What Is Declarer's Plan?
By Ralph Welton
Defense is difficult. You don't have the advantage of seeing all of your partnership's cards. You see only your own cards and the dummy. This makes coordinating the play between your hand and partner's hand difficult.
Fortunately, your opponents' bidding and declarer's first plays will often "tell" you how to defend. After declarer counts his winners and losers, he will make a plan to reduce his losers.
Whatever declarer's plan, your goal is to arrange for it to fail.
What kinds of plans can declarer make to reduce the losers in his hand?
In the game of bridge, there are only three basic plans.
Declarer can...
- trump his losers with dummy's trumps
- discard losers in his hand on extra winners in dummy
- lead toward losing honors and finesse
Each plan has a defensive counter-measure, though not guaranteed to succeed.
For plan 1 (trump losers with dummy's trumps), lead trumps as many times as you can to cut down on dummy's ruffing power.
For plan 2 (discard losers on extra winners in dummy), cash your winners (declarer's losers) in side suits before declarer can discard them.
For plan 3 (finesse), avoid leading away from unsupported honors. Wait for declarer to take his losing finesses.
Sometimes declarer will use combinations of the three basic plans. For example, declarer might trump a loser in one suit (plan 1), and finesse in another suit (plan 3). Or he might finesse (plan 3), creating an extra winner in that same suit, and later use it for a discard (plan 2). In such cases you will use a combination of counter measures.
While it's true there exist complex declarer plans beyond these three basics, you must MASTER the basics first before turning your attention to more advanced counter measures.
Let's look at some examples.
example 1
| Partner | ||
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Dummy ♠ Q 8 6 ♥ J 9 4 2 ♦ A Q T 8 3 ♣ 9 |
Declarer | |
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You ♥ K Q T 3 |
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You lead the ♥K against declarer's spade contract. He wins with the ♥A in his hand, and leads a club.
What is his plan when he leads a club?
He is planning to trump clubs in the dummy (plan 1).He must first clear dummy's club out of the way by leading the suit. After that he will be able to lead more clubs and trump them.
Can you arrange for his plan to fail?
Maybe. Either you or partner must win the club lead and lead trumps – the suggested counter measure when declarer plans to trump losers in dummy (plan 1). If you are lucky enough to have the ♠A, lead it. It will win. Then lead spades a second time. Leading trump twice is even better than leading trump once. After your trump lead(s), declarer may have more club losers than he has spades remaining in the dummy.
Can you limit declarer to only one club ruff?
Probably. If you can lead trump a second time, that will do it. With only three trumps in the dummy, two trump leads will prevent a second ruff.
Declarer will win the first trump lead in his hand, and lead a second club, trumping it in the dummy (plan 1). He would like to lead a third club and trump it. But the lead is (from his point of view) in the wrong hand.
How many trumps does he have left in the dummy?
One. You led trump once and he trumped clubs once. That's two spades played and one spade left.
Will declarer lead a spade from dummy?
No. He's trying to trump another club (plan 1). If he leads his last spade, he will not be able to use it for trumping.
Declarer will lead a red card from dummy, which you will win if you can. Then you lead another trump (counter measure 1). This limits declarer to only one club ruff.
example 2
| Partner | ||
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Dummy ♠ Q 8 6 ♥ J 9 4 2 ♦ A Q T 8 3 ♣ 9 |
Declarer | |
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You ♥ K Q T 3 |
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This is the same dummy as the previous example, but declarer makes a different play, implying a different plan.
You lead the ♥K against declarer's spade contract. He wins with the ♥A in his hand, and plays the ♦K.
Why isn't he clearing away dummy's singleton club?
Which of the three basic plans is declarer following?
See if you can think of two possible answers to this question. Why isn't he pulling trump before leading diamonds?
He may have a trump loser, and can't afford to give up the lead in the trump suit before he takes a discard on the diamonds.Or he may need dummy's trumps to cross the lead into the dummy so he can cash the ♦AQ.
