Guidelines:

1. Good defensive card play often involves creating and taking a trick or tricks before declarer can create extra tricks and take them. This often requires an attacking lead.
2. The best opening lead is often a choice between a safe lead (do not give declarer an extra trick) verses an attacking lead (create an extra trick for the defense).
3. The worse lead is to play A's and K's that win tricks but make declarers Q's and J's the high cards so that they can then win tricks.
   • Save unsupported A's and K's to gain the lead so that you can take the winning trick that you have created in another suit.
   • However, on occasion it is right to lead and win unsupported high cards.
     • Declarer may create or have winners in a long suit. Declarer may never lead the suit where you have an A and you may never get a chance to win a trick with that A.

Against NoTrump Contracts

• Lead of an honor
  • General meaning:   shows touching sequence
    • solid:   AKQx+ (lead K, see "Specific meaning" for lead of A)
    • solid:   KQJx+ (lead K)
    • solid:   QJTx+ (lead Q)
    • semi-solid:   AKJx+ (lead K, see "Specific meaning" for lead of A)
    • semi-solid:   KQTx+ (lead K)
    • semi-solid:   QJ9x+ (lead Q)
  • Specific meaning:
    • A: requests a count signal
    • K: requests an attitude signal
    • Q: unblock J (KQ10x*) or signal attitude
• Lead of low card from suit with honor
  • lead 4th best card in suit
    • K9752 (lead 5)
    • A952 (lead 2)
    • K93 (lead 3, if this is best suit to lead)
• Lead of high card from suit without honor
  • 752 (lead 7)
  • 9752 (lead 7)
  • 97542 (lead 7)
• Guidelines:
  • Lead of touching honor is usually a safe as well as an attacking lead.
  • The 4th best lead from honor is typically the best lead against a NoTrump contract. However, this lead can give declarer an extra trick. The value of this lead is to create 1 or 2 or more tricks for the defense even if you give declarer an extra trick.
  • When declarer is strong and dummy is weak, a safe lead may be best.
  • Lead of a suit without an honor is generally a safe lead.

Against Suit Contracts

• Lead of an honor
  • General meaning:   shows touching long (same as NoTrump Contract) or short (examples below) sequence.
    • AKx+ (lead A)
    • KQx+ (lead K)
    • QJx+ (lead Q)
  • Specific meaning:   requests an attitude signal
    • A: generally looking for Q or potential ability to ruff in partner's hand
    • K: generally looking for A, J, or potential ability to ruff
    • Q: generally looking for K, T, or potential ability to ruff
• Lead of low card from suit with honor
  • lead 4th best card in suit
    • K9752 (lead 5)
    • A952 (lead 2)
    • K93 (lead 3, if this is best suit to lead)
• Lead of card from suit without honor
  • Choices:   confirm choice with partner
    • low - denies shortness, but implies an honor (official SAYC agreement)
      • 432 (lead 2)
      • 5432 (lead 2)
    • high - denies honor, but implies shortness
      • 432 (lead 4)
      • 5432 (lead 5)
    • mud - denies shortness, denies honor, but hard to read until suit is lead a 2nd time (recommended)
      • 432 (lead 3, next play 4)
      • 5432 (lead 4, next play 5)
• Guidelines:
  • Lead of a long sequence touching honor is usually a safe as well as an attacking lead.
  • Lead of a short sequence touching honor is more risky, but it may be the only way to set up an extra trick for defense.
  • The 4th best lead from honor is more risky against a Suit Contract. The tricks you set up may not be winable as declarer may ruff them with long trumps.
  • Lead of a suit without an honor is generally a safe lead. At a Suit Contract, an attacking lead may be critical.
  • When the auction suggest that both declarer and dummy will have extra trumps, declarer's plan may be to ruff tricks in both hands (a cross-ruff). Lead a trump to reduce the effectiveness of a cross-ruff.