Identifying the Danger Hand in Suit Contracts
The 'Danger Hand' is the defender who can cash established winners or give their partner a ruff. You must plan your finesses to avoid giving this specific defender the lead.
Before playing to Trick 1, declarer must identify the Danger Hand—the defender who possesses the specific cards or positioning to wreck the contract. Usually, this is the defender who holds established winners in the opening lead suit, or the defender who is poised to give their partner a ruff.
Why identifying the Danger Hand works
If you take a finesse and it loses to the "Safe Hand," that defender cannot hurt you. If it loses to the Danger Hand, they will cash two tricks and defeat you. By identifying the Danger Hand early, you can deliberately choose lines of play (like backward finesses or avoidance plays) that ensure the Danger Hand never gains the lead.
A worked example: Finessing the Safe Hand
West leads the ♥K, then the ♥Q, then the ♥J. You ruff the third Heart.
Caption: West is out of Hearts. East still holds the master ♥10. East is the Danger Hand! If East gets the lead, they will cash the ♥10. You need to take a Diamond finesse. Do not finesse into East! Structure your Diamond play so that if the finesse loses, it loses to West. West has no Hearts left to cash.
Four common mistakes
- Taking finesses blindly without checking who will win the trick if it fails.
- Failing to track which defender is out of a suit.
- Identifying the Danger Hand but forgetting about it by Trick 6.
- Drawing trumps when you should have used them to keep the Danger Hand off lead.
When the rule does not apply
If you have absolute control in all suits (all suits are stopped and trumps are drawn), neither hand is dangerous. You can take the highest percentage play available.
Key takeaways
- The Danger Hand holds established winners or ruffing threats.
- The Safe Hand cannot hurt you if they gain the lead.
- Direct your finesses to lose to the Safe Hand.
- Plan this at Trick 1.