Is declarer planning to reduce losers in hearts or clubs?
Most likely hearts.With club losers he would probably adopt plan 1 – trump losers in dummy. That would mean clearing clubs from dummy instead of playing diamonds. Declarer isn't clearing clubs. So he's most likely hoping to discard a losing heart.
Can you arrange for his plan to fail?
Possibly, but not likely. The counter measure for plan 2 is to cash your winner(s) before declarer can take his discard(s). Unfortunately, declarer has the lead so you may not be able to stop him.
If you can get the lead, cash the ♥Q (counter measure 2).
How might you get the lead?
- If declarer leads another diamond, you might be able to trump it, giving you the lead to cash your ♥Q (counter measure 2).
- If declarer held a singleton ♦K, he will now have to lead another suit. You may have a winner in this other suit, which gives you the lead. This other suit might be either clubs or spades.
Why won't this other suit be hearts?
That's the suit he's hoping to discard. If he leads it, you will grab your ♥Q (counter measure 2), and it will be too late for him to discard his heart loser.
When declarer follows plan 3, it will usually succeed or fail based solely on the location of the missing high cards. For example...
example 3
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Partner ♣ J T 8 5 |
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Dummy ♣ 9 6 3 |
Declarer ♣ A Q |
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You ♣ K 7 4 2 |
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Declarer has a club "loser" – the ♣Q. So he decides to finesse for the missing ♣K (plan 3). This fails because the ♣K is off sides for declarer. In cases like this, where the finesse loses, a defender must be careful not to ruin a good thing!
You must avoid leading up to declarer's losing honor. Avoid leading clubs until after declarer tries, and loses, the finesse.
This counter measure has no urgency to it. There is nothing you must accomplish in the other suits – just avoid leading clubs.
Note that it's OK for partner to lead clubs. He's not leading up to declarer's losing honor. He's leading up to a worthless dummy, generally a good lead. If partner leads clubs, declarer still has to finesse in hopes of avoiding a club loser (plan 3), and the finesse still loses to your ♣K.
Now let's switch the defensive hands.
example 4
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Partner ♣ K 7 4 2 |
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Dummy ♣ 9 6 3 |
Declarer ♣ A Q |
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You ♣ J T 8 5 |
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After the switch, the ♣K is on sides and declarer's finesse wins.
The only possible counter measure is to prevent dummy from ever gaining the lead. Finessing (plan 3) requires a lead from dummy. If declarer is forced to play clubs from his own hand, he will be unable to follow his plan of finessing (plan 3), and partner's ♣K will score a trick.
How can a defender prevent dummy from gaining the lead?
It's a rare hand where this is possible. It often involves a hold-up play. Let's look at an example deal where you can keep dummy off lead.
example 5
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Partner ♠ A K 7 ♥ Q T 8 3 ♦ 8 7 6 ♣ 9 8 6 5 |
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Declarer ♠ Q J T 9 4 3 ♥ A K ♦ K 5 ♣ A Q 5 |
Dummy ♠ 6 5 ♥ 7 4 2 ♦ Q T 9 3 ♣ J T 3 2 |
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You ♠ 8 2 ♥ J 9 6 5 ♦ A J 4 2 ♣ K 7 4 |
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The contract is 4 ♠.
Partner starts the defense by leading three rounds of trump, the ♠A, the ♠K, and then the ♠7. (You give silent thanks that he didn't lead clubs.)
Declarer wins the third round of trump and leads the ♦K.
Do you take this trick?
No. You should hold up your ace.It's only correct to take this trick if the ♦K is singleton. Unlikely.
Far more likely is that declarer needs a dummy entry to finesse your ♣K (plan 3).
Correct. Hold up your ace.If you take this trick, declarer will later get the lead into the dummy with the ♦Q, and lead the ♣J for a winning finesse in clubs (plan 3).
