(SeeNote on Analysis of Leads, p.64.)
Play lowest of ace, king, queen sequence.
Play king (butseep.89).
On the second round of the suit, it becomes a matter of judgment whether you should play ace or finesse knave. No positive rule can be laid down.
Play king.
In trumps it is sometimes right to pass, leaving the chance of the first trick to your partner.
Obvious alterations on account of the trump card are omitted. It is clear that, with ace, king, &c., if your partner has turned up the queen, you should play a small one; and that, with ace, king, knave, if your right hand adversary has turned up the queen, you should play the knave; and so on for other cases.
Play lowest of queen, knave sequence.
In trumps, play ten, or with cards in sequence, the lowest of the ten sequence.
In plain suits, if strong enough in trumps to lead them, play ten, or lowest of sequence; if weak in trumps, play queen (butseep.89).
With ace, queen, ten only, play ten, whether strong in trumps or not.
Small card led.
In trumps, play a small one.
In plain suits, with five in suit, play a small one if strong in trumps; the queen if weak in trumps.
Knave led.
Play ace. It is useless to cover with the queen, as the leader cannot hold the king (seeAnalysis of Leads).
These instructions assume ordinary original leads from strength. If ace or queen is turned up, some players lead knave, from king, knave, ten. If you know this is the practice of your right hand adversary, you should exercise your judgment as to covering with ace or queen.
Also towards the close of a hand, knave might be led from king, knave for various reasons, perhaps as the best chance of saving or winning the game or a point, or as a false card. No rule can be laid down for such cases.
Ten or nine led.
Play queen.
In trumps, play ten, or with cards in sequence with the ten, the lowest of the sequence.
In plain suits, play a small one.
The reason for the difference is that, in trumps a small card may be led from king, queen, &c.; but in plain suits, not. Hence as, in plain suits, the king or queen must be in the third or fourth hand, your strength would be wasted by covering.
Play a small one.
As before observed, the original lead of a small card from strength is assumed.
If, after several tricks have been played, you particularly want the lead, or you suspect the possibility of a lead from a single card, or one trick is of importance, you would often be right to play the ace. Again, no rule can be laid down.
Play the lowest of the king, queen, knave sequence.
Small card led.
Play queen.
In trumps it is sometimes right to pass, unless you hold ten also, or only three in suit.
Knave led.
The usual practice is to cover with the queen. But, it can be shown by calculation that, if the lead is fromknave, ten, nine, and small, more is gained than lost, in the long run, by passing.
The best lead from knave, ten, nine, &c., is disputed; and so also is the question of covering.
Play the lowest of the knave, ten sequence.
Play ten, or lowest of sequence.
Play nine, or lowest of sequence.
Play as directed at pp.82-3.
If an honour is led, and you have the ace, as a rule play the ace.
If an honour is led, and you hold an honour, not the ace, pass as a rule.
It was formerly the practice to cover an honour with an honour, if numerically weak. Calculation shows more is gained than lost, in the long run, by passing. But, if a strengthening card is led, late in a hand, it would often be right to cover. No positive rule can be laid down for the play of the second hand under such circumstances. When you have thefourchetteit is almost always right to cover. Thus, if knave is led, and you hold queen, ten, &c., put on the queen.
If a ten is led, and you hold queen and one small one, play queen. The lead is probably from king, knave, ten, &c., and the queen may save your partner's ace. With queen and two small ones, or with other combinations not enumerated as those with which a high card should be played second hand, pass.
If a nine is led, and you hold king and one small one, play king. The leader must have opened an ace suit (either ace, queen, ten, nine, or ace, knave, ten, nine), assuming him to have led from a suit of four cards. The same applies if you hold king, nine, and eight is led.
If a medium card is led from a suit of at least four cards, three being higher than the card led, and you hold cards that (together with the leader's cards) make up a sequence, cover with the lowest card you can. For example:—The original lead is an eight. You (second hand) hold ace, king, ten, with or without small ones. If the lead was from queen, knave, nine, eight, as is most probable, and the ten is put on, it will win the trick.
Again: the original lead is a seven. You hold ace, queen, knave, eight. If the seven is the lowest of a four card suit, the lead must have been from king, ten, nine, seven. Therefore, the eight put on will win the trick.
The same applies, if the leader of an ace follows with a medium card. For example:—Ace is ledoriginally. The next lead of an American Leader is, say, the eight. You had originally king, queen, ten, four, and you played the four to the ace. The leader must hold knave, nine and small. You should, therefore play the ten. And, observe, the play would be the same, if the second lead of a player who does not follow the American system were the seven, as then he must hold knave, nine, eight.
If a small card is led, and you hold an honour and a small card, pass the trick as a rule; for by putting on the honour you expose your weakness, and enable the original leader to finesse against you on the second round. The principal general exception to playing a small card second hand, is when the circumstances of the hand cause you to seize any chance of getting the lead, as when you want to stop a lead of trumps, or to lead trumps yourself. Then it is often right to play a high card second hand, when unsupported by another high card.
Also, in trumps, if king or queen is turned up, and you hold it singly guarded (i.e., if you have only one other trump), it is generally advisable to put on the turn-up, second hand. And if you hold king or queen, singly guarded, and a superior honour is turned up to your right, you should play the king or queen.
In the second round of a suit, if you have the winning card, you should—in plain suits—generally put it on second hand, subject to a finesse that will certainly be successful; but in trumps there are many cases in which you should not, especially if you havenumerical strength in trumps, and a good hand besides. Your winning trump must make, and, by passing the second round, you perhaps enable your partner to win with a third best trump—or even a smaller one—yourself retaining the command.
If, when led through in the second round of a suit, you conclude from the previous fall of the cards that the second best card is to your right, it is sometimes advisable to put on the third best. You thus save your partner's hand if he holds the best. For instance: if knave is led in the first round, and your partner (then second player) puts on king, which wins the trick, it is clear (if the ten is your best) that your partner has the ace, for the third player could not win the king, and the leader could not have led from ace, knave. If your right-hand adversary afterwards returns the suit through you, you should put on the ten in order to save your partner's ace.