Setting Up Your Long Suit Before Cashing Winners

In no-trump, your top winners are tricks you already have. The extra tricks you need usually come from a long suit, and setting it up means giving up the lead. Do that early, while you still have stoppers in the defenders' suit and an entry to reach your winners.

Why it works

Each time you lose the lead, the defenders attack their own suit. If you still hold a stopper, you regain the lead. If you have already cashed your winners in that suit, they can take their tricks instead. Cashing first wins nothing; it only uses up the cards that give you time.

A worked example: Diamonds first

The Contract: 3NT by South. West leads the ♠Q.

Dummy (North):

♠ 7 5 3

♥ K 6 4

♦ K Q J 10 5

♣ 8 4

9 HCP.

Declarer (South):

♠ A K 4

♥ A Q 5

♦ 7 2

♣ K J 7 6 3

17 HCP.

You have five top tricks: two spades and three hearts. Diamonds will provide four more once the ♦A is knocked out.

Win the ♠A and immediately lead a diamond. If the defenders win the ♦A and lead another spade, your ♠K wins. If they hold up the ♦A, lead your second diamond to knock it out.

Keep the ♥K in dummy as an entry. If the defenders hold up the ♦A until the second round, you have no diamonds left in hand, and the ♥K is how you reach dummy's three remaining diamond winners.

That gives nine tricks: two spades, three hearts and four diamonds.

Four common mistakes

• Cashing the ♠K early, so the defenders can run spades when they win the ♦A.

• Cashing all your hearts first, using up dummy's only entry.

• Starting with clubs, a suit that needs more work and gives the defence more chances.

• Waiting to set up the long suit until your stoppers have gone.

When the rule does not apply

If you already have enough top tricks, take them rather than giving up the lead. If the defenders have a suit ready to run and you have no stopper left, setting up a long suit is too slow. And sometimes you must hold up your stopper first to cut the defenders' communications.

Key takeaways

• Count your top tricks and find where the extra ones come from.

• Set up the long suit early, while you still have stoppers.

• Keep an entry to the hand with the long suit.

• Cash your winners once the long suit is set up.