  The dealer’s play of the twenty-six cards is undoubtedly the most interesting that Bridge offers; the skilful management and keen perception required to combine the two hands against adversaries ready to take advantage of the slightest error, make this part of the game correspondingly difficult. With no partner to mislead, the dealer can use strategy to deceive the opponents, while he gains the same information from each adversary’s play as if he were the partner of both. His opportunities to draw inferences are almost innumerable, and give him occasional openings to prepare clever pitfalls for the unwary adversary. The opening lead—Is it from a long suit or a short suit? What honours are held by the original leader? What cards are placed by the third hand play? These are all questions that must be premised by a thorough knowledge of the correct leads and third hand play. In addition, the dealer must be familiar with the most advantageous play of the various combinations or cards, must locate honours by his adversaries’ discards and arrange the lead accordingly; must know how to unblock as well as how and where to make entry cards. A knowledge of trump management—to know when to lead and when not to lead trumps—is no small part of the dealer’s requirements. A hand that is well and quietly played merits commendation, which partner and opponents seldom hesitate to bestow. COMBINING THE HANDS OF DEALER AND DUMMYAs dealer, whether you are playing a trump or a “no-trump” declaration, take a mental stock of the cards you hold early in the hand, and decide from which hand each combination should be led. Although at times it may be impossible to arrange the lead, it may be stated here that the advantages that accrue from the correct play of most combinations of cards, are obtained by invariably leading a suit from the weak to the strong hand; in most cases the high card from the weak. The four most important combinations and those that are held most frequently are:
ACE, QUEEN, JACK COMBINATIONPerhaps with no one of these combinations can you so often gain tricks as by the correct play of ace queen jack. These cards may be held in four different ways.
With this combination either in a trump or in a “no-trump” hand endeavour to catch the adversary’s king by leading the highest card from your weak hand toward the ace; if the king is not played second in hand you can lose nothing by taking the finesse; for when it is guarded in the fourth hand the king will win no matter how the cards are played. The advantage of leading the high card is that, if you retain the lead, you can again lead from the weak hand. Better results will, of course, be obtained if you hold ace queen jack ten, or even ace queen jack nine in the two hands; otherwise the adversary, by covering the honour led, may eventually establish a ten or nine against you. If you hold ace, queen, and two or three small cards in one hand and jack and small cards in the other, the best play of the combination is to lead a low card up to the ace queen; if the finesse is successful, the lead of the ace may capture a once-guarded king The number of cards in the suit will often influence you in taking or not taking the finesse. With eight cards or fewer in the two hands, the finesse is practically obligatory. With nine cards in the two hands, the finesse should usually be taken. With ten cards in the two hands, it is largely a matter of luck. With ace queen and jack in one hand and small cards in the other there is a slight percentage in favour of the finesse. Otherwise try to gain information by leading the highest card toward the ace, and if it is not covered, play the ace on the chance of finding the king alone. If you do not hold the jack it is a losing play to lead a queen toward the ace. This is a common mistake and should be carefully avoided. With ace, queen, ten and nine in the two hands, it cannot be considered altogether bad play to lead the queen toward the ace; but if this is done it may be necessary to take a finesse on the second round. The adversaries’ discards, however, will often show you how this combination should be played. ACE, KING, JACK COMBINATIONThis combination can be held in four different ways:
With the first arrangement of this combination the lead should come from the weak hand and the jack should be played. In the second the jack may be led from the weak hand toward the ace king; although unless you also hold the ten, little can be gained by this play, for if the adversary covers the jack with the queen, as he should, the ten will be established against you. In the two remaining cases a low card should be led up to the jack. With each of these combinations, unless you hold nine cards or more in the combined hands, the finesse should be taken. With ace jack in one hand and the king in the other, or with king jack in one hand and ace in the other, unless you also hold the ten of the suit, do not lead the jack toward the ace; for if the adversary covers the jack with the queen, the ten is established against you. If you hold nine cards in the two hands it is not sound play to finesse; with but four cards against you the queen will probably fall in two rounds of the suit. ACE, JACK, TEN COMBINATIONThese cards may be held in four different ways:
As there are two high cards against this combination, you must take a double finesse. The play is similar to that given for the previous combinations. Lead the high card from the weak hand, and, unless it is covered, pass the trick; then wait until the suit can again be led from the weak hand, and take a second finesse. KING, JACK, TEN COMBINATIONThere are three ways in which these cards may be held:
If you hold this combination with nine or more cards of the suit, it is often difficult to determine whether a finesse should or should not be taken; if you play the king and it wins the first trick, you may drop both ace and queen on the next lead. MISCELLANEOUS COMBINATIONSIf you hold a sequence of three high cards in the combined hands, while, of course, it is better form to lead from the weak hand, it makes but little difference from which hand the suit is led. Therefore, if you cannot conveniently place the lead, do not hesitate to lead from the strong hand. Should you, however, hold a sequence of two high cards in one hand with small cards in the other, for instance:
it is always advisable to lead from the weak hand. Should the queen win in the first combination, wait until you can again lead the suit from the weak hand.
