| In One Hand. | In the Other. |
| A Q J | x x x |
| A Q x | J x x |
| A J x | Q x x |
| A x x | Q J x |
With this combination either in a trump or in a “no-trump” hand endeavour to catch the adversary’s king by leading the highest card from your weak hand toward the ace; if the king is not played second in hand you can lose nothing by taking the finesse; for when it is guarded in the fourth hand the king will win no matter how the cards are played. The advantage of leading the high card is that, if you retain the lead, you can again lead from the weak hand.
Better results will, of course, be obtained if you hold ace queen jack ten, or even ace queen jack nine in the two hands; otherwise the adversary, by covering the honour led, may eventually establish a ten or nine against you.
If you hold ace, queen, and two or three small cards in one hand and jack and small cards in the other, the best play of the combination is to lead a low card up to the ace queen; if the finesse is successful, the lead of the ace may capture a once-guarded king without establishing a ten or nine for the adversaries. But if pitted against weak players, on account of their well-known dislike of sacrificing a high card, the lead of the jack toward the ace queen is advisable.
The number of cards in the suit will often influence you in taking or not taking the finesse. With eight cards or fewer in the two hands, the finesse is practically obligatory. With nine cards in the two hands, the finesse should usually be taken. With ten cards in the two hands, it is largely a matter of luck. With ace queen and jack in one hand and small cards in the other there is a slight percentage in favour of the finesse. Otherwise try to gain information by leading the highest card toward the ace, and if it is not covered, play the ace on the chance of finding the king alone.
If you do not hold the jack it is a losing play to lead a queen toward the ace. This is a common mistake and should be carefully avoided.
With ace, queen, ten and nine in the two hands, it cannot be considered altogether bad play to lead the queen toward the ace; but if this is done it may be necessary to take a finesse on the second round. The adversaries’ discards, however, will often show you how this combination should be played.
ACE, KING, JACK COMBINATION
This combination can be held in four different ways:
| In One Hand. | In the Other. |
| A K J | x x x |
| A K x | J x x |
| A J x | K x x |
| K J x | A x x |