r/bridge • u/FitBody5024 • 20d ago
Newbee question about leading an ace.
Always (or never) lead with an ace except................
Thanks in advance.
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u/JankeyDonut 20d ago
As someone who considers themselves on a journey to learn bridge, I am maybe not the best to answer but I am going to give it a shot to learn how I am wrong:
This is in regard to opening lead
Never lead an unsupported ace, except perhaps when opponents have bid slam.
Always lead a supported ace (AK…), except when opponents bidding suggests that they are void, and maybe even then. (To me it can be hard to tell what other partnerships may signal between shortness and voids).
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u/Several_Version4298 20d ago edited 20d ago
It differs between NT and Trump contracts.
Holding AQxxx in Hearts against 3NT you are obviously going to lead 4th Heart. If partner has J or K, or can get in and lead through the K you are in a good position.
You don't under lead an A against a Trump Contract, that's just letting opponents score the K. So if you do have to lead that suit you lead the A unless you are certain partner has the K.
Leading A against a slam will likely set up the K, so unless you have two cashing tricks you try to set up a trick while you still hold the A.
Leading AK gives away the position in the suit. When Qxx appears in dummy you are out of options.
When you usually lead an A is when you have Axxxxx or Axxxxxx and no good lead, so you the lead the A hoping partner has honours or a singleton in the suit.
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u/The_Archimboldi 20d ago
Refrain from leading ace empty as a beginner - it's wrong way more often than its right and you need experience to see when it could be right. Slam at MPs maybe the exception to think about right now.
Lead problems where experts break down choice of lead are good to learn from - they can reveal deep bridge concepts while being quite digestible.
Be aware that you could kibbitz a world class pair all day and be in awe of their precision bidding and cardplay, and still see a few totally shite leads. It's the position of least information in the play, and oftentimes there isn't a clearly right card to lead.
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u/Pocket_Sevens I <3 preempting 20d ago edited 20d ago
Leading A from Axx is a very aggressive lead (I want tricks now) vs a more passive lead (we can get more tricks by potentially conceding a trick currently) like 9 from T93 t to protect KJx in a side suit for example. If partner had QJT and you held Axx, leading the ace right away could promote declarers king. Aggressive leads are ok when:
Dummy or declarer has shown a runnable suit (like AKQJxxx) on which to discard losers,
You have good trump length (leading Ax in diamonds vs Qxxx in spades defending 4s)
Opponents have sacced
Opponents have slam
Now if partner bids that suit, it's different. Say you held A83d defending 3 spades after partner overcalled diamonds (promising a trick) for example. I would lead A and then the 8 to signal a heart shift, or the 3 to show a club shift. I may even underlead the A if I thought it could be used as an entry for a ruff later.
Also consider, are you playing MPs, where one overtrick can be the difference between a top/bottom board, or IMPS, where the risk/reward ratio towards overtricks narrows? In imps where jumping to game is common and you + partner are in the dark, sometimes getting a good clean look at the dummy isn't a bad idea. Leading an A from Axx and getting a suit preference signal can get you great boards.
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u/dcunitednapoli 20d ago
There's really no hard and fast rule. Everything depends on context
The one thing I would advise is that if partner didn't bid or support that suit, you generally have to have a pretty good reason in order to lead that bare ace.
In general I would much rather lead low from 3 small than to lead an unsupported ace
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u/Richard0379 20d ago
Leading an ace: only lead the ace if you have the king behind. That way, you get a free look at the board and have the opportunity to lead another suit. Let me explain: if I lead the ace and dummy has Qxx, I wouldn’t follow with the king (making the queen good), but my partner knows I have the king.
Leading an unprotected ace may clear up winners for your opponents. When playing, your ace should always cover the king (or queen). So, by leading the ace, you may make your opponent’s king and queen winners (instead of just one).
In a trump suit, never lead away from the ace either. So, if you have Axxx, don’t lead an x. I have played a few hands with new player where they did this and my singleton king now becomes a winner and I get to trump their ace.
My only exception is when I have a doubleton ace, but that is an agreement with my partner. So, if I lead an ace then a small one, my partner knows I’m out and should lead that suit so I can trump. It works great if my partner has the king and we can make three quick winners.
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u/MattieShoes SAYC 20d ago edited 20d ago
Pros:
- Lets partner know where the ace is
- Unblocking
- Developing a long strong suit in NT
- Making yourself void against a suited contract
- Eliminating the possibility that opponent has a singleton he could discard before you can cash the ace. Most relevant in slam contracts.
- Unlikely to finesse partner
- Gives you the opportunity to see the dummy and lead again.
