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D. WORKING WITH YOUR PARTNER TO DEFEND AGAINST OPPONENTS MAKING THEIR CONTRACT. Before you even begin to play bridge at all, you and partner should agree upon a defensive card signaling system, by which you can "talk" to each other during the play of the hand. 1. OPENING LEAD SIGNALS. The opening lead is a shot in the dark. And being on lead has its risks of giving the declarer an extra trick. One of the worst things the opening leader can do is to lead a suit in which he has "BROKEN HONORS", ie, a holey good suit. DO NOT LEAD OR UNDER-LEAD ANY SUITS IN WHICH YOU HAVE BROKEN HONORS. There are some standard opening leads that will help you avoid making a mistake. a. KING FROM ACE/KING. When holding the ACE-KING, the lead of the ace or king is the safest lead, because it is bound to win the 1st trick, does not give the declarer an extra trick, and gives the leader's partner to provide a signal. Some will argue that the ace should be lead, but there can be instances where the lead of the ace does not promise the king. When the king holds, it is clear to partner that the leader also has the ace. b. TOP OF A SEQUENCE. The idea behind this opening lead is to promote lower touching honors into winners. Holding the king, queen, jack, a lead of the king establishes the queen/jack as winners assuming declarer has the ace and takes the 1st trick. However, leading king from the king/queen alone may not be such a great lead. c. TOP OF NOTHING. In the absence of the two former opening leads, pick a 1-to-4-card suit which has no honors & lead the top card in that suit. This avoids finessing yourself & giving declarer an extra trick he would not otherwise get. d. PARTNER'S BID SUIT. If your partner bid, he may get upset if you don't lead his suit. If you hold the ace or king in his suit with 2 or more other cards therein, then lead your bottom card. The intent here is to keep control over what might be declarer's queen. Otherwise, just lead the top of your partner's suit. e. BOTTOM OF A 5+ CARD NOTHING SUIT. Because of your length, this is not likely going to set up a runable suit for declarer. f. BOTTOM FROM LONGEST AND STRONGEST against no-trump. The only good reason for this is to serve as a SAFETY PLAY when you hold ace/king. Your partner may have only 2 cards in your suit, so this helps to assure that partner can lead back to you if he gets in. FOURTH FROM LONGEST AND STRONGEST invariably gives the declarer an extra trick. 2. ATTITUDE & HI-LO SIGNALS. Most of the signals convey a favorable or unfavorable "ATTITUDE" for the suit being led by giving a HI-LO or LO-HI signal. ATTITUDE signaling systems are most frequently used to show that the signaler has a high card in a suit (POSITIVE ATTITUDE) or no honors in a suit (NEGATIVE ATTITUDE). THEY ARE ALSO USED TO CONVEY THAT A SUIT IS "SAFE" OR "UNSAFE" TO CONTINUE LEADING. A HI-LO ,or LO-HI, signal refers to the sequence of values in which the first two cards are played to a suit by an individual player. If, for example, one plays his 5 to the 1st trick in a suit & then plays his 2 to the 2nd trick in the same suit, then that is a HI-LO. On the other hand, if one plays his 2 to the 1st trick in a suit & then plays his 5 to the 2nd trick in the same suit, then that is a LO-HI. It is up to the partnership to agree upon the meaning of their HI-LO & LO-HI signals as to which is POSITIVE ATTITUDE as opposed to NEGATIVE ATTITUDE. Many players consider any card played greater than a 6 to be a Hi card. But there is no guarantee of a player always having a card less than the 6. Therefore, really good players will recognize that a card greater than a 6 played by partner may in fact be his very lowest card, especially after seeing the dummy and seeing what declarer plays and seeing his own hand. For example, You lead the ace of spades on the opening. You also have 2,3,4 of spades. Dummy has showing the 6 of spades. Your partner plays the 7 and declarer plays the 5. You should know immediately that the 7 of spades is your partner's lowest card in spades. So it is important to identify a "LO SIGNAL" as being the lowest card you have in a suit that is less than a 10, even though it may be higher than the 6. But additionally, we need to define a "HI SIGNAL" as any card other than your lowest card in a suit, which means the next lowest card & above in a suit is a "HI" card. What is important is the sequence of play relative to the actual lowest card in the hand. Generally speaking, any system that relies soley upon absolute values of the cards is inherently flawed, because those absolute values may not be present when needed. When it comes to the meaning of a HI-LO verses a LO-HI, I recommend interpreting a LO-HI as POSITIVE ATTITUDE & HI-LO as NEGATIVE ATTITUDE. This is contrary to intution which says a HI-LO should be POSITIVE. Therefore, it is called REVERSE ATTITUDE or UP-SIDE-DOWN. In other words, LO = YOU LIKE, HI = YOU DONT LIKE. But "why?" you ask. The reason is because it is consistent with the idea of leading TOP-OF-NOTHING or LOW from your best suit against no-trump. And I just like consistency. 