March 2006 - 57

Leading unsupported
aces against a suit
contract - part 2
Last month we examined leading
aces against non‑slam suit contracts.
I am on record, along with just
about every good player that I
know, as being strongly against ace‑
banging. One of the hardest things
to prove is that leading unsupported
aces is a terrible way to make a liv‑
ing. The reason it is hard to prove
is that it is wrong two‑thirds of the
time, makes no difference about 10
percent of the time, and is a good
lead about 25% of the time. Players
tend to remember their successes
and to forget their failures.
Few things are more annoying than
to lead some other suit and watch
declare get rid of two losers and then
later find out that if you had led your
ace, you would have taken two more
tricks. This can happen.
What is more likely to happen
(trust me on this) is that banging
down your ace will give up one or
more tricks later in the play.
Since leading an ace can be ef‑
fective some of the time, let's see
when that might be. (Remember,
we're not talking about slams.)
Here is an assortment of hands
where you are on lead. You are
South in each of them. Specifically,
do you lead your ace? If not, what
do you lead? For each question, de‑
cide what your reasons are. Reasons
count for more than guesses.
1. No one vulnerable. North deals.
10 8 7 5 2 6 2 9 6 A Q 6 3
West
North
East
South
Pass
1
Pass
2
2NT
4
5
Pass
Pass
5
All Pass

March 2006

ADVANCED PLAYERS

Mike's Advice
2. No one vulnerable. West deals.
A 8 7 3 8 3 9 8 J 10 9 8 4
West
North
East
South
1
3
4
4
4NT
Pass
5 (1) Pass
5
All Pass
(1) Zero or three key cards.
3. North-South vulnerable. North deals.
A 2 K J 8 7 3 K 8 2 J 7 4
West
North
East
South
Pass
1
1
Pass
1
2
Pass
2
All Pass
4. No one vulnerable. North deals.
8 7 3 Q J 3 A J 10 8 7 6 3
West
North
East
South
1
2
3
4
All Pass
5. No one vulnerable. South deals.
Q 7 A Q J 7 5 K Q J 6 Q 4
West
North
East
South
1
4
All Pass
Dbl
3 (1)
(1) At least four hearts, 5-7 points.
Answers
1. Lead the A. Your side has at least
nine clubs. It is unlikely that East has
the doubleton K. North is likely to
have the K. Also there is a danger in
the alternative lead, diamonds. If East
can win the diamond lead, he might be
able to discard some club losers on the
spades. This is a more complex hand
than most. Still, I lean toward the A
with a fair feeling of comfort.
2. Lead the A. This time your side
has so many spades that you know
one or both of the opponents has a
singleton. Your ace lead could set up
their king (unlikely), but if it does your
side did not have two spade tricks in
any event. One small detail is that if
the A holds, you may have a hint
from dummy as to what to do next.
3. Lead the A. It is not that this

Mike Lawrence
www.michaelslawrence.com
lead stands out. In large part, the A
is right for three reasons, none indi‑
vidually significant, but in total they're
enough to sway you to leading the
ace: nothing else looks good; North
bid them; you may get a ruff.
4. Lead the A. Leading a singleton
ace is often a good idea. The situation
here suggests it is a good lead because
after taking the first trick, you should
be able to get to partner's hand for a
ruff. You suspect that North's entry is
in hearts but the sight of the dummy
may tell you where that entry is.
5. Under no circumstances consider
leading the A. If you are looking
at an unsupported ace, always think
seriously about other leads. If you
lead the A, you may get a second
heart trick, but you may not. That
lead will never set up new tricks for
you. The K may set up one or two
tricks for you and that makes it the
right lead by a mile. This is standard
situation: should you lead an ace or
try to set up tricks in another suit?
Go for setting up the side suit tricks.
Remember that if you keep the A,
you do not automatically give up on
getting heart tricks. And if East has
the K, leading diamonds may allow
you to get two heart tricks instead of
one (which is probably what would
happen if you thumped your ace on
the table at trick one).
❏
57
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2006
