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Detail specifications 72A2 - Level 1 ★
Signaling after the lead in NT
Signaling by the 3rd player after his partner's lead. (In the following examples this player is in East.)
In general, he will be obliged to play his highest card. If either his partner who led, or dummy, is master, then he will be able to signal to his partner.
The signals will depend on the lead card (low or high) and on dummy's cards.
After the lead with a low card, odd-even.
After the lead with an honor, signaling will depend on the honor (ace, king or queen)
In general, he will be obliged to play his highest card. If either his partner who led, or dummy, is master, then he will be able to signal to his partner.
The signals will depend on the lead card (low or high) and on dummy's cards.
After the lead with a low card, odd-even.
After the lead with an honor, signaling will depend on the honor (ace, king or queen)
| S | W | N | E |
|---|---|---|---|
1NT |
Pass |
3NT |
|
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
| | |||||||||||
| |
| 6 5 | |||||||||
| Q J 10 |
In 3rd position you play high, here with the lowest of your equivalent cards. When the 10 is overtaken by the ace, your partner will deduce that it's you who holds the queen and the jack. Playing the queen denies having the jack...
After the Opener's low card lead.
His partner:
His partner:
- plays a master card...if possible,
- gives the count by playing odd-even, if dummy is master.
- Reminder of the odd-even system:With an even number of cards, play high-low (with the 5 and the 7 play first the 7 then the 5 next time round)
- With an uneven number of cards, play the lowest first (with J 10 4 play the 4 first).
| S | W | N | E |
|---|---|---|---|
1NT |
Pass |
3NT |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
| 6 | |||||||||||
| |
| J 9 8 7 | |||||||||
| |
The 4 is the 4th best in a suit containing at least one honor. Play your jack to oblige South to sacrifice an honor to win the trick.
After a lead with an honor, the general rule is to play odd-even with the following exceptions:
- After the lead with an ace or a queen and with 3 low cards in dummy, make a come-on or a refusal signal.
-
There are several systems and
- Dominique recommends playing a low card as a COME-ON signal and a high card (the 6 and above) to REFUSE. This is the modern system used only after a lead in NT. Make sure you and your partner agree about this as another system is often used which is the exact opposite....
- After the lead with the king, unblock the suit ! Your partner has at least a 5 card suit with 3 honors! Play your highest card to avoid blocking the suit
| S | W | N | E |
|---|---|---|---|
1NT |
Pass |
3NT |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
| Q 10 7 7 6 K 10 9 A K J 5 | |||||||||||
| |
| K J 8 5 9 8 5 8 5 2 Q 6 2 | |||||||||
| |
After the lead with the queen or the ace, you must accept or refuse the suit. Here, with no honors, refuse the suit by playing the 9 (the modern system, low card accepts, high card refuses the suit).
| S | W | N | E |
|---|---|---|---|
1NT |
Pass |
3NT |
|
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
| | |||||||||||
| |
| 7 | |||||||||
| A 8 |
Unblock the suit. Your partner who led the king has a strong suit with 3 honors. Take with the ace. If you play the 8, you might never be able to give him the lead again...
FR version