"Thank you partner, small please."

How many times have you said this after seeing the dummy? It seems natural to run the trick to your hand, but before you do so:

STOP

• Count your tricks and your losers.
• Plan your play.
• Plan your entries.
• Ask your opponents about their leads and carding system.

And only then start to play.

Here’s a quick summary on the lead. (Note: These are standard leads. Some partners may have different agreements)

• Vs NT, opponents lead top of sequence from a 3 card sequence. From a broken sequence, they lead top if their 2 highest cards are consecutive (K from KQ10XX, Q from QJ9XX) and they lead their 2^nd card from a broken sequence where the 2^nd and 3^rd card are consecutive, assuming the second card is 10 or higher (J from KJ10XX , 10 from K109XX). They also can lead a 4^th from KQXXX.
• Vs trump, lead top of sequence from a 2 + cards sequence - K from KQXXX, Q from QJXXX.
• 4th best always promises an honor, and denies sequence (full or broken vs NT, and 2 card sequence vs trump).
• Low lead in Partner's suit promises honor.
• 2nd best from a suit without honor - 8 from 108xx, 7 from 97xx, etc.
• High – low from a doubleton. 

If you want to go into a bit more detail on the lead before tackling the quiz, have a look at this article on leads.

Have a go at putting this into practice

About the Author

Oren Lidor is considered one of the best bridge teachers in Israel, is the author of 5 bridge books, and teaches bridge to people from all over the world on BBO.