3. CARD COUNT & HI-LO SIGNALS. An older interpretation of a HI-LO signals pertains to giving partner a count of the cards in the suit lead. Typically, a HI-LO by partner would mean he has an even number of cards in that suit. But with an odd number, he would give a LO-HI signal. For all intents and purposes, giving card count has fallen victim to showing ATTITUDE. 4. SUIT PREFERENCE & HI-LO SIGNALS. Sometimes a HI-LO or a LO-HI signal can be used to indicate a positive or negative attitude in another suit other than the one being played. For example, if the opponents are in a spade contract & you have only the 3 & 4 of spades, then it should be clear to partner you have nothing in spades. Therefore, when declarer pulls your spades, you can signal partner your liking for hearts by playing your 4 of spades before playing your 3. Conversely, you can signal your partner your liking for diamonds by playing your 3 of spades before playing your 4. In other words, when it is perfectly clear who has the big guns in a suit, then you can use that suit to signal a HI-LO or LO-HI to show a preference for one of the other suits, ie, a "SUIT PREFERENCE". 5. DISCARDS. These can be given when you are void in the suit being led. a. HI-LO ATTITUDE DISCARDS. Just as you would in following suit, your HI-LO discards can indicate a liking or disliking for the suit you are discarding. The following two discarding systems rely on absolute card values (typically around the 6). For that reason, I do not use them, but they are popular. b. LAVANTHAL DISCARDS. The suit you throw says you don't like that suit and: A HIGH card (over the 6) indicates a preference for a higher ranking suit. A LOW indicates a preference for a lower ranking suit. c. ODD-EVEN DISCARDS. The suit you throw says you don't like that suit and: An Even card says I like the lower ranking suit. An Odd card says I like the higher ranking suit. 6. MUD = MIDDLE-UP-DOWN. MUD requires the play of 3 cards to a suit, instead of just 1 or 2 cards. It was origianlly a way for the opening leader or his partner to give a card count showing just 3 cards in the suit as opposed to a doubleton. For its original purposes, it is worthless. However, I have experimented with trying to mix it with HI-LO signals for the purpose of showing a suit preference. The opening lead of a nothing suit conveys a suit preference for which of the other suits is best to lead back. If you lead the very bottom card of the suit (even against no-trump), then you like it. If you lead the middle card of the nothing suit, followed by the higher (UP) card, then you prefer the other lowest ranking suits. If you play the 3rd highest of your nothing suit, followed by a down card, then you like the highest ranking of the other suits. In discarding, a middle card means you like the suit you are sluffing. I discuss this HI-MIDDLE-LO more in section B. =========================================================================================================================================== E. ROLLING MIDDLE CARD SIGNALS by TED COOPER The discourse that follows elaborates upon how I arrived at my conclusion regarding UP-SIDE-DOWN and further proposes the idea of integrating MUD with UP-SIDE-DOWN for suit preference signaling. 1. Assumptions: The assumption is that you have a suit in which you have at least 3 expendable cards starting with the lowest & proceeding to the next up (ie, middle) to the next above that (ie, hi or upper). Another way of defining these cards is as Negative Card #1, Negative Card #2 & the Positive Attitude Card, regardless of the relative value. "Positive Attitude" means a signal showing preference for the current suit being played as distinct from the other two "Negative Attitude" cards which means there is a preference for another suit (or simply "Suit Preference"). There are three different systems for showing positive attitude: a. Hi-Low Attitude makes the high card positive. b. Up-Side-Down makes the low card positive. c. Middle card Attitude makes the middle card positive. Unless you are peer suited (ie, 5-5) or single suited with a 6+ card, suit you will most likely have at least 3 suits containing 3 cards each. If you are peer suited or single suited with worthwhile values, that fact will probably have made itself known in the bidding, thereby alerting partner of the possibility of your not having sufficient signal cards. So, in the absence of such information being conveyed to partner, the assumption of having expendable middle-low-hi cards in 3 suits is not too far fetched. The only situation that might elude this assumption is when you hold 5-4-2-2 & maybe 6-3-2-2. For Hi-Lo & Up-Side-Down Attitude, having a doubleton would normally result in the middle card acquiring the meaning of a positive attitude, ie, high for Hi-Lo Attitude or low for Up-Side-Down. For middle card attitude, having a doubleton results in no such change of definition. No matter, in dealing with these meanings, there are other factors to be taken into account in determining whether or not the positive signal is in fact that, ie, a signal showing preference for the current suit. These other factors