A finesse is a way to win a trick with a card that is not the highest left in the suit, by leading toward it and hoping the missing higher card sits in front of it. With ♣AQ in dummy and two small clubs in your hand, you lead low toward dummy; if West plays low, you play the queen. If West holds the king, the queen wins.
A simple finesse works about half the time: the missing card is equally likely to be with either opponent before you know anything else. The skill is in choosing which finesse to take, how to take it, and when not to take it at all.
How a Finesse Works in Bridge
The idea rests on the order of play. The player on your left plays before dummy, so a card in front of dummy's tenace is "onside". The player on your right plays after dummy, so a card there is "offside" for a finesse in dummy.
Two rules cover most finesses:
- Lead from the opposite hand, toward the card you hope will win. The opponent in the middle must play before you choose.
- Lead low unless you can afford to have your honor covered. Leading the queen from Qxx toward Axx is not a finesse: if the king covers, you have used two honors to capture one.
With ♣AQ opposite ♣84 the finesse wins if West holds the king: 50%. Lead the queen from dummy instead and the king wins it from either side.
Finessing Against a King
South opens 1♠, North shows a game-forcing raise with Jacoby 2NT, South signs off in 4♠. West leads the ♥Q.
You are South in 4♠. West leads the ♥Q. Count your losers, then find the tenth trick.
Count losers from South's point of view: one heart (after the ace and king), two diamonds, and one club unless something good happens. That is four. You need the club finesse.
Win the ♥K, draw trumps in two rounds, and lead a low club from your hand toward dummy's ♣AQ. West plays low and you play the queen. Here West has the ♣K, so the queen wins and you make ten tricks. A double dummy solver agrees: 4♠ makes exactly ten tricks with the king onside, and only nine if you move the ♣K to East.
Notice what you do not do: lead the ♣Q from dummy. Whoever holds the king takes it: East covers, or West wins at the end of the trick. The 50% chance is gone.
The Double Finesse
A double finesse is a finesse against two missing honors. With ♦AQ10 in dummy and ♦432 in hand, you are missing the king and the jack.
- Lead low toward dummy and play the 10 (unless West plays an honor).
- Later, lead low again and play the queen.
The first finesse wins only if West holds both the king and the jack. Computed exactly over every layout of the missing cards, the best line for ♦AQ10 opposite ♦432 gives:
| Goal | Chance |
|---|---|
| At least two tricks | 76% |
| All three tricks | 24% |
Two tricks need either honor onside, three tricks need both. The same pattern applies to ♦AJ10 opposite small cards: finesse twice and you make two tricks 76% of the time.
The Two-Way Finesse
With ♥KJ3 in dummy and ♥A102 in hand, you can finesse against the queen in either direction: lead toward the J or toward the 10. The odds are the same, about 50%, so this is a guess, and good declarers make it an informed one:
- The auction: if West opened the bidding, the queen is more likely with West.
- Counting: if you learn that East holds long suits elsewhere, West has more empty places and is more likely to hold the queen.
- The danger hand: finesse so that if it loses, it loses to the opponent who cannot hurt you.
Play the other suits first. Every card the defense plays tells you more about the hand that holds the queen.
TipDelay the guess. With a two-way finesse, play the rest of the hand first: count each opponent's cards, then finesse into the hand with more empty places.
The Ruffing Finesse
In a trump contract, a ruffing finesse uses a void instead of a tenace. With ♣KQJ10 in dummy and no clubs in your hand, lead the ♣K. If East covers with the ace, ruff it, and the queen, jack and ten are winners. If East plays low, throw a loser from your hand.
The ruffing finesse wins when the ace sits on your right, East, the player who plays after dummy. If you can choose between a ruffing finesse and an ordinary finesse, take the one that works when the missing card is where the auction suggests.
When Not to Finesse
A finesse is a 50% shot. Skip it when something better is available:
- The drop is better. With eleven cards missing the king, play the ace: the king drops 52% of the time, the finesse wins 50%. With nine cards missing the queen, also play for the drop. See finesse or drop.
- You do not need the extra trick. If the contract is safe without the finesse and a loss would let the defense cash tricks, take the sure tricks. That is a safety play.
- It loses to the danger hand. In notrump, a finesse that lets the hand with the long suit gain the lead can cost the contract. Finesse into the safe hand, even at worse odds.
- You can discard the loser. A long side suit may give you a discard before you ever need the finesse.
- You can force the opponents to help. An endplay can make the opponents lead the suit for you, so you win no matter who holds the card.
Common Mistakes
- Leading the honor you want to win. From ♠AQ opposite ♠32, never lead the queen: the king covers it.
- Leading an honor without the cards below it. Lead the queen from ♠QJ9 toward the ace, but not from ♠Q32: you need the J and 10 for the cover to help you.
- Forgetting entries. A repeated finesse needs a way back to the hand you lead from. Plan your entries before the first finesse.
- Finessing at trick one by reflex. First count your tricks and losers. The finesse may not be the best line.
- Not cashing a top card first. With eight cards missing the queen, cash one top honor before you finesse, in case the queen is singleton.
Practice: The Finesse
Dummy holds ♣AQ5 and you hold ♣84. You need two club tricks. How do you play the suit?
Your hand:
Finesses look simple in a book and hard at the table, because the hard part is choosing the right one. BridgeDummy's suit combination puzzles let you play one suit card by card against the best defense and see exactly when your line works; the Daily Suit Combos give you five new ones every day with a leaderboard. For deal-level practice, enter any hand in the free double dummy analyzer and play it card by card. More on card play: suit combinations, finesse or drop and the beginner lesson on your first finesse.