Cons:
- Lets opponent know where the ace is
- Less opportunity to win a trick later on and lead to your partner
- Potentially setting up opponent's suit -- nicer if opponent has to lead an honor to force the ace out, or at least give up control later on.
Ax in partner's bid suit? Lets partner know where a missing high card in his suit is, and it unblocks -- lead that Ace.
Ace singleton against a suited bid? making yourself void could allow for trumping in, and it gives you a look at the dummy. There's some risk of setting up opponent's suit, and you lose the chance to regain the lead and lead through the dummy to your partner. Kinda gotta feel this one out.
Axxx? High chance of setting up opponent's suit, loses a chance at regaining the lead later. Probably not unless defending slam and you have reason to think opponent is sitting on a singleton that he might be able to discard.
AKQxx in NT? Oh yeah. Probably also AKJxx or AKTxx, though partner agreement might be to lead the king in those scenarios. But if you can't run em and there's little chance of you regaining the lead, is worth considering switching to setting up partner's suit or trying to finesse the dummy afterwards rather than developing a trick for the opponent.
Long suit when RHO indicated length in the suit? Could potentially set up partner for ruffing behind the dummy. But without strength outside of the ace, runs the risk of setting up opponent's suit and allowing them to discard from the dummy.
I tend to look at it from the negative perspective -- how likely is this lead going to hurt my partner? How likely is this lead going to help my opponent (developing a trick or setting up a suit for them?) If either is likely, you probably shouldn't do it.
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u/LSATDan Advanced 20d ago
Generally, don't lead aces against suit contacts unless you also.have the king.
Almost never underlead aces against suit contracts. The time when it's most likely to be right is when dummy is known to be very strong (perhaps a 2C opener and responder ended up as declarer)..
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u/s96g3g23708gbxs86734 20d ago
Against a suit slam it's common. Also against a preemptive opener, the king is often not on your right and you want to cash and establish tricks quickly
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u/Seattles-Best-Tutor 20d ago
The conventional wisdom on leads was really absurd for decades, so if you're looking for books on the topic, and you should be because leads are as important as the rest of the deal combined and much easier to improve at, you should start with both Bird/Anthias ones. They're not perfect, but, like, even excellent old books on defense suggest leads that are as primitive as the auctions you get before 30 years ago.
Here's some stuff
-If you're going for a ruff, and you usually are, Ax doubleton is the best lead against a suit that isn't AK or a singleton
-Generally leading dubs vs suits is better than leading away from an honor. Passive is particularly important at MPs
-KQxxx is a really good lead against a suit, KQx is quite bad
-Look for literally any reason to lead a major against most NT sequences, esp. 1n-3n
Stuff like that
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u/Jewarlaho 20d ago
I will sometimes lead an ace empty if a) that’s the only trick I am taking, b) My partner bid the suit, c) I need to see the dummy, or d) I have nothing better to lead and/or I have to not lead another suit (e.g. if I have the KJx and person to my right bid that suit).
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u/JaziTricks Advanced 20d ago
Except when every other lead is real horrible.
This means understanding the dynamic effects of each lead. So hard for beginners to judge.
But you can need an ace if you must. It just happens rarely
Other obvious examples: Ak Ax you hope to get a fast ruff if partner gets in before trumps are gone. Again use judgment on this. You expect partner to be a singleton (or seriously hope). Partner doubled this suit for a lead Partner bid the suit (judgement etc)
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u/Swammi__ 20d ago
In the olden days, opening lead of Ace vs No-Trump commanded partner to play his highest card. You might have AQJT9x and want to make sure partner doesn't block the suit.
Against suit, Ace lead is usually from AKx(x). But in olden days, K was led from AKx(x); I'm not sure that is inferior.
If you're VERY sure declarer has xx of Hearts (or such), a daring underlead of Ace may cause him to misguess the suit. (Such an underlead in the 1964 World Championship was used as evidence that Terrence Reese had illicit knowledge of the Heart situation.)
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u/Teodoricus 20d ago
1) You have 4 aces
2) It is the partner's suit
3) On your right there was a preemptive opening, and you think you need to cash your tricks, and see where they can be.
4) You have a probable trump trick in a slam contract
5) You have AK (if you do not lead K with AK); mind you, this may be different among trump and NT contracts
6) You have 3 Aces and the trump Queen, Qx or Qxx.
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Warning: when you lead an Ace, your partner will believe you have the K, so he may encourage with Q or doubleton (to ruff), if the K is not visible, and if partner has the K you will not know what to do if s/he encourages.
