Choosing which card to play when teeing off is one of the fundamental skills all bridge players must learn.
In this article we are going to see what card to draw if the auction has ended in a no-trump contract.
The auction gives you some clues to help you decide which suits to lead. If partner has bid a suit, then he must draw that suit unless he has a gap (there are no cards in that suit). If your partner didn’t make any bids, look at the other team’s bids. Choosing a suit that has not been offered is a good option. Usually, he would lead the longest unbid suit in his hand.
Once you have decided which suit it comes out of, you need to decide which card it comes out of.
1) Top of a sequence of three.
If you have a sequence of three cards headed by an honor card (an honor card here is an ace, king, queen, jack, or ten), then play the highest card in the sequence. For example, if you hold A, K, Q, then play the Ace. If you hold J, 10, 9, then play the Jack. If you have 10, 9, 8 then play 10.
2) Top of a “close sequence” of three.
A “close sequence” is just a sequence that is missing a card between the second and third in the sequence. For example A, K, J or Q, J, 9. Here you also play the highest card in the sequence. So in the first example you would play A and in the second example you would play Q.
3) Top of an inner string
If you have an inner string, for example A, Q, J or Q, 10, 9, lead the top of the inner string. Here you would lead the Q in the first example and the 10 in the second example.
An easy way to remember which card to hit on all of the above is to lead with the highest of moving honors.
One or two honors
If you have a sequence of only two honor cards, go out with the next highest fourth card. For example, if you have K, Q, 8, 7, 3, go out with 7.
Similarly, if you only have one honor, lead with the fourth highest card. For example, if you have Q, 8, 6, 5, 3, lead the 5.
no honors
If you lead a suit that does not have an honor card, lead the second highest card. So if you have 9, 8, 5, 4, you would come out with 8.