How to Play · Lesson 2 of 10

Leading

Learn offensive leads, defensive leads, short suits, and leading into partner's void.

Why The Lead Matters

The leader chooses the suit everyone else must follow. A good lead is a plan for how the current trick should unfold and helps set up for winning subsequent tricks.

The winner of each trick leads the next trick, so winning the lead often means controlling the rhythm of the hand.

On Offense

When your team calls trump, you are trying to build a path to at least 3 tricks. Your leads should help remove power from opponents and cash winners before they get trumped.

• Lead trump when you are on offense as a general rule. This pulls trump from opponents and makes your off-suit aces safer by reducing the ability of the opponent to trump them.
• Lead off-suit Aces earlier in hand after your trump lead, especially from a singleton or doubleton suit. They are strongest before opponents run out of that suit and are able to trump.
• Use short suits over longer suits. Once you are out of a suit, future leads in that suit may let you trump in. Leading from shorter suits in your hand enables you to create voids in suits faster so you can trump in on that suit if it's led later in the hand. Shorter suits also reduce odds opponents can trump in because you are holding fewer cards in that suit which increases the likelihood that others are holding that suit.

On Defense

When the opponents call trump, your job changes. You are trying to take tricks while not stripping trump from your own team.

• Lead a strong off-suit Ace, preferably in a short suit, instead of leading trump. This potentially keeps trump in your partner's hand so he can trump in against the opponent off-suit lead. It also strips trump from opponents who have to use a trump to beat the ace while keeping trump in your hand to use later.
• Avoid leading trump on defense unless you have a specific reason, such as strong trump control to wipe out the rest of the opponent's trump.
• Save trump for moments where you can steal a trick from the callers and try to euchre them.

Lead Into Partner's Void/Slough

If a player fails to follow a suit, that player is void in that suit. Furthermore, whatever off-suit the person sloughs (or throws off) might be his attempt to short suit his hand. That is valuable information especially if it's your partner.

• Leading that void or sloughed suit back can force opponents to follow while your partner has the option to trump in.