are the contract & the dummy's high cards in the suit being led. Regardless of the contract being in no trump or a suit, it should be obvious that it is not likely that a positive attitude signal is going to be given for the declarer/dummy's strong suits, which probably include the trump suit when in a suit contract. Therefore, WHEN IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THE DEFENDER (HOLDING A DOUBLETON ) DOES NOT HAVE ANY HIGH CARDS IN THE SUIT BEING LED, THEN THE POSITIVE ATTITUDE SIGNAL BECOMES A NEGATIVE CARD, thereby giving the defender two negatives with which to signal a specific suit preference in the other suits. This is also true if the opening lead is the king of the suit with the queen in the dummy. On the other hand, if it is not clear that the defender (holding the doubleton) has no high cards in the suit led, we now have to fall back to the middle card acquiring the meaning of a positive attitude. One may ask, why would you give a positive attitude signal having a doubleton in a suit? The answer is that you would not unless you were in a suit contract & sought to get a ruff or your partnership has agreed to give card count. So this is the normal reaction of most people However, it's true value on the first or second suit led is questionable, since it conflicts with suit preference which we herein obviously deemed to be more informative. Finally, for opener, it is assumed he is leading from his longest & strongest against no-trump or his nothing suit against either suit contracts or no-trump, thereby making the signals even more specific. If there is further question regarding our basic assumption , see C. 4. below, "Dealing with Inadequate Signal Suits". So to summarize, this system is like an EXPANDED MUD (Middle Up Down), or DOUBLE MUD, but for suit preference, not for card count, although you can use card count once the suit preference has been conveyed. (I know,... it's clear as mud, BUT IT'S TRUE.) 2. Signals for Hi-Lo & Up-Side-Down Attitude. In these systems, the middle card is one of the negative attitude cards. a. To Trick #1 (ie, the opening suit), 1) THE PLAY OF A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE / NON-MIDDLE CARD SHOWS IMMEDIATE PREFERENCE FOR THE LOWEST RANKING SUIT EXCLUDING THE STRONGEST SUIT IN THE DUMMY. (If you had only a doubleton, you must wait until a change of suit to resume the signals, at which point it is assumed you have the required 3 signal cards to show your preference.) b. To Trick #2 (after the play of a middle card to trick #1), 1) IF THERE IS NO CHANGE IN SUIT, THE PLAY OF THE LOWEST CARD SHOWS PREFERENCE FOR THE MIDDLE RANKING UNPLAYED SUIT EXCLUDING THE STRONGEST SUIT IN THE DUMMY. (If you had only a doubleton, you must wait until a change of suit to resume the signals, at which point it is assumed you have the required 3 signal cards to show your preference.) 2) IF THERE IS A CHANGE IN SUIT, THE PLAY OF A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE / NON-MIDDLE CARD SHOWS PREFERENCE FOR THE MIDDLE RANKING UNPLAYED SUIT EXCLUDING THE STRONGEST SUIT IN THE DUMMY. (If you have only a doubleton here, you are again forced back to your attitude signals.) 3. Signals For MIDDLE CARD POSITIVE ATTITUDE . Middle Card Attitude is distinct from Hi-Lo or Up-Side-Down Attitude. Again, you have 3 cards in each suit, only the middle card is understood to be the positive attitude card to show preference for the suit currently being played. An exception occurs WHEN IT IS CLEAR THAT SIGNALER HAS NO WINNERS IN THE SUIT BEING LED, THEN THE MIDDLE CARD BECOMES A NEGATIVE NEW SUIT PREFERENCE CARD. With a doubleton, the high card becomes the middle card. With a singleton, the only card becomes a LOW card (not middle), thereby eliminating any positive attitude signal in that suit. The idea is basically that in playing to trick #1, if you have an upper card in the suit led, then it is for signaling a preference for one of the two the highest ranking unplayed suits. The low card is for signaling specific interest in the lowest unplayed suit. However, these preferences are not made clear until your play to the 2nd trick which may be in the same suit or a different suit. If the 2nd trick is in the same suit where you had played low to the 1st trick, then your play of the next lowest card clearly says you like the lowest unplayed suit. If the 2nd trick is in the same suit where you had played your upper card to the 1st trick, then a play of your lowest card says you like the middle ranking unplayed suit & a play of the middle card says you like the highest ranking unplayed suit. If the 2nd trick is not in the same suit, you can give Cross Suit Preference Signals to show preference for the other suits. a. These are signals made using the cards immediately above & below the Middle Card & extend across the first two suits played. They denote a dislike for the current suit played & a preference for another suit. b. NEW SUIT PREFERENCE Signals express a preference for another UNPLAYED suit. c. FREAKY FIRST SUIT PREFERENCE Signals express a preference for the first suit where is was not possible to play a middle card on the first suit. Against a trump contract they can be used to signal a singleton. Against a no-trump contract they can be used to signal a stopper even though the suit is short. d. Cross-Suit Sequences from first to second suits are: 1st Suit Played; 2nd Suit Played 1) LOW ------------- --> LOW = New Suit preference for lowest ranking unplayed. 