New-York tribune., 1885-03-08
WHIST.
BY RICHARD A. PROCTOR.
r,rprurp NOTES ON LEADING.
V,

",
FURTHER NOTES ON LEADING.
Before considering the special leads fl ON different
hands, which by the way are much more easily
classified than many learners imagine, must here
make few remarks on first leading generally
A point in whist which is by no means sufficiently
dwelt upon in the books is the distinction between
tho original first lead, ard the first lead III suit
after play has begun. Pole Tor instancc III
his rhymcd instructions (which are full of doubtful
matter SAYS that there is necessity the strongest
that your first lead he from the suit that's longest
Now this rule is in reality only true generally oi
the original first lead. 1t may be compared IN TINS
respect with another rule which equally leads weak
PLAYERS astray-the rule that your first discard
should be from your shortest suit Indeed, there Is
a noteworthy parallelism between the lead and the
discard in this respect The rule for either which
is good when you are certainly strong. is not good
when You are doubtful about your strength. and Is
the reverse of good when you are certainly weak
You II ay discard so as TO unguard an honor II you
and your partner are vefy strong or even discard
singleton, rather than fail TO show your partaer
your short suit but when you are IN doubt about
your combined strength, though you would still as
a rule discard from your shortest suit, you would
not do so if it obliged you to discard singleton or
the only guard of king; and when You are weak
YOU discard from your best protected (which is
Similarly with the lead. AS original leaer you are
in doubt usually ABOUT the combined strength of
your hand and your partners; under these con-
ditions you need very seldom depart from the rule
of leading your longest suit If your partner is
strong. then even though you are weak; IL is more
longest suit, and therefore which suiis are the
enemys, than that you should lead from shorter
suits in which you may be more likcIy TO make
tricks But after the play is opened, and you eau
form an idea about the position of the strong cafs
Won NAV lind that there Is not any good ason Tor
showing your partner the chief component OF your
hand When you find he ~ weak and You are WEAK
Yourself it is idle 10 lead from yonr longest sult.
Leading from length is primarily Intended as
step toward bringing in that suit. When You know
that neither YOU nor your partner can hOpo 10 oig
in long suf it is idle TO play as If forward game
conld orolit you Yet we sometimes see player
who thinks by no means meany OF has own sklil
lead from suit of i've small cards. when u Is
absolutely certain that ne cannot get lead TO BRING
in the sait, though 1t should chance To be
established. - =, ,,.... ,.l
bv Matthews originally, and later by felnbrldgc.
against leading from long weak SUIT, IS TOO
general II you have no cards of re-entry-that 49,
no good cards III your short suits and 10 chance OF
rutf-it is manifesiy folly to lead from SUIT oI nVe
small car,ls except as an original nrst lead when
vour object is to avoid misleading your partner as
to the numerical constitution oi your bahd. But II
YOU have q winning card or 50 outside your long
weak suit, you often Show your partner now ne
NAV bring ID the tail end of that suit. by helping
you 10 clear it, and throwing tho l'ad ihto your
hands. OY. in such cases, though yon may not sue
NAV use them to help yonr partner by forcing the
enemy 1t is only, i'll my Judgment. whcn you nave
no reasonable chance OF getting another caa, that
opening long weak SUIT deserves tho rlGlcuc
thrown on il by Pembridge, or that II car be re-
gardcd las it Is by Matthew'S as more likely to do
harm than opening snort but stronger sut. often @
i'm opening q short suit in which you have good
card or two you play the enonYs game most
effectively. giving up Just so much "i your cOntroi
over that suit as to enable tho enemy TO bring 1t in
and make their small cards in it to the btrcr end
When. however both you ana your partner are
obviously weak it is better II Leading iCr tnc rst
time, to lead through strength or up to weakheSs
than 10 open long weak suit Your partner shouG
know how to distinguish lead made under such
circumstances from the usual lead. Just rs u dls-
card when strength is declared against you, is in
terpreted the reverse way from "a natural discard
your partner being usually able to recognize thesuit
suit so usually Krst iead, when the enemy have
shown great strength, should DC Interpreted differ
emily from an ordinary lead w wen zen we t6n co
hands saved either by cross-ruif. or by play
directly aimed at making good cards as quickly and
simply possible: We recognize the necessity which
often arises in ordinary play for at once meeting
declared strength of the cnemys by departing frou
the usual tactics.
lead is scarcely sound. Ii you have singleton
(Pembridge remarks well that not holding single
ton is sound reason for not leading onel you aud
your partner may have a fair chance of cross-ruf
but the very best for losing that chance IL
to lead your singleton. III you do. You are apt to
begin rning before your partner is ready to go on
with the cross ruff; the enemy immediately lead
ont trumps: /: and your chance s gone. Now If your
partner like yourself is short in suit. the chance
OF crOssruif comes from the circumstance that the
strong advcrsaries will show each other their strong
suits. one clearing ont your short SUIT the other
clearing out yOur partners; and then when either
leads you and your partner get in your scc-saw
tactics successfully. make four or five tricks by
ruling and are safe, the enemy's trumps falling
together aftcrward. BY singleton lead you are
very apt to lose this chance
And here let me remark on the Importance OF care
in deciding whether you should return your part
ners lead at the first opportunity or SHOW your
own sIit Cavendish is far from giving satisfactory
advice on this point, about as critical a point OF
whist strategy there Is. He saws: it IS IA most
cases advisable to Opon your strong suit. whom yoa
possess great strength in suit for You open such
surt to advantage; but with weak or only roder-
ately strong suits. which yOu open TO disadvan-
tage You would as rule do better to return your
partners original lead" But o partner who
interprets this rule literally and rcfrans from
it, is apt seriously to impair the strategy OF the
hand, by leaving his partner uniformed respecting
the position of the strong suits 1T / have strong
suit il is doubtless advantageous so far as that suit
is concerned, to have 1t returned but IT Is more
important usaallv far as the play Of the hand is
ooncerned to know how the other suits lie: If my
partner returns my suit at once, may remain
further, much depends on the evidence which the
frst lead may give respecting tho strength OF the
suit led from. II long suit, though bnt moderately
strong seems likely to be at least ~ strong rs part
ners suit 1t Is better lead ones own suit than TO
return his. Or IL both hands seem weak 1t may be
better to lead through strength on the left or up TO
weakness the right, than either TO return part
ner's suit or TO lead ons's own. In tact: whole
chapter might be written on the 9uestion which
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