Defensive carding

Basics

• General Priority of signals (in this order):
• Attitude
• Count
• Suit Preference
• UDCA (Upside-Down Count and Attitude)
• Low encourages, High discourages
• High-Low = odd number, Low-High = even number of cards in the suit
• Low = preference for lower suit, High = preference for higher suit
• Count in a suit which has already been played: Present Upside Down

Leads

• Opening leads against any contract
• Ten: AJ10(x), KJ10(x), QJ10(x), 109(x), 10x
• Nine: A109(x), K109(x), Q109(x), 98(x), 9x
• Other opening leads against NT
  • 4^th best: from a good suit
  • Top or 2^nd best: from a poor suit
  • Ace: A(x), AK(x)
  • King: AKJT(x), KQT9(x), KQJ(x)
  • Queen: KQ(x), QJ(x), AQJ(x), AQ10(x)
  • Jack: J10(x)
  • Ace asks for attitude, King – for an unblock (count if nothing to unblock)
• Other opening leads against suit contracts
  • 3^rd best with an even-number-of-cards suit
  • Lowest with an odd-number-of-cards suit
  • xxxxxx, xxxxx, xxxx, xxx, xx
  • Ace: AK, AKxx, AKxxxx, ...
  • King: KQJ(x), AKx, AKxxx, AKxxxxx, ...
  • Queen: Qx, KQx(x), AKQ(x), QJ
  • Jack: Jx, QJx(x), J10(x)
• Opening leads against contracts at level 5 or higher AND against 3+ level preempts
• A asks for attitude
• K asks for count
• Leads later in the card play
• Low: encouraging
• High: discouraging
• 3^rd best with an even-number-of-cards suit
• Lowest with an odd-number-of-cards suit
• Standard honor leads (top of sequence)
• Honor leads through declarer may be inverted to show stiff holding
• Honor after an honor lead shows present standard count (i.e. K followed by J with KQJxxx)

Suit preference

• Smith echo against NT
• Signaling in a known long suit
• Highest and lowest spots are suit preference
• Honors are suit preference
• Middle spot shows positive attitude
• Suit preference in first discard
  • Low: the suit of the discard
  • High Even: the higher suit
  • High Odd: the lower suit
• Suit preference from xxx(x) in a suit played by partner
  • Lowest: always attitude (encouraging)
  • If there is an obvious shift
    • Highest: Strong demand to shift
    • 2nd highest: Weak demand to shift
  • Else highest and 2nd highest show suit preference
• Suit preference in suit (other than trumps) played by declarer - same as above.
• Suit preference in the trump suit - same as above

Esoteric

• Surrogate & Compound Count
• Count may be given in a suit (surrogate) other than the suit of interest itself. This usually occurs with a threatening suit in dummy and when the surrogate suit is unambiguous (no need to signal count in it for example).
• Moreover a precise count is given in such circumstances
  • Even followed by Even = 0 or 4
  • Odd followed by Odd = 1 or 5
  • Even followed by Odd = 2 or 6
  • Odd followed by Even = 3 or 7
• Safeguard signals: a Hi-Lo in a surrogate suit (usually the first one played by declarer) tells partner that he needs to "cover" in the threat suit (in other terms shows strength in the threat suit). This is similar to Smith to some degree.
• Ruff Alerts
  • A winner lead out of sequence is an alert. Partner must do the unusual thing (ruff or not)
  • A suit preference to an obvious suit when giving partner a ruff guarantees a high honor (i.e. K stiff so partner can under-lead his A)
• 2-suit cash outs
  • 3/lowest spot leads
  • A or K from doubleton
  • Higher from touching honors: even
  • Lower from touching honors: odd
  • Otherwise (cannot lead a spot and has no touching honors): the timing of the play of the 2 suits gives count (Hinterland) - cashing a trick in the 2nd suit immediately shows an even number of cards