Considerations for playing second on offense
The right defender tends to lead long, the left defender tends to lead short.
ASK YOURSELF: Does the right defender like to underlead Aces? You might want to pop the
10 on the trick.
Is the left defender void of the suit? If so,
-
When following suit: raise the trick with a picture, not a full one
When trumping: Trump with a picture or a low jack on a full one
SAVE YOIUR TRUMPS How many points on the table? Can you save points by throwing off a
loser? Only discard losers when it saves you points in the long run.
BEWARE: If you throw off too much on a repeated long suit lead, the other defender can void
himself in the suit where you hold the Ace. You might put your Ace at risk if trump are out.
BE SNEAKY Use false carding strategies to discourage a relead of the suit, e.g., play the King
first from K-7.
SAVE THE BOSS Trump in with the boss trump only to cinch the game. You may need it
later, such as in winning the third trump trick.
What to do in the middle on defense?
Ask yourself:
 Is the player leading into me, or is the player playing after me? -Position matters
 Should I try to take the trick, or let the player after me take it? -Position and points matter
 Can I follow suit?
 Can the player after me follow suit?
 Am I the weak defender—the one who needs to save their full ones?
 What un-played suit can I establish a void in so that I can trump it or
smear in it?
Considerations for playing second on defense with Player leading
If the Player leads trump:
-
-
-
-
COVER YOUR PARTNER Protect your partner on a Jack lead by covering with a
higher jack, especially if you have no full ones in trump.
o EXCEPTIONS
 If you have a full one in trump, chances are your partner doesn’t
 If you have BOTH full ones in trump, no need to cover
 If your partner stopped at 20, 22 or 24, assume he has a black jack
 It is OK to not cover the diamond jack with the club jack
 If you have 4 or 5 trump but only 1 jack, you might want to hold on
to it.
GET THE PLAYER IN THE MIDDLE If a low trump led, let your partner win the
trick
YOU CAN’T TAKE THEM HOME WITH YOU If you had 2 or fewer trump and you
are now void, consider smearing on anything that is not the boss trump. But
beware: Is he trying to bluff a smear with a late low trump lead?
DISCARDS CAN BE BETTER THAN SMEARS Consider discarding a weak suit
instead of a smear to inform your partner about possibilities of winning tricks in
that suit. Especially if all you can smear is a picture.
DITCH THE WEAK JACK EARLY Get rid of a sure loser jack of diamonds early so
partner can save his A or 10 of trump.
If the Player leads a fail suit:
-
-
-
-
KNOW WHEN TO FINESSE Is he trying to establish a 10 or an A-K combination
with a low suit lead? Sometimes you may want to hold back an Ace or a twiceguarded 10 for an extra trick. Remember that the Player tends to keeps a 3-card
side suit intact.
BEWARE OF THE SUCKER PLAY Is he trying to bluff a smear? Ex: Holding A-10-KD, he leads A then D, or D first?
BOTH VOID: WHO SHOULD TRUMP, WHO SHOULD SMEAR? Is he playing a
forcing suit to force out the last trump(s)? If you are void and so is your partner,
then you if you have no full ones, trump it. If you have full ones, smear one, unless
you know your partner has no more trump.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING WHEN YOU SMEAR: If he leads low and neither A or 10
drops and you don’t have them, your partner may be schnibbeling for the 10.
Don’t smear too early, lest you pass up a 31-point trick.
GET OUT FIRST If you want to schnibbel the player’s suit, make sure Schneider is
taken care of first.
EXPECT THE EXPECTED Are you naturally void? You can smear twice when that
suit is led unless your partner bid it.
Remember signaling conventions when discarding
-
In a grand, discard the same color opposite suit as your Ace
In a suit game, discard your weak suit outright
Smearing an Ace says you have the 10, while smearing a 10 says you don’t have the
Ace.
Considerations for playing second on defense with Partner leading
If the partner leads a 10 of an unplayed suit:
He is asking for the Ace if you have it, or a trump if you don’t.
If the player leads the ace:
You don’t necessarily want to put up a fat 21 for the player at the end. Consider
putting a picture in instead of the 10. Only put the 10 in when you have 1 or 2 of the
suit.
If the player leads a low card:
Go over it if at all possible—make sure the player will still be in the middle if he throws
off.
If you are void of the suit
If strong in trump, discard. If weak in trump, trump it
If the partner leads trump
That means he doesn’t have a good lead and doesn’t want to open a suit.
LOOKING AT THINGS ANOTHER WAY:
When do you smear?
Smear when you cannot follow suit and you expect your partner to win the trick. HINT: If you
only had 1 of the suit and it’s gone, odds are you can smear the re-lead of that suit unless your
partner bid it.
Try not to smear potential trick winners such as Aces of un-played suits and established 10’s or
K’s of a suit where the player has not indicated a void.
Always smear if you are sure to get to 60 points by doing so.
Late in the game, remember the axiom: “When in doubt, SMEAR!”. Early on, be more cautious.
When do you discard?
Discard a weak suit when you expect the player to take the trick.
Consider a discard over a smear if you can capture the player’s ace by trumping your newly
established void suit.
If you are not sure who’s taking the trick, smear a picture or discard.
When do you finesse?
Never finesse your partner’s lead playing second.
Finesse the player when Schneider is in the bag and you need it to win. Remember that the
player tends to keep a 3-card suit—you may need to finesse twice to get that 10.
When do you trump?
Trump in when you can get the player’s full one or secure your partner’s full one late in the
game.
If both defenders are void in a suit led by the player, don’t trump it—unless your partner is void
in trump.
If you think only you are void in the suit led by your partner, trump it—unless your partner
played the boss card of the suit, then smear or discard a weak suit.
If you are weak in trump and long in full ones, trump in early to reduce your trump holding and
set up smears on later trump tricks.
Consider smearing on a trick you know your partner can trump after you.