ICP
Robert Todd
Improve Your Card Play 4 - 566

Passive Opening Leads

Active opening leads attempt to "go out and get" our tricks. Passive leads, on the other hand, attempt to just not give anything away or help Declarer. There are many different types of passive leads for many different situations. Here we take a look at several lead types and hands where a passive lead may or may not have the intended effect!

Improve Your Card Play 4 - 566
ICP
Robert Todd
Improve Your Card Play 3 - 565

Guarding a Suit

Taking tricks with small cards is an important part of Declarer’s plan for making their contract. As a Defender, it is our job to do everything we can to stop that from happening. That means that suits that have potential winners, threat cards, must not be allowed to grow up into winners. We attempt to prevent this from happening by covering an honor with an honor (to prevent promotion) and by holding onto our cards in the opponent’s long suits – called guarding the suit

Improve Your Card Play 3 - 565
ICP
Robert Todd
Improve Your Card Play 2 - 564

Establishing Length

We usually win tricks with little cards (other than in the trump suit) by setting up our long suits. To establish these little cards in our long suits into winners, we need to play the hand well.  This requires using our large cards in the best way possible to establish our little cards. That means we need to play our combinations as best as we can, manage our transportation, and have some good luck in the way the cards divide.

Improve Your Card Play 2 - 564
COM
Robert Todd
COM Landing Set 1 - 411
COM
Robert Todd
COM Landing Set 2 - 412

SOL

SOL Landing Set 1 - 328

This Week in Bridge Practice Hands

Special Opening Leads: Vs.Preempts (set 1 of 8)

When the declarer is a preemptor, we know that they do not have a good hand. Specifically, we know that they do not have a lot of honors outside their long suit. Here we look at how we use this situation to help us make better opening leads.

You (and your partners) can sign up for Robert Todd's This Week in Bridge (TWiB) lesson emails for free at https://www.advinbridge.com/twib-signup This set accompanies TWiB 328.

SOL Landing Set 2 - 337

This Week in Bridge Practice Hands

Special Opening Leads: Vs.12-14 pt Opening Hands (set 2 of 8)

When declarer is known to hold a minimum opening hand, it is not clear if we should be making an active lead or a passive one. Here we look at how we use the auction and our holdings to shape our decision making process.

You (and your partners) can sign up for Robert Todd's This Week in Bridge (TWiB) lesson emails for free at https://www.advinbridge.com/twib-signup This set accompanies TWiB 328.

SOL Landing Set 3 - 346

This Week in Bridge Practice Hands

Special Opening Leads: Vs. NT Opening Bids (set 3 of 8)

When our RHO opens the bidding with NT, then we do not know much about which of the Opener's suits is best, but we do have a lot of information about the "big picture" of the hand - Opener is balanced and has a good hand. Here we look at how this information helps shape our opening lead choices.

You (and your partners) can sign up for Robert Todd's This Week in Bridge (TWiB) lesson emails for free at https://www.advinbridge.com/twib-signup This set accompanies TWiB 346.

SOL Landing Set 4 - 347

This Week in Bridge Practice Hands

Special Opening Leads: Vs. 3NT Contracts (set 4 of 8)

When our RHO is the declarer in 3NT, we get to select the opening lead. This is likely to be one of the most important decisions we make in the defense. Here we look at our options (active vs. passive) and the information available that helps us make this decision.

You (and your partners) can sign up for Robert Todd's This Week in Bridge (TWiB) lesson emails for free at https://www.advinbridge.com/twib-signup This set accompanies TWiB 347.

SOL Landing Set 5 - 348

This Week in Bridge Practice Hands

Special Opening Leads: Vs. 4M Contracts (set 5 of 8)

When our RHO is the declarer in 4-Major, we get to select the opening lead. The auction has probably given us a good amount of information about how the play is likely to go. Let's look at how we make use of this information.

You (and your partners) can sign up for Robert Todd's This Week in Bridge (TWiB) lesson emails for free at https://www.advinbridge.com/twib-signup This set accompanies TWiB 347.

SOL Landing Set 6 - 349

This Week in Bridge Practice Hands

Special Opening Leads: Vs. 5-minor Contracts (set 6 of 8)

When our RHO is the declarer in 5-minor then there was often a long auction along the way. Leading against this contract is quick different than our traditional opening leads of 4th form your long and strongest. Let's see how.

You (and your partners) can sign up for Robert Todd's This Week in Bridge (TWiB) lesson emails for free at https://www.advinbridge.com/twib-signup This set accompanies TWiB 349.

SOL Landing Set 7 - 350

This Week in Bridge Practice Hands

Special Opening Leads: Vs. Slam Contracts (set 7 of 8)

When the opponents bid a slam, our opening lead can be a complicated decision. We must think about potential winners (or how the declarer is getting rid of their losers) and make the appropriate type of lead. Let's see how we think about our leads against these slam contracts.

You (and your partners) can sign up for Robert Todd's This Week in Bridge (TWiB) lesson emails for free at https://www.advinbridge.com/twib-signup This set accompanies TWiB 350

SOL Landing Set 8 - 351

This Week in Bridge Practice Hands

Special Opening Leads: Vs. Part-Score Contracts (set 8 of 8)

When leading against a partscore there are many considerations - the auction, the final contract, our holdings in the unbid suits, what we expect from declarer, etc. Here we look at how we use this information to help us make good leads in these auctions.

You (and your partners) can sign up for Robert Todd's This Week in Bridge (TWiB) lesson emails for free at https://www.advinbridge.com/twib-signup This set accompanies TWiB 351.