A suit containing a single honour or one with a single honour in each hand should be avoided. There is a difference of one or two tricks in each of these combinations dependent on whether you or the adversaries open the suit. When it is an advantage to have a suit led by the opponents, endeavour, by throwing the lead, to force your adversaries to lead the suit to you. ARRANGING THE LEADAssuming that you understand how to play the various combinations of cards, it becomes necessary, as soon as the opening lead has been made, to plan a well-defined scheme of play. Do not hesitate to pause a few moments to study thoroughly the two hands, so that you can play quickly and intelligently. Be assured that when you play a hand with a vague, uncertain feeling, you are playing it badly. Many a hand is ruined by careless and hasty play to the first trick. In a “no-trump hand” this first trick is often of great importance. Before you touch a card in the dummy decide for which suit you wish to play, from which hand it should be led, and in which hand you need an entry card. In mapping out your play of a trump hand, try first to infer whether the lead is from a long or a short suit; then decide whether or not you should lead trumps, and if so, from which hand you should lead them; and looking ahead still further, place an advantageous lead for your long suit. FINESSINGIt has already been stated that with certain combinations in the two hands, you should finesse, and that you can do so, unless you hold great length in the suit with but small chance of loss. When a finesse goes against you, it is due to an unfortunate distribution of the cards and not, as one is apt to feel, to your own bad play. However, the subject of finessing, in common with all other parts of Bridge, requires a knowledge of the particular situation, and there are many occasions when it is unwise to finesse. It would be bad play to finesse deeply in trumps when it is evident that your adversaries can “ruff” a suit, or that a “cross-ruff” is imminent. It may be important that you have two, or even three In a “no-trumper,” if your opponent has an established suit, be careful not to take a finesse, which, if it loses, will afford the adversary an opportunity to make his established suit. It is much better play to finesse against this player, especially if you know that the other adversary has no card of his partner’s suit. As dealer, you should be careful about taking a finesse, which, if it loses, will block your suit, and allow your adversary to take out your card of re-entry. If you hold a guarded honour in the suit originally led by the adversary, do not take a finesse, which, if it loses, will allow your right-hand adversary to lead through this honour. The entire suit may be made against you. If you hold the king of a suit once or twice guarded in one hand, and only small cards of that suit in the other, do not take a finesse, which may allow the adversary to lead through this king. If you have a strong hand and a weak dummy you would, of course, prefer that the lead come up to you. Therefore, take your finesse, so that if it loses, you will have, at least, this advantage. With ace, king, and jack in one suit, and especially if these cards are all in one hand, it is often good play to take one round of the suit before attempting a finesse. The fall of the cards may help you to locate the queen. When you hold eight cards to the ace, king, and jack in the two hands, the adversary’s queen is frequently unguarded. Finessing then becomes a question of the score and of the possible loss that an unsuccessful finesse would entail. You should risk the loss of a trick in order to win the game, provided the loss of a trick does not lose the game. If the game cannot be won, and it is merely a question of winning or not winning the odd trick, do not finesse. That one trick may prevent the adversaries from winning the game on the next deal. THE FINESSE OBLIGATORYThis is an arbitrary finesse, which is often forced upon you, when, unless the cards of a suit are in a certain position, there is no possibility of winning. Perhaps the best way of defining the finesse obligatory is to give an example showing the position as it most frequently occurs:
WATCHING THE DISCARDS IN ORDER TO LOCATE FINESSESThe amount of information to be gained from the adversary’s discards is apt to be underestimated. Careful notice of the discards, particularly in a “no-trump” hand, will often help you to locate honours and to determine where a finesse should be taken; moreover, it will simplify the end play, show you chances to throw the lead, and give you opportunities to force the opponents to lead up to your hand. If the king of your long suit is against you and on the wrong side, it will probably make, but this is not true of the queen. If you hold in the two hands ace king, jack or ace king jack, ten of a suit, unless you can place the queen, you are compelled to guess where to take the finesse. If, however, you can advantageously lead another suit try to force the adversaries to discard, one will undoubtedly protect the queen of your suit, and the other, not knowing perhaps that you are trying to gain information, will probably discard from his weak suit; the discard thus enabling you to finesse successfully. This information can often be similarly obtained in a trump hand by leading an extra round of trumps. If, however, you are forced to lead the suit without any knowledge of the situation, lead a card which will tempt your adversary to cover; for instance, holding ace x x in dummy with king jack ten in your own hand, lead the jack. If the jack is not covered, it is often good play to take the first trick with the ace, and, on returning the lead, to play the ten. As the jack was not covered you infer that the queen is held by the other adversary. If you have no finesse in your suit, it often pays to give the adversaries a chance to make a finesse possible for you. For instance, with A x x in dummy and K 10 9 in your own hand, unless both queen and jack are unguarded, or unless you can tempt them to play badly, the adversaries must make one trick in the suit. The play is to lead the ten, for if it is covered, either with jack or queen, you have the advantage of a finesse on your return of the suit. SECOND HAND PLAYSShowing the play of the different combinations between dealer and dummy. In each case a small card is led and the second hand is the hand that is led through:
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