HOME > BRIDGE LESSONS > DEFENSIVE CARD PLAY LESSONS

Bridge Leads and Signals

What are the rules for the best card to lead

Touching honors- an explanation

Touching honors are honor cards which are next to each other in rank – these following groupings are examples of touching honors:

AK – AKQ – AKQJ – AKQJT
KQ – KQJ – KQJT
QJ – QJT
JT & JT98

This page is a ‘lite’ version of the interactive Bridge lessons available in our Premium Members area.
Subscribe to our free ‘Hand of the Week’ newsletter and get instant access to 31 interactive Bridge lessons and 32 guided Bridge games in our Premium Members area. Our Premium Member area also includes hundreds of interactive Bridge lessons covering: Standard American Bidding, Acol Bidding, Conventions, Defensive Bidding, Defensive Card play, Decrlarer Play lessons plus – daily Bridge competitions, daily guided Bridge hands, ‘extra for experts’ Bridge games, inline Bridge glossary, instant-answer quizzes and much more.
Try it Free Today.

Which touching Honor Card Should I Play

When you are on defense you should play your touching honors in order, but the order depends on whether you are winning a trick or making the opening lead. You play the highest card when you are:

On opening lead – play the highest with the only exception being the AK where the King is played first
When your partner has lead the suit, play your highest
When discarding the suit, play the highest first

From all AK combinations, lead the King.
From all suits without AK touching honors, lead the top honor:

KQ5
JT9
QJT3
T985
KJT54
From a 2-card suit, lead the top card:
82
J7
QT

Play the lowest of Touching Honors

When winning a trick you should play the lowest of the touching honors
When playing third to the trick, play the lowest
From a 4-card-or-longer suit without touching honors, lead the fourth-best card:
K9743
10752
J87643
From a 3-card suit without touching honors, lead the lowest card:
J96
Q43
865