THE 1ST OF THE 3 GREAT DEFENSE SECRETS

Which card do you play as West?

In this type of situation, the temptation is to "force" the dummy's high card (the Ace) by playing a high card yourself (the Jack). And I warn you: it's always a big mistake.

Look at all four hands:

Imagine you played the Jack to "force" the Ace:

Then South plays the ♠4 from dummy and takes partner's Queen with the King:

Then, as you have no cards left, the declarer takes the rest:

Not great. Now look what happens if you play small at the beginning:

The declarer has no choice but to play the Ace from dummy, otherwise East makes the Queen. And this is the key point: it's always the player after who poses the threat of taking the trick. It's not the player before who "forces".

Then, the declarer plays the ♠4 from dummy, and in the same way, must put down the King otherwise you make the Jack. Again, it's the player after (you, this time) who threatens to win a trick and forces the player before to play a high card if they want to win:

And this time, you see that you still make your Jack:

Now it's your turn to play and see if you've understood the concept:

Deal 1

Deal 2