Who Leads in Bridge?
The player to declarer's left makes the opening lead. Declarer is the player who first named the suit (or notrump) of the final contract for his side. When the auction ends, the defender who sits next in clockwise order after declarer leads to the first trick.
In duplicate bridge the opening lead is usually made face down. The leader puts the card on the table face down, the leader's partner and declarer can still ask about the opponents' bids, and then the card is turned face up. Only after that does dummy, declarer's partner, spread his hand on the table. From trick two on, whoever won the last trick leads to the next one.
If the wrong defender leads, that is a lead out of turn. Call the director: declarer has several options, one of which is to accept the lead.
Why the Opening Lead Matters
The opening lead is the only card played without seeing dummy, and it often decides whether the contract makes or goes down. You choose it from your own 13 cards and the auction, while declarer later plans with 26 cards in view.
Most leads are not brilliant or terrible. They are either safe, giving declarer nothing he could not get alone, or active, trying to set up tricks for your side before declarer can use his. The skill is knowing which kind the hand needs.
What to Lead: A Quick Order of Preference
| Contract | Good first choices | Usually avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Notrump | Partner's suit; top of a solid sequence (K-Q-J, Q-J-10); fourth best from your longest suit | A short suit with no reason; an ace from a short suit |
| Suit contract | Partner's suit; A-K; top of touching honors (K-Q-x); a singleton with small trumps; a trump when dummy will ruff | Low from an ace; away from K-J; a singleton or doubleton honor; a trump from Q-x |
| Small slam | An attacking lead that can set up a second trick | Leads that give declarer time to discard |
| Grand slam | The safest lead you have, often a trump | Any lead that could give away a trick |
The table is a start, not a rule book. The sections below explain when each lead is right, and the auction section shows how the bidding moves a lead up or down the list.
Leading Against Notrump Contracts
Against notrump, your main goal is to set up your long suit. The standard approach is to lead fourth best from your longest and strongest suit. For example, holding K-Q-7-5-2 of spades, you would lead the 5 (fourth from the top). This tells partner both the length and the location of your high cards. For a focused walk-through of the most common notrump contract, see what to lead against 3NT.
Sequences change the picture. From K-Q-J-4, lead the king: the top of a three-card sequence. From Q-J-10-3, lead the queen. Sequence leads are safer because they cost fewer tricks on average than leads away from honors.
When partner has bid a suit during the auction, leading that suit is almost always correct. Partner has promised values there, and your lead helps set up tricks for your side. The main exception is a strong sequence of your own that you can set up without help.
Leading Against Suit Contracts
Against suit contracts, the priorities shift. Setting up a long suit matters less because declarer can ruff your winners. Instead, look for tricks that come fast (A-K, or the top of touching honors such as K-Q-x), a ruff of your own, or a safe lead that gives declarer nothing.
Singleton leads are attractive when you hold two or three small trumps, a weak hand (so partner is likely to hold the entries) or the ace of trumps. With four trumps, prefer your long suit to make declarer ruff. A singleton honor can give declarer an undeserved trick, so lead singletons from small cards.
Lead a trump when the auction says declarer wants to ruff losers in dummy: for example after 1 spade - 1NT - 2 hearts - 2 spades, when dummy is short in hearts and you hold good hearts. Avoid leading unsupported aces against suit contracts. Leading the ace from A-x-x-x often sets up declarer's king. The exceptions are A-K in the suit and an ace in partner's suit. The full guide, with two deals solved double dummy, is opening leads against a suit contract.
Leading Partner's Suit
Partner's bid or overcall is the strongest clue you get. Lead it unless you hold a good sequence of your own or a singleton with a trump entry.
The card follows the usual rules: the top of a doubleton (9 from 9-4), low from three to an honor (3 from K-7-3), and the top or middle card from three small. Against a suit contract, lead the ace from A-x-x in partner's suit instead of a low card.
Which Card to Lead From Each Holding
Once you have chosen a suit, standard leads tell partner which card to play. From a three-card or longer sequence, lead the top: the king from K-Q-J, the queen from Q-J-10. From an interior sequence such as K-J-10-x, lead the jack. These honor leads are safe and describe your holding at once.
From a suit with one high honor and small cards, lead low (fourth best against notrump, third or fourth best against a suit). From three small cards with no honor, many partnerships lead top of nothing or middle-up-down: from 8-4-2, lead the 8 or the 4. From a doubleton, lead the higher card. Agree these methods with your partner so your leads carry the same message both ways.
The exact card matters because partner reads it to place your honors and count the suit. After a fourth best lead, partner uses the Rule of 11 to count declarer's higher cards, and answers your lead with a signal. The standard opening leads chart gives the card for every holding, plus Rusinow leads.
| Holding | Lead vs notrump | Lead vs a suit |
|---|---|---|
| K-Q-J-x | K | K |
| Q-J-10-x | Q | Q |
| K-Q-x-x | Fourth best | K |
| A-K-x | A or K by agreement | A |
| K-J-10-x | J | J |
| K-x-x-x | Fourth best | Fourth best |
| x-x (doubleton) | Top | Top |
| x-x-x | Top, or middle with MUD | Top, or middle with MUD |
| x-x-x-x | Second highest | Second highest |
Reading the Auction for Clues
The auction is your best source of clues. If the opponents bid two suits, consider leading a third suit rather than one they have shown length in. If they had a Stayman or transfer sequence, you often know the shape of both hands before the lead.
Pay special attention to suits that were not bid. In competitive auctions, the opponents have often shown most of their values. A suit neither side bid may be where your side has hidden strength.
Listen to the strength too. When dummy has shown a long side suit, declarer will discard losers on it, so lead actively. When the opponents stopped in a partscore or barely reached game, lead safely and let declarer find his own way to go down.
Leads Against Slams
Against a small slam you need two tricks. If you hold an ace, an attacking lead from a king in another suit can set up the second trick before declarer can discard it.
Against a grand slam you need only one trick, and any risk can give declarer the thirteenth. Make the safest lead you have, often a trump.
Matchpoints or IMPs?
The scoring changes how much risk a lead may take. At matchpoints an overtrick costs a full comparison against the field, so a lead that gives away a trick without much chance to beat the contract is expensive. At IMPs an overtrick barely matters, so lead whatever gives the best chance to beat the contract. For the full comparison, see matchpoints versus IMPs.
Common Opening Lead Mistakes
Underleading an ace against a suit contract is the most costly mistake. Declarer's king takes a trick it should never take, and if dummy has a singleton, your ace may never take a trick at all.
Leading from a tenace such as A-Q or K-J is another frequent mistake. Declarer plays last to the trick and often wins it cheaply. You are usually better off waiting for declarer to lead the suit toward you.
Leading low from a king (K-8-5-3) against a suit contract is a real risk when declarer holds A-Q, but it can also build a trick when partner holds the ace or the queen. Make it when you must attack. When in doubt, lead a safe passive card rather than an aggressive lead that could give away a trick.
Practice Your Opening Leads
Reading about leads helps, but the habit forms when you choose a lead and see what it cost. Each BridgeDummy lead puzzle gives you a hand and an auction. You pick a card, and every card in your hand is scored by double-dummy analysis across hundreds to thousands of deals that match the auction, so you see how much your choice gained or lost against each alternative.
The daily challenge gives every player the same bidding and lead puzzles each day, with a leaderboard. To test a hand of your own, the opening lead simulator compares every lead across matching deals.