-low with an even number and play low-hi with an odd number. 

 

Here are some rules when giving count:

 

-        When possible play your second highest card to show an even number (9643).

 

-        When following to partner’s opening lead of an ace (from ace-king), to encourage, play high from a doubleton up through the jack.  When holding QX, play small; the play of the queen promises the jack or a singleton.  (An exception will be discussed in the section on suit-preference.)

 

-        Don’t give count when it will help declarer more than your partner.

 

-        A hi-low in the trump suit shows an odd number.

 

-        Against a slam, always give count when partner’s opening lead is an ace or king.

 

-        When partner leads the ace (from ace-king) and dummy hits with QXX or JXXX, give partner count.  This will help partner decide if the king will cash.

 

 

 

 

Here is a situation where count is mandatory.

 

 

HAND #5

            S875  H96 D632 CKQ1073

SQJ1093                                     S42       

HJ102                                         H8754

D104                                           DQJ97

C962                                           CA85

      SAK6 HAKQ3 DAK85 CJ4

 

South declares 3NT and West leads the queen of spades.  Declarer wins and leads a club toward dummy.  It is imperative for West to play the deuce on this trick.  East will read this for an odd number and win the second round of clubs to hold South to eight tricks. 

 

Another form of count is given with the opening lead.  Lacking a sequence of honors, it is customary to lead fourth best against many contracts.  Here’s an example:

 

 

HAND #6

 

            SKJ5  H965 D852 CKQ107

S94                                             SA2      

HQ10742                                     HKJ8

DAJ104                                       DQ974

C96                                             C8532

      SQ108763 HA3 DK5 CAJ4

 

North-South are in 4S and West with no obvious lead, finally settles on the four of hearts.  Declarer wins the ace and leads a spade to the king and ace.  Next, East cashes the jack of hearts noting that West followed with the deuce.  This showed that West started with five hearts so declarer has none left.  East now shifts to a diamond and the contract is defeated.  Again, this may seem very simple but if East leads a third heart, declarer will ruff, draw trumps, and discard a diamond on dummy’s fourth club.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are two other examples of giving count after winning the lead.  In each case, West leads his fourth best spade to East’s ace.

 

                         S954                                                    S954

                          

SQ10763                 SA2                 SQ1073                       SA62

                        

          SKJ8                                                    SKJ8  

 

East returns the deuce to show two or four.  East returns the six to show three (or two).

 

Those were examples of showing present count.  This is a way of showing count after you have made an attitude signal, opening lead, or followed to a trick.  It is important to show present count during the play of the hand.  For example, holding K8654 and playing the king after partner led the suit, your first discard in the suit will be the six. 

 

One of the rules is to not give declarer too much information.  There are many times where you most certainly don’t want declarer to know your distribution in a suit and your partner won’t care if you lie.  Take a look at this suit:

 

                                     SAQ103

                         SJ862                          S97       

 

                               SK54

 

South plays the ace, king and a low spade toward dummy and I’m sure you can see that giving count in this situation isn’t going to help you at all but declarer may like it.  Of course, if declarer knows you are a “less than truthful person”, you should vary your play.

 

 

SUIT PREFERENCE

 

Attitude and count are usually straightforward but now we get into an area that is not so clear.  For example, some partnerships use suit-preference when dummy hits with a singleton in the suit led.  However, it is possible the best defense is a continuation of that suit forcing dummy to ruff.  In this case, a high card should ask for the suit to be continued. 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some guiding principles[1]: 

 

-WHEN PARTNER CANNOT POSSIBLY BE INTERESTED IN YOUR COUNT OR ATTITUDE, FOLLOW SUIT WITH EITHER A LOW CARD OR A HIGH CARD TO INDICATE WHICH SUIT YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR PARTNER TO PLAY.

 

-A DEFENDER CAN GIVE A SUIT-PREFERENCE SIGNAL IN A SUIT HE HAS LED WHEN THE DEFENSE IS CASHING TRICKS IN THAT SUIT AND COUNT IS NOT IMPORTANT.

