When you cannot follow suit, you should
You weaken a suit by discarding from it, and lessen the number of long cards you might otherwise establish and bring in (i.e., make tricks with if trumps are out, and you obtain the lead after the establishment of your suit). On the other hand, you do but little harm by throwing from a suit in which you are already weak. Your partner should understand that your first ororiginal discardis from yourweakest suit, just ashe understands that your original lead is from your strongest suit.
But, as in the case of leads, you are sometimes obliged to lead from a weak suit, or to make a forced lead, so sometimes you have to make aforced discard. Forced discards require much more careful consideration than they generally receive.
It is clear that if the opponents declare great strength in trumps (by leading trumps or asking for them, as will be fully explained in Section 13), that your chance of bringing in a suit is practicallynil. You should therefore, in such cases, abandon the tactics you would otherwise adopt, and play to guard your weaker suits, by discarding from your best protected suit, which is generally your longest suit. You must, in fact, play a defensive game.
If this system of discarding is comprehended by the two players who are partners, it follows, as a matter of course, thatwhen trumps are not declared against you, your partner will assume you are weak in the suit you first discard; but,when trumps are declared against you, he will give you credit for strength in the suit from which you originally throw away. This is most important, as it affects his subsequent leads. In the first case, he will refrain from leading the suit from which you have discarded; in the second, he will, unless he has a very strong suit of his own, select for his lead the suit in which you have shown strength by your discard.
It is commonly said, "Discard from your strong suit when the adversary leads or calls for trumps." Butthis is a very imperfect and misleading aphorism. If you have no indications from the play, and are obliged to discard to an adverse trump lead or call, you should discard from your best protected suit. But, if you have, or if the fall of the cards shows that your partner has, sufficient strength in trumps to outlast the adversary, the discard should be from the weak suit. Thus: Y, second player, calls for trumps (seep.125), and B, third player, also calls. The discards of A and Z should be from their weak suits. For though, on the one hand, great strength in trumps is declared against them, on the other hand great strength is also declared with them. Again: Z deals and turns up nine of clubs. A (the original leader) leads a small club; Y follows suit; B puts on ace; Z plays king. This shows that Z has a sequence of queen, knave, ten, nine of trumps; and therefore that, though A has led a trump, he has anything but the command of the suit. B returns the trump; Z wins; Y has no more trumps. His discard should be from his weakest suit. The following case is less easy:—The adversary (A) leads a tierce major in trumps, eleven trumps come out, and your partner (Y) must have knave of trumps to save the game. You now credit your partner with the command of trumps, though the adversary has led them; and if either you (Y) or your partner (Z) has to discard, the discard should be from the weakest suit (seeHand XII.) Similar remarks apply if a strengthening trump is led by an adversary from weak trumps and good cards in plain suits.
It must be borne in mind that it is only your original discard which is directive. Having once discarded, you cannot undo your work by any number of discards from another suit. Also, having once led a suit, you have declared strength in it; and subsequent discards from that suit do not alter the fact that it was originally your strongest suit.
It is dangerous to unguard an honour, or to blank an ace; and, also, to discard a single card when the game is in an undeveloped stage, as it exposes your weakness almost as soon as the suit is led. But, when you see that there is a probability of strength in trumps on your side, direct your partner to your strong suit by all the means in your power, and unhesitatingly unguard an honour, or throw a single card. Of course, if strength in trumps is against you, these are the very last cards you should think of throwing away.
When your left-hand adversary will have the lead next round, if you discard from a suit in which you hold a tenace, you may possibly induce him to lead that suit up to you. You must be on your guard against this ruse, and not necessarily lead up to the discard of your right-hand opponent.
The same principle applies to trumping as to discarding. The weaker you are in trumps, the better it is for you to make a little one by trumping, as will be further explained in Section 14.