2. When third hand has touching honors, he plays his cheapest honor.
Yes, third hand plays high, but not always the highest card. With a suit headed by the A K, follow with the King; With K Q, follow with the Queen, with Q J, follow with the Jack, with J 10, the 10.
So when third hand plays an honor, he says, “I do not have the honor immediately below.”
Dummy
♥ 7 5
You Partner
♥ J 8 6 4 2 ❏ ♥ 10 played
Declarer
♥A played
The bid is 3 NT. You led the ♥4. Dummy plays the ♥5, partner the ♥10 and declarer wins the ♥A.
What do you know? Everything!
Partner has no honor - he would have played high. He can’t even have the ♥ 9 - with ♥ 10 9 he would have followed with the ♥ 9. Declarer has ♥ A K Q 9. Stay away from this suit!
When are you “Third Hand”?
The third hand refers to the defense - specifically to the partner of the leader. Unlike the second hand, third hand is the last stop for your side - your partner has already played. The third hand has some special guidelines to follow:
1. If there is no honor in the dummy, third hand plays a high card. Not medium high... High.
Dummy
♥ 6 5 2
Partner You
♥7 lead ❏ ♥ A J 4
Partner led the ♥7. Dummy plays the ♥2. You must play your ♥A; the ♥J won’t do. Declarer could have the ♥Q and partner the ♥K - playing the ♥J would give declarer a free trick.
Honor leads are easy to figure out - spot cards, that is the 2 thru 9, are ambiguous. The most common agreement is with three small cards, lead the lowest card.
• Partner leads a high spot card
Almost always the lead of a high spot card (7, 8 or 9) is usually the start of a “high-low” signal:
• Partner leads a low spot card
If you are not interpreting your partner’s opening lead against a trump contract, you are wasting a very valuable opportunity to defeat their bid.
Partner leads an honor
If your partner’s lead is an honor, you can almost always expect it to be the top of a sequence. Immediately say to yourself, “He’s got the honor right below, but not the one above.”
Let’s say the opponents wind up in 4♥:
Dummy
♠ 8 6 4
Partner You
Leads ♠Q ❏ ♠ K 9 7 3
Your partner leads the ♠Q. Let’s analyze: the queen promises the jack and denies the king and ace. So declarer has the ♠A, which will probably win the first trick. But what do you play on trick #1? Signal with the ♠9 that you want the suit continued. You know where everything is located - clue partner in.
Incidentally, what if partner opened the bidding 1♠? Then declarer would have a singleton ace - don’t encourage partner to lead another spade - follow with the ♠3.
Dummy
♠ 8 6 4
Partner You
♠K lead ❏ ♠ J 7 3
Now you know partner has the queen, and declarer has the ace. Signal with the ♠7 to encourage partner to continue spades the next time he gets the lead. Your ♠J is important!
Dummy
♠ 8 6 4
Partner You
♠Q lead ❏ ♠ A 2
Figure it out: Declarer has the king. If you follow with the ♠2, declarer wins the king and you have to sit and wait for your ace, which may never happen. Not only that, it’s a doubleton ace, so you would block up the spade suit by playing your ♠2. Up your ace!
Dummy
♠ 8 6 4
Partner You
♠A lead ❏ ♠ Q 9 7 3
Partner probably has the king; you must tell him it is safe to lead his king by signaling with the ♠9. You would be indicating either a doubleton or the ♠Q; either one would encourage partner to lead his ♠K.
Tune in next time when the topic will be "Partner leads a spot card."
