Opening Leads: Win More Tricks from the First Card

The opening lead is the loneliest decision in bridge. Your partner hasn’t spoken (or they have, and you’re about to ignore them). You can’t see dummy. You don’t know declarer’s exact shape. You’re flying blind, and your choice matters more than almost any other single card you’ll play.

Get it right, and you set up your defense before declarer can get organized. Get it wrong, and you hand them their contract on a silver platter.

Let’s fix that.

Why the Opening Lead Matters More Than You Think

Here’s what makes the opening lead unique: it’s the only completely blind decision in bridge. After that first card hits the table, dummy comes down and suddenly everyone has information. But you? You’re working with the auction, your thirteen cards, and whatever partnership agreements you’ve sorted out.

That’s why experts spend years refining their leading style. A good opening lead creates problems for declarer. A bad one solves them.

The stats back this up. Studies show that defenders make more mistakes on the opening lead than any other part of the game. And unlike other defensive errors, you can’t recover from a bad lead—it’s out there, giving away tricks or setting up declarer’s suit before you can course-correct.

Leading Against Suit Contracts

When opponents land in a suit contract, your job is to grab tricks before declarer can pitch losers. Speed matters. Here’s your roadmap.

Top of a Sequence (Your Best Friend)

Got a sequence? Lead the top card. This is the safest, most productive lead in bridge.

What’s a sequence? Three cards in a row (or close enough):

  • KQJ, QJT, JT9
  • AKx (two touching honors counts)
  • KQT (the 10 fills the gap)

Why it works: You’re not giving up a trick. If your king drives out the ace, your queen is golden. If declarer has the ace and ducks, you can continue safely.

Example:

♠️ KQ63

Lead the ♠️K. If it holds, continue with the ♠️Q. If it loses to the ace, you’ve set up two tricks. Either way, you’re not guessing.

Fourth Best from Your Longest and Strongest

No sequence? Lead your fourth-highest card from your longest suit.

Why fourth? It’s a partnership agreement that tells your partner about your length. They use the “Rule of Eleven” (subtract the spot card from 11 to see how many higher cards are outside your hand).

Example:

♠️ KJ742

Lead the ♠️2 (fourth from the top). Partner sees the 2 and knows you have exactly four spades higher than the 2.

When not to lead fourth best:

  • Your suit is terrible (Jxxxx in a side suit often helps declarer)
  • You have a better option (partner bid a suit)
  • You need to cash tricks NOW (they’re running)

Trump Leads: The Surprise Weapon

Leading trumps feels wrong. You’re helping declarer draw your trumps! But sometimes it’s exactly right.

Lead a trump when:

  1. The auction screams “ruffing power” – They bid three suits, dummy is short somewhere, and you want to cut down ruffs.

  2. You have four trumps – You’re long in their suit, sitting behind declarer, and you want to force them to use trumps.

  3. You have nothing else – All your other leads look awful (giving away tricks in declarer’s side suits).

Example auction:

1♥️ - 1♠️
2♣️ - 2♠️
4♠️

They have hearts and clubs. Dummy might be ruffing one of those suits. Lead a trump to stop the crossruff.

The Ace Lead: When You’re Desperate

Leading an ace against a suit contract is usually wrong. You crash partner’s king, or you set up declarer’s queen. But sometimes you have to.

Lead an ace when:

  • You need to see dummy (ace of partner’s suit to get a look)
  • You need to cash out (they’re about to pitch losers)
  • You’re underlead from AK (modern style: A asks for attitude, K shows AK)

Don’t lead aces randomly. It’s the second-most common beginner mistake (after leading declarer’s suit).

Leading Against Notrump Contracts

Notrump is different. Declarer can’t ruff your winners, so you have time to set up long cards. The race is about suit establishment.

Fourth from Longest and Strongest (The Classic)

This is your default. Find your longest suit and lead fourth best.

Why? In notrump, long cards are gold. If you have five spades and can knock out declarer’s stoppers, those little spades turn into winners.

Example:

♠️ QJ752
♥️ 84
♦️ K63
♣️ 942

Lead the ♠️5 (fourth best from your longest suit). Even though you don’t have touching honors, you’re establishing length.

Top of a Sequence (Still Great)

Got touching honors? Lead the top card, just like in suit contracts.