If you keep your ♦A over dummy's ♦Q, declarer will be unable to get the lead in the dummy, and unable to finesse in clubs.
Little Bear asks, "How can I tell that the hold up is the best play? I remember a wise old bear who said to always play the ace when the king is singleton."
That's right, Little Bear. There's something called count signals that let partner warn you to take your ace right away. But I don't recommend using count signals just yet.
You have to walk before you can run. First pay attention to the three basic plans declarer might adopt.
On this deal, you know your ♣K is not well placed and is likely to be finessable. So you take the counter measure of holding up your ♦A to keep dummy off lead.
example 6
| Partner | ||
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Dummy ♠ Q 8 6 ♥ J 9 4 2 ♦ K J T 8 3 ♣ 9 |
Declarer | |
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You ♥ K Q T 3 |
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This is similar to example 1, but declarer makes a different play, implying a different plan.
You lead the ♥K against declarer's spade contract. He wins with the ♥A in his hand, and leads back the ♥5.
What is declarer's plan? Running through a few questions about the three basic plans will help you figure that out.
Why isn't declarer clearing clubs from dummy?
He's NOT planning to trump clubs in dummy (plan 1).So you do not have to rush to lead trump repeatedly as a counter measure.
If declarer isn't going to trump clubs in dummy, why isn't he pulling trump?
He must have a trump loser, and he doesn't want to give up the lead.He's afraid you would find the right suit to lead back, and he wants to reduce his losers first.
Why isn't declarer leading diamonds?
He isn't planning to take an early discard on extra winners in dummy's diamond suit (plan 2).Maybe he doesn't have any extra diamond winners. Or maybe he has too many diamonds (3 or more) to get discards before the defenders trump.
Declarer is trying to reduce losers by leading toward dummy's "losing" honor (plan 3). He knows from your opening lead that you hold the ♥Q, and that his ♥J will become a winner if he leads toward it.
How many hearts did declarer start with? To answer this question, you must assume that his play at trick two is reasonable.
He must have started with only two hearts.He can't take a discard on the third round of hearts unless he's then out of hearts. And if he holds three or more hearts, he's just giving the defenders a chance to trump his winning ♥J by not pulling trump before his heart play.
Is declarer planning to discard a diamond or a club on his ♥J?
Declarer is planning to discard a diamond. If he was worried about club losers he would have cleared dummy's ♣9 so he could trump clubs before pulling trump.
How do you counter declarer's plan?
You must win your ♥Q and lead a diamond through dummy's diamond honors. Maybe partner has the ♦AQ. If he does, he should take both of them before declarer cashes the ♥J.
example 7
| Partner | ||
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Declarer |
Dummy ♠ Q T 6 ♥ 4 2 ♦ A J T 3 2 ♣ 8 7 3 |
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You |
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Spades are trump. Let's look at the plans declarer might use to reduce his losers.
Could declarer plan to lead toward losing honors and finesse?
Yes.He can lead diamonds toward the dummy and finesse. He may also hold finessing positions in his hand in either hearts or clubs. Even the trump suit may require a finesse.
Could he plan to discard losers on extra winners in dummy?
Yes.Dummy's diamonds could turn out to have extra winners. Declarer could then discard either hearts or clubs. Even one discard could make the difference between his contract succeeding or failing.
Could declarer plan to trump losers in dummy?
Yes.Hearts is dummy's shortest suit, so hearts is the most likely suit to be trumped in dummy. Declarer could also hold four or more clubs with the fourth round being a loser he could trump.
Can he pull trump first and still be able to trump losers later?
Maybe.He has only three trumps in dummy. If he holds a six card trump suit, and the defenders' trumps split two and two, he can pull them first and still have a trump left in dummy.
If he needs to trump two losers, he will not be able to pull trump first. That would leave him with only one trump left for his two losers.
