Which Winner to Cash First on Defence
Cash the winners that can disappear before the ones that cannot, and play high from the short side so the suit does not block.
When the defence has several winners to take, the order matters. Take them in the wrong order and one can vanish, or the suit can block so a winner never scores.
Rule 1: cash the winners that can disappear
Some tricks will always be there. An ace of trumps cannot be ruffed or discarded. A side-suit ace or king, though, can disappear if declarer gets a chance to throw that suit away.
Suppose you are defending 4♠ and hold the ♠A, plus the ♦A K. Dummy has a long, solid club suit. Your trump ace will always win a trick. Your diamond winners will not if declarer gets in and discards diamonds on the clubs. Cash the diamonds first, then wait for the trump ace.
Rule 2: play high from the short side
When you and partner share a suit's winners, the hand with fewer cards should play its honours first. Otherwise the suit blocks.
Say you hold ♥ K Q doubleton and partner has ♥ A J 8 6 3. Cash your king and queen first, then lead to partner: partner's ace wins the third round with the lead in partner's hand, ready to cash any more winners. If partner cashes the ace first instead, your K Q win the next two rounds and the lead is stuck in your hand. Partner's remaining hearts never score unless partner has another way in.
Rule 3: tell partner what you are doing
The order you cash honours also sends a message. Many partnerships lead the king from A K and then play the ace. Follow your partnership's agreement, so partner can tell what you hold.
Key takeaways
Cash side-suit winners before winners that can never be lost, such as the trump ace.
Play honours from the short hand first.
Use the order of your honours to give partner information.