Partner leads what appears to be a short suit, either on the opening lead or on a subsequent lead. If partner is leading from shortness it's likely that partner is not overloaded with spades. We infer this because leading short suits when holding spade length is quite likely to be losing strategy. We could compare this to driving through a traffic light unable to see if the light were green or red based on assumptions that other cars were driving through it. A green light assumption is made rather quickly. This method may not be perfect but logically it's still assumed.

When we see leads of some size from partner it becomes almost intuitive to assume he is leading from shortness. This is especially true when we hold the card directly below the one he is leading or we see that card hit the table either on the same trick or a subsequent trick. Cases can be made where partner will lead an Ace when holding a long suit as an attempt to set his side suit up or to "cash out" when it appears a trick could vanish on discards by the opponents. Normally, though, we will overcorrect. Notice I said overcorrect!

How in the world can one overcorrect? Is that something like overcompensate? How about the bungee jumper who jumped from 40 stories and calculated the length of his cord at x feet per story and then hit the asphalt parking lot before his cord was fully extended. Hmmmmm, no one told him about how unlucky it is to have a 13th story so it was omitted from the numbering of the floors. He should have either calculated his cord length on 39 stories or had a practice run with something else attached to measure his rope!

Why am I going into great detail about assumptions and how some can be deadly? One simple reason actually. We are all guilty of this in some form or another. How often have you shifted to a new suit simply based on the fact you saw an opponent pitch a card in this suit on some trick his pard was taking. It's a natural reaction and or assumption because we feel winners are vanishing. "OMG" our tricks area gone!

This is what we feel even if we are not thinking it. We have this feeling of impending doom and many more times than not we make it even worse. How? We try to recover! Recover-y! Yes folks, that friendly shift that is friendly only to the opponents.

How do I know so much about this subject? I am just as guilty as the next card fish of making the same idiotic blunder. Now I ask you to think a moment or so rationally. The damage has already occurred. You cannot undo the discard; you cannot change the fact that the opponents took a pitch. What you can do is make sure you do not let this discard bring about real demise by leading from something in the suit like an unprotected King or Ace.

You hold:

K94
A83
Q10952
73

The opponent on your left leads the Ace and King of clubs and everyone follows. Now he plays a third club, the Queen. Your partner follows to this trick and your Right-Hand Opponent throws the 2.

You now hold:

K94
A83
Q10952
void now

You trump the Queen of clubs with the 4 and instinct takes over. Many will plunk down the Ace of hearts. Is this the play you would have made if the opponent or your right had followed in clubs? Heck no! I feel reasonably secure that a diamond would have hit the table. With that in mind why not still lead a diamond?

How often I see these automatic shifts and not just scenarios like these. Take a nil for instance. How many times have you led back a suit you saw the niller discard a big card in. How many times? Guilty!

I'm not saying it will be 100% wrong to lead a suit they are pitching because occasionally we should. Just keep your cool and make it a rational decision, not an automatic reflex!

If you do decide to shift to the suit they have pitched ask yourself these simple questions. What kind of game are we having? How good are my opponents? How disastrous will this shift be if it backfires? Do we have time to recover if it does? Last but not least, as a gambler and/or aggressive player, will I be twice as sorry if my flight-of-fancy fails, or will my play lose in a possible post-mortem? In other words what will partner think if I am wrong?

Good luck at the tables!

Regards,
Ruffkid1 (Jay Tomlinson)