SHORT SUIT OPENINGS
In Bridge the term short suit implies a singleton or a two-card suit, although, strictly speaking, any suit of fewer than four cards is short. With a very weak hand (no high cards in any suit) it is evident that the only possible way of making tricks is by a short lead, which may enable you to ruff the suit on the second or third round. With a hand that contains tenace suits or suits with a single honour, it is often advisable to lead short; this opening gives you a double advantage; you may have an opportunity to ruff, and you throw the lead with the purpose of having your honour suits led up to.
With most players the desire to make a small trump is very strong, and often leads to thoroughly unsound openings. It is always wrong to open a short suit when you hold an ace king suit. Why play in the dark, when by leading the king of your ace king suit, you are in a position to hold the lead until you have seen dummy and can judge as to the advisability of the weak lead? A suit headed by king queen is also a safer opening than a short lead, which may establish the suit for the dealer; although, if you hold an honour that will stop the adversaries’ trump lead, say an ace or a guarded king, you are almost certain to be in the lead before the dealer has an opportunity to discard worthless cards on his established suit. Any short lead may establish a suit for the dealer or dummy; in fact, the chances are that it will. If you are weak in trumps and have little or no strength in the side suits, you have not much to lose by the short lead. The dealer will establish and make his suit with or without help. On the other hand, if you are strong in trumps, you may be able to make it most difficult for the dealer to exhaust the trumps and make a suit unless, by your weak lead, you establish it for him.
With strength in trumps the short opening is unsound, particularly with four trumps is it apt to ruin your hand. One force given your hand makes it easy for the dealer to exhaust your trumps and to make the suit that you, by your short lead, have established.
With four trumps open your long suit. The maker probably holds five trumps, and when one force is given to his hand, you have an equal number. Even though your trumps are small the dealer must exhaust his own to draw them, and a card of re-entry in your hand or that of your partner will probably enable you to make your suit. At any rate, you have made it difficult for the dealer to establish his suit, or retrieve any subsequent error in his play.
With five trumps and any good suit the latter should be opened. When the make has been passed, should you hold no long suit, choose preferably a short red suit. In other words lead up to the dealer’s supposed weakness.
With six trumps little or no objection can be raised to the short lead. When the trump situation is known you may be forced to lead them to the maker, so that you should early in the hand try to take as many trump tricks as possible.
At all times select the highest card of a short suit for the lead. This is done to give requisite information to your partner. Unless he can see, in his hand or dummy, great strength in the suit, the lead of a very low card is most difficult to read as short.
The following are given as examples of hands from which a short suit may be led. The trump (hearts) declared by the dealer. The card underlined indicates the lead.
| ♥ | ♣ | ♦ | ♠ |
| K 5 2 | A J 6 4 | 10 9 | A Q 5 3 |
| A 9 3 | 8 6 | 9 7 4 2 | Q 8 6 4 |
| A Q 8 | K J 6 3 | J 10 | K 8 4 2 |
| A 9 3 | Q | K 8 6 4 2 | J 8 5 3 |
| Q 5 2 | J 10 4 | K 8 4 | K 5 4 2 |
| J 7 3 | A Q 9 6 | K Q | K J 4 2 |
| 8 6 2 | 9 | J 8 6 4 2 | 10 8 4 |
| 7 5 | Q 6 4 3 | 9 8 | 10 6 5 3 2 |