"Top of nothing" Leads
#1
Posted 2004-May-15, 19:43
What do you think of this approach, for opening leads and/or leads further on into the hand?
Peter
#2
Posted 2004-May-16, 02:47
- small does promise honour
- top of nothing
- middle up down with 3 small:
-- the 7 from 973
-- the 9 from 932 (to avoid confusion).
This is probably very easy method for beginner/intermediate. You immediatly know if their is future in a suit.
Probably for expert players 3/5 leads are better because they:
- want to know more about distribution
- can know where honours are from bidding and play
#4
Posted 2004-May-16, 04:39
I dont like leading high from long suits like 10 7 5 4 3 leading the 10 looks like a mistake to me, but leading the 10 of 10 7 5 seems fine and can help partner play low when its right.
#6
Posted 2004-May-16, 05:57
lucky_dom, on May 16 2004, 06:52 AM, said:
Dom
well even if you are right, i still dont like leading 9 from 96543.
But i dont know if you are right, atleast with my partner Gijsh we dont consider 10 as an honor althought i will lead low from 10xxxx many times (but this isnt our system just common sense)
#7
Posted 2004-May-16, 07:35
The 10 is generally considered as a small honour. AKQ are top honours, J a normal one, 10 a small one. If you analyse a lot of hands, you'll see that the 10 is still a very important card, although it's pretty low. Even the 9 or the 8 can be of importance, and not to be the 13th card if you know what I mean.
#8
Posted 2004-May-16, 08:19
I dont like top-of-nothing or mud from a suit bid by partener .. nothing is perfect but i prefer small from xxx or xxxx ..since it gives p some help with the count.. especially dont want partener to direct the defence towards giving me a phantom ruff in this situation.
Rgds Dogsbreath
#9
Posted 2004-May-17, 19:22
#10
Posted 2004-May-21, 13:55
Agressive leads is what wins the game.
Weaker players lead away from nothing almost always, afraid to"give" something away.
Better players lead agressive, away from honour. Not always, but most of the time.
Listen to the auction, try to construct opps hands from that. And then make a wise, hopefully, decision.
Mike
so much the better. If there is restlessness, I am pleased. Then let there
be ideas, and hard thought, and hard work.”
#11
Posted 2004-May-23, 01:20
#12
Posted 2004-May-23, 04:30
It is no chance that most of top players use 2nd from small instead of top of nothing. 2nd reveal less to opps and helps enough to p and didn't sacrifice high card that can be important for defense. Combined with UDCA marking it helps to show number of cards by regular way in leaded suit for sure, very important for trump contracts, unlike mud, where can be too late for you to reveal that p had 3 cards, not doubleton.
Misho
#13
Posted 2004-May-23, 06:38
Jokes put aside, so true, about not leading agressively by weaker players...moi!!!
Learning though...
Aisha
#14
Posted 2004-May-25, 19:28
Ooooh! P has a doubleton, .
MUD is almost as bad!
The advantage of 3rds/5ths is that Hi-Lo ALWAYS promises an even number & Lo-Hi is ALWAYS odd.
If P has bid the suit? Lead low if you have an entry, lead high if you don't.
If P has not bid the suit? Why lead it? If you must lead it, give P a count!
#15
Posted 2004-May-25, 23:42
Cave_Draco, on May 25 2004, 08:28 PM, said:
Ooooh! P has a doubleton, .
MUD is almost as bad!
The advantage of 3rds/5ths is that Hi-Lo ALWAYS promises an even number & Lo-Hi is ALWAYS odd.
If P has bid the suit? Lead low if you have an entry, lead high if you don't.
If P has not bid the suit? Why lead it? If you must lead it, give P a count!
Generally agree, that combining top of doubleton with either top of nothing or MUD leads to ambiguity. However if you lead bottom of doubleton in conjunction with 4th highest leads, and top of Xxx you remove that particular objection. ie Hi-Lo ALWAYS promises an odd number and Lo-Hi is ALWAYS even.
This prevents you from having to lead the 8 from AT83 where the 8 may be an active card - the classic objection to 3rd & 5th.
It has a downside. Low from xX can cost a trick if the higher x is a significant card. I don't think it costs as many tricks as hxXx.
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Masterminding (pron. mstr-mnding) tr. v. - Any bid made by bridge player with which partner disagrees.
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2000 years earlier: "morituri te salutant"
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#16
Posted 2004-May-28, 16:23
1 - Where are the honor cards (hence top of nothing to show attitude in a suit)
2 - What is the distribution of suits for the deal
My personal approach in this argument is that honor cards can be worked out from the auction (general knowledge of strain and level), the dummy (honor and relative spot cards) , and declarer inferences (avoidance of suits, attacking suits). A good mind should be able to work out honor points to a certain accuracy a large proportion of the time.
Hand distribution and exact knowledge of declarers pattern is much more elusive and often much more important than honor cards. If you agree with previous statement, the there is room for the argument that it is essential the defense share enough information about distribution (count card leads, accurate count carding) starting IMMEDIATELY at trick 1.
Additional arguments to this is that the hand playing BEHIND the dummy, will generally play the SAME card regardless of partners lead. The play of the person behind dummy is strictly a positional play (meaning that the intent is for the defense to guard defensive positions and tenaces). Having said that, IF the defense is likely to play the same card regardless of the honor point layout, what purpose does leading an attitude "top of nothing" or "MUD" lead serve? If the suit has been pickled on opening lead there is nothing the defense can do to recover anyway.
Over time I have carefully considered the options of different count card lead options (3/5 vs 2/4 vs 4). My personal opinion is that 2/4 has a slight advantage for it allows a partnership a little more flexibility and can combine both count inference and honor point inference (leading from abcd, lead b from bad holdings and d from good holdings - then present count in suit from lead of b will be bcda and present count from d will be dcba). 3/5 leads do not allow as much flexibility in combining attitude and count, although some partnerships have agreements when to lead 3rd from 5+ card suits.
Anyways, that is nerdy input on the subject!
Regards,
MAL