It may seem paradoxical that a weaker hand should call for a trump lead; but the opening is not an attack. It is a move to await developments.
Three-trump Hands. From hands containing three trumps or less, our opening leads vary from the ordinary player’s game more than in any other particular. We always open a long suit from three-trump hands if the suit is a good one, such as A K and others, K Q and others, or even Q J and others. But without such strength in the long suit, we let it severely alone, and develop the hand with a short-suit or “gambit” opening.
With three trumps and a five-card suit containing two honors not in sequence, we still open the long suit if we have a sure re-entry in another suit. This, for example, hearts trumps:—
| ♡ K 6 2 | ♣ 8 6 2 | ♢ A Q 6 4 3 | ♠ A 10 |
The trey of diamonds is the best opening. If there were no re-entry, such as only 10 2 of spades instead of A 10, we should open the 10 of spades.
Although we open a great many short suits, we avoid weak three-card suits except in rare instances.
While our system, like all others, entails losses at times, it seems to avoid many of the pitfalls that confront the player who always opens his long suit, regardless of the possibilities of ever bringing it in. In many instances we find he places himself in the worst possible position for any chance to make even one trick in the suit he opens.
We admit that if a team adopts straight American leads, it is much easier for them to count the partner’s hand accurately; but it seems to me that this advantage is more than overcome by the fact that in our openings we have a clear idea as to the general character of the partner’s hand while there is still time to take advantage of the knowledge. In the long-suit game this element is entirely wanting.
IN CONCLUSION. The first-class whist-player is usually developed gradually. If he possess the faculty of paying close attention to the game while he is playing, nothing should prevent his rapid progress. At first he may care little or nothing for “book” whist, but after some experience with book players, he is rather in danger of running to the other extreme, and putting more book into his game than it will carry. Having passed that stage, his next step is usually to invent some system of his own, and to experiment with every hand he plays. By degrees he finds that all special systems of play have some serious defects which over-balance their advantages, and this discovery gradually brings him back to first principles. If he gets so far safely, his game for all future time will probably be sound, common-sense whist, without any American leads, plain-suit echoes, or four-signals, and free from any attempts to take fourteen tricks with thirteen cards.
When a whist-player reaches that point, he is probably as near the first class as the natural limitations of his mental abilities will ever permit him to go.