 

-WHEN YOUR LENGTH IN A SUIT IS KNOWN OR CAN BE OF NO INTEREST TO PARTNER IT IS SENSIBLE TO USE YOUR CARDS TO GIVE A SUIT-PREFERENCE SIGNAL.

 

Now let’s look at some examples:

 

HAND #7

 

       SJ53  H84 DAQJ84 CJ43              SOUTH  WEST  NORTH   EAST

SA6                                            SQ9742    1NT        P         3NT    All Pass

HQ10753                                     HKJ9

D953                                           DK2

C1065                                         C987

      SK108 HA62 D1076 CAKQ2

 

West leads the five of hearts and declarer ducks the king and jack and then wins the ace.  On the third round of hearts, West should follow with the queen.  This shows an entry in the higher suit.  Without this information after gaining the lead with the king of diamonds, East would have to guess whether to lead a spade or a club.

 

HAND #8

      SAK43 HKJ109 D5 CKJ109            WEST  NORTH   EAST   SOUTH

S7                                               S9             2D        DBL        5D         5S

H875                                           HAQ3         All Pass

DAK10863                                   DQ9742

C743                                           C10865

      SQJ108652 H642 DJ CAQ

 

After this spirited auction, West leads a high diamond.  It’s clear to East that a heart shift is imperative, so he plays the queen of diamonds (unusually high card) to ask West to shift to a heart.  Switch East’s round suit holdings and he would follow with the deuce of diamonds.  As you can see, without the heart shift at trick two, declarer will draw trumps and discard two losing hearts on the clubs.

 

 

HAND #9

      S10863 HKJ10 D105 CKJ103                      EAST SOUTH  WEST NORTH          

SA                                              S7                       1D          4S         All Pass

H875                                           HAQ93  

D8643                                         DAKQ972

C76542                                       CQ8

      SKQJ9542 H642 DJ CA9

 

West obediently leads his partner’s suit and East’s normal play is the queen denying the jack.  But here he wants to send his partner a signal so he wins with the ace.  This play usually denies the king so when he continues with the king at trick two, West understands that his partner has a preference for hearts, the higher side suit.  (Think: top-down=higher suit; bottom up=lower suit.)

After winning the spade ace, West leads a heart through dummy and the contract is defeated.  If East-West were not using suit-preference signals and East had routinely played the queen of diamonds at trick one followed by another honor, poor West would have had to guess which suit to lead when he regained the lead. 

 

 

 

HAND #10

      SJ1062 HA43 DQ75 C872                 EAST SOUTH  WEST NORTH

S93                                             S84                        1S          2D      2S

H87                                             HKQ102      3D       3S      All Pass

DAK1064                                     DJ943

CKJ53                                        C1096

      SAKQ75 HJ965 D8  CAQ4

 

After the lead of an ace (from ace-king), when dummy hits with either QXX or JXXX it is customary for East to show count.  As stated earlier, this helps West decide if his king is going to cash.  Here East drops the jack (an unnecessary high card) to show a preference for a heart shift.  Since the auction tells West this can’t be a doubleton, he shifts to a heart at trick two.  You can see declarer will be defeated in this contract unless West panics and shifts to a club.  You will also note that East cannot make a suit-preference play for clubs because it would be read as count.  The UNUSUAL high card (the jack) changes this from count to suit-preference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY

 

In this session I have demonstrated the standard methods of sending three different types of messages.  As is usually the case, there are variations on these methods.  I mentioned earlier that some players reverse the manner in which they give information; this is known as UPSIDE-DOWN signaling and is quite popular.  There is also ODD-EVEN carding and LAVINTHAL carding.  Some partnerships use a SMITH ECHO to indicate if they liked the opening lead and others hi-low in the trump suit to show suit-preference rather than count.  If nothing else, I want to you leave this lesson with the realization that you must use some form of carding if you want to be a good defender.

 

I’m sure that has been a lot for some of you to absorb so please feel free to ask questions.  And please remember, you’re on defense approximately half of the time, so you must work at it.

 


[1] Mark Horton, Better Signaling Now, Chess & Bridge Limited, 2002, pp 57-62.