2) UPPER (HI) -------> LOW = New Suit Preference for middle ranking unplayed suit. 3) UPPER (HI) ---------> UPPER = New Suit Preference for highest ranking unplayed suit. 4) LOW -----------------> UPPER = FREAKY 1ST SUIT PREFERENCE. e. Against a suit contract, the preference expressed by the cross suit signals can be reduced by excluding the trump suit, although it may be desirable to signal a preference for a trump lead. Regardless, the trump suit should not be excluded from being used to give signals. d. Against a no-trump contract, the preference expressed by the cross suit signals may be reduced by excluding dummy's strongest suit. As an added note for the opener when defending against no-trump, you may want to reverse the roles of the middle & low cards to make it clear that you prefer the suit you are leading. Of course, those who object on the basis that they always lead 4th from best against no-trump may do what they want in this regard, but I have found that sometimes I want to lead a nothing suit against no-trump to avoid finessing myself & thereby giving the opponents an extra trick. It is strictly a judgment call. 4. Advantages a. This system is independent of whether you play Hi-Lo Attitude or Up-Side-Down Attitude. b. The system is applicable & uniform for both the opener and his partner. There is no need to remember separate signals for each. c. Within the first two tricks played (ie, trick #1 & #2) the potential exists to discover partner's EXACT preferred suit. Where before it could take as many as 2 changes of suits (ie, 3 tricks) for a defensive player's real preference to be discovered, it is now more possible with 1 change in suit. FURTHER MORE, IT IS POSSIBLE WITHIN TWO TRICKS TO SHOW A SINGLETON IN THE FIRST SUIT LED. d. The system is applicable & uniform for defense against no-trump or suit contracts. e. There is little (if any) conflict with known current day opening leads. f. Since the system pertains to NON-DISCARD signals, it does not conflict with the DISCARD signals, such as Odd-Even or Laventhal, etc... g. The system can be augmented by excluding the signaling for preference in the trump suit or the longest suit in the dummy. It can also be augmented by agreements pertaining to the opening lead, such as the lead-from-nothing. 5. Disadvantages & Difficulties. a. Since the system employs the concept of CROSS-SUIT SIGNALING, it is not possible to use card count signals on the second suit led if there is a change of suit on trick #2. b. Of course, these signals must be extended beyond the first 2 tricks if there are attempts to win the trick or force higher cards on the first two tricks. But the same is true of any current system today. c. The BIGGEST DIFFICULTY is in READING THE TEA LEAFS, ie, being able to discern partner's middle card, & if you are playing against a astute declarer, he can fool you. d. Dealing with Inadequate Signal Suits. There are times when you have less than 3 expendable low cards with which to signal. Let's take each case separately. 1] You have a void in the suit led. Hurray,!!! You can give an immediate signal for the suit you do like by using middle card signals from another suit or by using positive or negative attitude for the suit you are discarding or by using odd-even or by using Laventhal etc... 2] You have a singleton in the suit led. So you have little choice but to play it, regardless of meaning. BUT..... you do have an opportunity on the next trick to show your preference. If the first suit is continued, you can signal as you would with a void. If the 2nd suit is different & you don't like it, you might consider playing a middle card from that 2nd suit to say that you are void in the first suit, since you would show a non-middle card to show positive attitude for the suit led or preference for another unplayed suit or signal; you had a singleton on the 1st trick. WE NOW GET TO THE DIFFICULT SITUATIONS. 3] You have a doubleton. This is where we want to throw in the towel. As previously stated, the positive attitude signal will maintain priority over negative attitude other suit preference, unless it is obvious that the defender has nothing in the suit led, thereby negating any positive attitude signal. Let's at least consider the following. First of all, if the opening lead is a doubleton, we usually lead hi-lo just as we would the top of nothing, & showing card count to be even. The point is, it is a nothing suit, so there is no positive attitude signal by the opener. The opener has already said he does not like that suit. So rather than try to give card count, why not show preference for other suits? And why not exclude the trump suit from consideration of suit preference, thereby targeting exactly what the opener's preferred suit is? Secondly, as stated before, the opener's partner (holding a doubleton) may want to show a positive attitude for the suit in order to get a ruff. That means there is only one other card to show negative attitude & preference for the other suits on the first trick. So it is up to the opener's partner whether to give a positive attitude or signal a suit change. If the suit is continued on trick #2, then opener's partner must suffer through it regardless. Obviously, if the suit is continued to trick #3, he has all of the advantages of a void. BUT AS SOON AS THERE IS A CHANGE IN SUIT, the opportunity arises to give another signal, be it a positive attitude for the new suit or a suit preference for the remaining two suits. 