Against No Trumps

• Blind Leads (opponents just bid NT)

  • 4th highest from longest and strongest

    • except with 3+ card honour sequence when lead top of sequence

    • A 5+ card suit is very attractive, but a 4 card suit headed by a single honour is most unattractive. A second honour makes them more appealing if they don’t have a tenace.

    • A 4 card suit with a 3 honour sequence is better than a 5+ card suit of rags or Jxxxx.

    • With equal length suits

      • prefer the suit with more honours

      • with equal number of honours

        • prefer the suit with the higher honour.

        • But with Kxxxx and Axxxx

          • lead from the Kxxxx as the Ace may give you an entry to make the K+ length.

• Informed leads (if partner has bid)

  • Lead partner's bid suit if its natural, else lead your own long suit.

    • Only diverge from this if you have both a good suit and outside entries. If you don't have both those, lead partner's suit even with a singleton in it.

• Informed leads (opponents bid suits on way to NTs)

  • If opponents have shown 4+ cards in your long suit don't lead your long suit

  • Prefer an unbid major to an unbid minor

  • Prefer a 3 card suit to a doubleton

  • Prefer the stronger of equal length suits

  • But at pairs avoid risky starts with 3 or 4 card suits head by a single honour

• When can you lead a suit bid by opponents?

  • When you have 5+ cards headed by a 4 card honour sequence

    • KQJ10x or QJ109x

      • Lead top of sequence

    • With only a 3 card sequence, and you decide to lead it

      • lead 4th highest (note this is different from leading a suit opponents haven't bid when top of 3 card sequence is best)

• Lead directing doubles

  • A double of a conventional bid asks for the lead of that suit

  • A double of 3NT asks of a specific lead in this order:

    • leader's bid suit, else

    • doubler's bid suit, else

    • if neither of you have bid, dummy's first bid suit, else

    • if no suits bid by any of those 3, lead Spades (needs ♤KQJxx + outside Ace to do this)

• After a pre-empt i.e. 3♧ - 3NT

  • Unless you have a good holding in dummy's suit, lead from a strong short suit. Declarer will chuck his weaknesses on dummy's length if he can, so you need to grab your tricks asap.

• Against NT slams

  • Prioritise a 3+ card sequence, otherwise avoid leading suits with honours in them.

• Returning partner's lead

  • 1 card left: return it

  • 2 cards left: return top card

  • 3 cards left: return bottom card unless you hold a high sequence (from 98x upwards) that risks blocking partner's long suit when you should return the top of the sequence

  • 4+ cards left: return original 4th highest or top of touching honours

Against a Suit Contract

• Partner’s suit

  • Reasons not to

• Not suits bid by opposition

  • Reasons to lead them

• Unbid suits

  • Great Suits to Lead

    • 3 card sequence

    • headed by AK

    • singleton

  • Abysmal Suits to Lead

    • Ace without the King

      • but if you really really must lead it, lead the Ace, not low

    • Honour x doubleton

    • Singleton Trump

    • Suit with only a single Honour

      • But if you have to, lead from suit with highest honour

  • In-Between Suits to Lead

    • Prefer Near Sequence KQ10 over Interior Sequence KJ10

    • Prefer Suit with two honours better than a single honour

    • Prefer Suit with touching honours than broken honours

    • Prefer Suit with no honours to Suit with 1 honour

    • A rag doubleton with a weak hand

      • (Partner may have entries to eventually give you a ruff)

    • From 3 or 4 rags of an unbid suit

    • From 2 or 3 rag trumps

• When Leading Trumps might be OK

• Opening Leads against Suit Slams

  • vs Grand Slams

    • A solid sequence

    • A trump, but still not from a singleton

    • Other wise play safe with a long rag suit or a short rag suit

  • vs Small Slams

    • Sequence or AK if available

    • Singleton if partner might hold that Ace or the Ace of Trumps

    • Avoid a Trump lead unless your other suits have broken honours

    • Prefer an unbid suit headed by KQ or QJ

    • With a likely winner in Trumps or an outside long suit bid by opposition, try to set up 2^nd trick by leading from K-high or Q-high or an Ace

• Lead Directing Doubles

  • Double of an artificial bid ask for that suit to be led

  • Double of a sacrificial slam is for penalties

    • Make a normal lead

  • Lightner Double of a non-sacrificial slam – make an unusual lead, so:

    • Not a suit bid by your side

    • Not an unbid suit

    • Not a Trump

    • Do lead a suit they’ve bid, especially dummy’s first bid suit

      • You’re aiming to find doubler’s void for a ruff