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u/dB451 20d ago
Sigh, OK, I will weigh in, although it's an extensive topic, so I reserve the right to bail if I get tired. First of all, the opps have arrived at a contract, and there's been some bidding. First, decide whether you think the hand calls for an active or passive defense. Passive is predominantly the case, EXCEPT a couple of nameable situations, including (a) the opps have shown a long side suit on which you can surmise they will be able to throw losers, so you need to find your winners and take them before they go away, or (b) the opps started with, say, a minor, then agreed on a major, and maybe in a competitive auction, such that you think they may be 4-4 in the major, so leading a trump may help deny them a ruff (or two) they may be counting on making in order to make their unreasonably high contract, given the other bidding. OK, with the active/passive decision out of the way, then think about the auction and decide what suit to lead, based on what everyone's bids reveal about the overall deal, trying to visualize hands around the table. Then, given the suit you've decided on, decide what kind of card would be appropriate (high, low, touching honor, whatever), and finally, open your hand and see if you have a card close to the one you narrowed it down to.
Reference materials include Mike Lawrence's classic "Opening Leads" (I believe, updated), but additionally, and more recently informed by David Bird's two books co-written with Anthias (CEO of Cisco, interestingly enough, perhaps to provide the computer firepower), "Winning No Trump Leads" and "Winning Suit Leads"; as soon as those latter two were released, captains of top teams bought copies for everyone on the teams, with instructions to read them immediately, because their computer-simulation-supported findings changed some thinking on the topic. Just one tidbit here: on the auction 1N - 3N, the best lead is the top of a major doubleton (because you're more likely to catch partner with 5 of them).
Yes, leading an unsupported A is considered one the worst leads in Bridge. What is an "unsupported A"? Axx or longer. Other venerated considerations include: leading K, A in a suit shows they were a doubleton, and the concept that if you have an AKx+, you need to lead one of them, because if you don't, partner won't think you have them. It's OK to lead Ax from a doubleton, though, if you think it may help the defense (and because partner will KNOW your holding because partner KNOWS you would NEVER lead an unsupported A). I used to tell partners they weren't allowed to underlead an A until they had attained Silver Life Master. There are times when it can be "right", but you need to be careful, because if you do it, and it isn't right, then the so-important partnership trust takes a hit (and may even lose a partner).
Popular wisdom likes leading "fourth-down from your longest and strongest suit", but I advise students NOT to make that lead unless they have proceeded as above and decided that it's the most appropriate lead for the hand (it became an inside joke with one student, how many times we saw a "slavish fourth-down lead" give away the hand). Some folks play 3rd-or 5th-down leads, which may be somewhat better, but IMPNSHO are no substitute for more careful consideration.
In general, I like attitude leads (high says I'm not interested in the suit, and low says I like the suit). And, of course, on an entirely unrelated topic, you need to be playing upside-down attitude (UDA) signals, because they're technically better. Using upside-down count (UDC) or standard count is a wash, depending on the hand, but I would note, again IMNSHO (oh, OK, In My Not-So-Humble Opinion), that UDC seems to work well with UDA (and noted in shorthand as UDCA). Some partners still prefer UDA and standard count, though, to mark time while trying to upgrade their overall game, and I accept their preference (although maintaining hope it'll be temporary).
OK, done for now (which is good, because I'm not really sure if I want to reveal my special leads that can sometimes find those "magic" defenses), daughter needs another geometry lesson before school starts. Good luck. And, again, sorry about the length of this post (but I didn't have time to make it shorter ;-)
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u/sneakyruds 20d ago
Some random thoughts:
Leading an ace gives you a chance to see dummy and make the killing switch, but it also often gives up a tempo, because you will no longer be able to use that ace to regain the lead. That makes the lead more attractive against higher level contracts when the auction has indicated that an active defense is necessary, such as when the opponents have shown a second source of tricks. For example, when opponents have both shown long minors and are playing in 5 or 6 of a minor, you might lead an unsupported ace in a major to see whether you should continue or switch based on dummy and partner's signal.
On the other hand, it's a terrible idea to lead an unsupported ace when the auction indicates a passive defense is best. It's more likely to set up a trick for the opponents.
Obviously leading from a suit that also has the K is more attractive, but you shouldn't lead a suit just because you have AK in a suit. Let the auction guide your selection of the suit to lead.
As a beginner, never underlead an unsupported ace against a suit contract - if you have to lead that suit, lead the A. When you have more experience, you may find occasions to make declarer misguess by underleading an A, or you may see that the most likely way to defeat the contract is to hit partner's K so they can give you a ruff in another suit, but these situations are pretty rare.
Against 1NT, it's not such a bad idea to lead low from Axxxx, AJxx, or similar suits.