Now let's look at how declarer's play "tells" us which of these plans he is trying to follow.
example 8
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Partner ♥ K |
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Declarer |
Dummy ♠ Q T 6 ♥ 4 2 ♦ A J T 3 2 ♣ 8 7 3 |
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You ♠ 9 7 ♥ J 9 8 ♦ K 8 6 4 ♣ 9 6 5 2 |
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Partner leads the ♥K against declarer's spade contract.
You play the ♥9, to show the ♥J.
Declarer wins and leads back a small heart.
What is declarer planning?
Partner plays low on declarer's heart lead and you win with your ♥8.
Lead a trumpDeclarer is trying to trump heart losers. Get rid of as many trumps in the dummy as you can.
Maybe declarer will finesse in the trump suit, losing to partner's hoped for ♠K. Then partner can lead trumps again.
Let's start the same hand over, with declarer making a different plan.
example 9
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Partner ♥ K |
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Declarer |
Dummy ♠ Q T 6 ♥ 4 2 ♦ A J T 3 2 ♣ 8 7 3 |
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You ♠ 9 7 ♥ J 9 8 ♦ K 8 6 4 ♣ 9 6 5 2 |
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Partner leads the ♥K against declarer's spade contract.
You play the ♥9, to show the ♥J.
Declarer wins and leads back ♦Q, playing low from dummy.
Why didn't declarer pull trump first?
He must have a trump loser and didn't want to give up the lead.It's a good thing his diamond finesse failed. You now have the lead to counter declarer's plan.
What was declarer planning to discard on his extra diamond winner(s)?
Clubs.With heart losers, he would plan to ruff them in dummy. He didn't clear hearts from dummy, so he's not worried about heart losers.
What do you lead as a counter measure?
Clubs.Lead the ♣9 to try to capture club tricks (declarer's club losers) before declarer discards them on dummy's diamonds.
Partner wins your club lead and returns a heart to your jack. Now what do you do?
Lead another club.Declarer still has those nice diamonds in dummy, and may still be planning to take club discards on them. Partner must have a marginal club holding that he couldn't lead away from. That's why he led a heart to you, so you could lead through declarer's club holding, up to the club weakness in dummy.
Sometimes you can figure out what declarer's plan will be even before declarer has the chance to "tell" you his plan by which suit he plays first.
example 10
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Partner ♥ 3 |
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Declarer |
Dummy ♠ T 6 3 ♥ 4 2 ♦ Q T 6 2 ♣ A J 7 3 |
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You ♠ 9 7 ♥ A J T 9 ♦ K 8 4 ♣ Q T 5 2 |
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Partner leads the ♥3 against their spade contract.
What can you tell from partner's lead?
Leading low promises an honor.Leading the lowest outstanding spot card shows partner holds three or four hearts, no more.
How many hearts does declarer hold?
Are any of declarer's hearts losers?
Yes.If partner's heart honor is ♥K, all of declarer's hearts are losers because partner's ♥K will play on top of declarer's ♥Q, and you own the promoted lesser honors.
And if partner's honor is the ♥Q, declarer has only one winner, the ♥K, and the other 2 or 3 are losers.
Can you tell how declarer will try to reduce his losers?
Yes.Dummy is short hearts, so declarer will plan to trump heart losers in the dummy.
Additional clues are that you hold honors in both minor suits, so dummy is unlikely to have extra winners for declarer to use for heart discards.
Begin your counter measures immediately. Win the opening lead with your ♥A, and lead a trump.
Little Bear would like to summarize:
"There are three basic plans declarer can follow to reduce his losers."
"Each plan has a defensive counter measure."
"There are more advanced plans and counter measures, but I'm sticking to the basics... for now."
Go to the next topic:
Bridge Bears is run by a retired teacher and ACBL life master who has 35 years teaching experience and who's been playing bridge for over 50 years. I don't claim to be one of the top players, but I do understand how slowly beginners need to go when they are trying to learn how to play bridge.