Example:

♠️ QJ104

Lead the ♠️Q. If it forces the king or ace, your jack and ten are sitting pretty. If it holds, continue with the jack.

The Attitude vs. Count Lead Debate

Here’s where partnerships split. Some play attitude leads (high card = good suit, low card = bad suit). Others play standard count (fourth best always).

Attitude leads (journalist leads):

  • 10 from KJ109 (promising honors)
  • 3 from 8732 (trash)

Standard leads:

  • 9 from KJ109 (fourth best)
  • 3 from 8732 (fourth best)

Most club players stick with standard fourth-best. It’s simpler and partner can use the Rule of Eleven. But against notrump, some experts prefer attitude to help partner decide whether to return your suit.

Pick one with your partner. Don’t mix and match.

Leading Partner’s Suit

Your partner bid spades. You have three small spades. What do you lead?

Default: Top of partner’s suit when you have trash.

♠️ 862

Lead the ♠️8 (top of nothing). This tells partner you have no honor.

Exception: Low from an honor.

♠️ Q62

Lead the ♠️2 (low from an honor). Partner needs to know you have something useful.

With a doubleton:

♠️ 85

Lead the ♠️8 (top from a doubleton). Partner will know you started with exactly two when you play the 5 next.

Why this matters: Partner is counting. If they have AK10x and you lead the 8, they know you can’t have the queen (you’d lead low from Q8x). So they finesse the other way.

When NOT to Lead Partner’s Suit

Your partner bid hearts. But you have:

♠️ KQJ10
♥️ 73
♦️ 9642
♣️ 853

Lead the ♠️K. Yes, partner bid hearts. But your spade lead is a guaranteed trick-generator, and the ♥️73 can wait. Partner will understand when dummy comes down.

Trust your judgment. Partner’s suit is a guide, not a commandment. If you have a clearly better lead, make it.

Dangerous Leads to Avoid

Some leads are just asking for trouble.

Leading Away from an Ace Against a Suit Contract

♠️ A8642

Leading the ♠️4 against a suit contract? You’ve just handed declarer a cheap trick when they have Kx in hand and Qxx in dummy. Lead something else unless you have no choice.

Leading Declarer’s Suit

They bid spades, raised spades, and landed in 4♠️. Don’t lead spades. You’re helping them clear the suit.

Exception: You have a singleton trump and want to get a ruff. Or you literally have nothing else.

Underleading Kings Against Suit Contracts

♠️ K7542

Leading the ♠️4 when declarer might have the ace? Risky. If declarer has Axx and dummy has Qxx, you’ve just blown two tricks.

In notrump? Fine. You have time to set up the suit.

Against suits? Danger zone.

Leading from Ace-Queen or King-Jack

♥️ AQ74 or ♠️ KJ83

These holdings hate being led. You’re guessing which honor to play, and you’re probably wrong. Find another suit.

Four Example Hands with Lead Decisions

Let’s put this into practice.

Example 1: Against 4♠️

Auction:

LHO    Partner   RHO    You
1♠️     Pass      2♠️     Pass
4♠️     Pass      Pass   Pass

Your hand:

♠️ 73
♥️ QJ104
♦️ K852
♣️ 963

Lead: ♥️Q

You have a perfect sequence in hearts. Lead the queen. This is safe, productive, and tells partner you have the jack (and probably the ten).

Example 2: Against 3NT

Auction:

LHO    Partner   RHO    You
1NT    Pass      3NT    Pass

Your hand:

♠️ 96
♥️ K8732
♦️ J104
♣️ Q65

Lead: ♥️3

Your longest suit is hearts. Lead fourth-best (the 3). Even though the suit is weak, you need to set up length in notrump. Hope partner has an entry to return hearts.

Example 3: Against 4♥️ (Partner Bid Spades)

Auction:

LHO    Partner   RHO    You
1♥️     1♠️       3♥️     Pass
4♥️     Pass      Pass   Pass

Your hand:

♠️ 852
♥️ 6
♦️ AKJ74
♣️ 10965

Lead: ♠️8

Partner bid spades. Lead the ♠️8 (top of partner’s suit with trash). Yes, you have a great diamond suit, but partner spoke for a reason. Trust them.

Alternative: Some would lead the ♦️A (to see dummy and shift). But leading partner’s suit is standard.