4] You have the Axx or Kxx or Qxx This is almost the same as the doubleton situation where you want to maintain your positive attitude signal. This means that you have only one negative attitude to signal a change in suit. If you do signal a negative, then you can continue your preference signals on the next suit led. 6. Detail Explanation of Logic. "Universal ISP" sounds like a fancy name, but these words describe what this system really is. It is "Universal" because it applies to both the defender on opening lead to trick #1, as well as the defender who is simply following suit. "ISP" means Integrated Suit Preference. It is presumed that the reader knows what a suit preference signal is. The term "Integrated" is used because this system actually brings together two different card play situations under one umbrella. Those two situations are: a. Signals given under the conditions of successive leads of the same suit. and b. Signals given under the conditions of a change in the suit being led. It is this second situation where a totally new concept of "CROSS SUIT SIGNALS" is introduced. Where before a change in the suit being played would result in signals that pertained only to the new second suit, the idea of cross-suit signals (or "SECOND SUIT SIGNALS") makes it possible to clarify the meaning of the first card played to the first trick even though there has been a change in suit. The result is that THE DOOR IS OPENED to the possibility for the defenders to convey to each other exactly what their preferred suit is, all within the first two tricks as long as the signaler is not trying to win the trick. On the following matrices, where it says "Makes no dif" you can play what ever card you want to emphasize the fact that you played a non-middle card. And where it says "What's left", it means that you should know what the last unplayed 3rd card is in the suit, since two tricks in the suit have already been played. c. Here are the Universal ISP signals for those who play Hi -Lo Attitude. If Same Suit Led on Change in Suit on To Signal Preference for the : (Applies To:) Trick #1 Trick #2 Trick #3 Trick #2 ---------------------------------- ----------------- ------------------- ----------------- ---------------- ------------------- Lowest ranking unplayed suit (Opener) UPPER (Not Middle) Makes no dif What's left LOW (Partner) LOW (Not Middle) Makes no dif What's left LOW Middle ranking unplayed suit ( Both Partners) MIDDLE LOW LOW Highest ranking unplayed suit ( Both Partners) MIDDLE UPPER MIDDLE d. Here are the Universal ISP signals for those who play Up-Side-Down Attitude. If Same Suit Led on Change in Suit on To Signal Preference for the : (Applies To:) Trick #1 Trick #2 Trick #3 Trick #2 ---------------------------------- ----------------- ------------------- ----------------- ---------------- ------------------- Lowest ranking unplayed suit (Opener) UPPER (Not Middle) Makes no dif What's left UPPER (Partner) UPPER (Not Middle) Makes no dif What's left UPPER Middle ranking unplayed suit ( Both Partners) MIDDLE LOW UPPER Highest ranking unplayed suit ( Both Partners) MIDDLE UPPER MIDDLE e. Here are the Universal ISP signals for those who play Middle Card Attitude. If Same Suit Led on Change in Suit on To Signal Preference for the : (Applies To:) Trick #1 Trick #2 Trick #3 Trick #2 ---------------------------------- ----------------- ------------------- ----------------- ---------------- ------------------- Lowest ranking unplayed suit (Opener) LOW MIDDLE What's left LOW (Partner) LOW(Not Middle) MIDDLE What's left LOW Middle ranking unplayed suit ( Both Partners) UPPER MIDDLE LOW Highest ranking unplayed suit ( Both Partners) UPPER MIDDLE UPPER Singleton in 1st LOW VOID UPPER f. Reading the Tea Leafs. 1] Given this simplified matrix, it is evident that the play of a NOT MIDDLE card on trick #1 is unique & therefore immediately conveys the message of a preference for the LOWEST ranking suit. Furthermore, if it is the opening lead, then the suit being led already says the opener does not like that suit. 2] If the MIDDLE card is played on trick #1, all that is needed to clarify whether the preference is for the middle or highest ranking suit is the play of the 2nd card regardless of the same suit or a change in suit. In either case, the message is conveyed in the first two tricks. =========================================================================================================================================== |