Example 4: Against 6NT (Tough Choice)

Auction:

LHO    Partner   RHO    You
2NT    Pass      6NT    Pass

Your hand:

♠️ J10982
♥️ 75
♦️ K83
♣️ 964

Lead: ♠️J

Top of your sequence. Against a slam, you need to be passive (not give away tricks) but also find partner’s entry if they have one. The ♠️J is safe and might set up your suit if partner has the queen.

Don’t lead diamonds from the king—too risky against a slam.

Common Opening Lead Mistakes

Let’s count the ways we mess this up.

Mistake #1: Leading “Your Suit” on Autopilot

You have five spades, so you lead spades every time. But what if they’re Q7542 and you have KQJ in hearts? Lead the hearts! Length matters, but so does solidity.

Mistake #2: Leading an Ace to “See Dummy”

Beginner move. You cash the ♥️A against 4♠️ “just to see what’s there.” Dummy comes down with ♥️KQJ10. Oops—you just set up their whole suit.

Lead an ace when you have a plan, not out of curiosity.

Mistake #3: Ignoring the Auction

They bid 1♥️ - 1♠️ - 2♥️ - 4♥️ (fast arrival, minimum slam try denied). You lead a club from ♣️K7542. Dummy tables ♣️AQJ10. You just saved them a guess.

Listen to the bidding. If they avoided a suit, maybe lead it. If they emphasized a suit, don’t lead it.

Mistake #4: Leading from Honor-Rag-Rag

♠️ K72

Leading the ♠️2 against 4♥️? You’re begging to give declarer a free finesse. Unless you have nothing else, find a different suit.

Mistake #5: Being Too Passive

You’re on lead against 3NT and you have:

♠️ 943
♥️ 1086
♦️ K752
♣️ J103

Don’t lead the ♣️J because “it’s safe.” Lead the ♦️5 (fourth from your only possible source of tricks). Passive leads against notrump often hand declarer nine tricks on a platter.

Partnership Agreements You Should Know

Opening leads get easier when you and partner speak the same language.

MUD (Middle-Up-Down)

From three small cards (972), lead the middle card (7), then play the 9 next. This tells partner you have nothing.

Why? It distinguishes three-card holdings from doubletons (where you lead high-low).

Rusinow Leads

Lead the second-highest from touching honors:

  • From KQ, lead the Q
  • From QJ, lead the J

Advantage: Partner knows you have the card above. The king lead denies the queen (it’s from AK).

Downside: You can’t use Rusinow and also play “ace from AK” (they conflict).

Journalist Leads (Attitude Leads)

Against notrump:

  • High card (9 or 10) = I have honors in this suit
  • Low card (3 or 4) = This suit is trash, but it’s long

Advantage: Partner knows whether to return your suit.

Standard Count Leads

Fourth-best always. Use the Rule of Eleven. Simple, effective, time-tested.

Most club players use this. Don’t overthink it.

Ace Asks, King Shows (Against Suits)

  • Ace lead = “Do you have the king, partner?” (attitude signal)
  • King lead = “I have the ace too” (we’re cashing)

Modern style. Lets you find partner’s king on the opening lead.

A-K-Q Agreements

What does the king lead mean?

  • Standard: K from KQ (or AK in some partnerships)
  • Ace from AK: K denies the ace
  • Rusinow: Q from KQ, so K is from AKQ

Write it on your card. Seriously. Don’t guess.

The Bottom Line

Opening leads aren’t about perfect answers—they’re about making educated guesses with incomplete information. You won’t always get it right. But you can stack the odds in your favor.

The rules that matter most:

  1. Top of a sequence is almost always right. When in doubt and you have QJx or better, lead it.

  2. Fourth-best from length in notrump. Set up those long cards.

  3. Lead partner’s suit unless you have something clearly better. They’ll forgive one bad lead. They won’t forgive you ignoring them all night.

  4. Avoid leading aces against suit contracts. Exceptions exist, but not as many as you think.

  5. Listen to the auction. Every bid is a clue about what to lead (and what not to lead).

  6. Agree on your methods. MUD, Rusinow, attitude leads—pick a system with your partner and stick to it.

The opening lead is one card. But it sets the tone for the entire defense. Make it count.

Now get out there and lead something good. Your partner is counting on you.

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