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I understand the benefits of ducking especially when playing in NT. If I have Axx in hand and Jxx in dummy how do I decide whether or not to duck the first two tricks?

Sometimes it is correct to duck and other times not. Is there a way of telling when?

WandsUK
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2 Answers2

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Much like many things in bridge, there is a rule of thumb for ducking. Assuming a 3NT contract, you can follow the Rule of Seven:

Subtract from seven the total number of cards that declarer and dummy hold in the defenders' suit and duck their lead of the suit that many times.

In your example (again, assuming a contract of 3NT), you should duck the lead once and win the second round. If the outstanding cards are distributed 5-2, one duck will be enough to break the opponent's communication in that suit. If they are distributed 4-3, you can't disrupt the communication, but they could only ever cash three tricks in the suit if they get in.

There is one big exception to this, and that's not to duck if there is another suit that is worse than the led suit. Say the hands are like the following in a 3NT contract:

♠️ xx
♥️ Qxx
♦️ KQJxx
♣️ Qxx

♠️ Axx
♥️ AKxx
♦️ Axx
♣️ xxx

If the opponents lead a spade, you should not hold up. If you let the opponents win the trick and they switch to clubs, you could potentially go down before you can get in. Better to just win the trick and cash your nine/ten tricks immediately rather than duck the spade.

dpmattingly
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  • But, in this case, if the K/Q shows up on the first trick, the J might become a second stopper when you take the A right away. On the other hand, opponents might not be able to continue the suit without making the J a second trick immediately. The rule of 7 is really for the A with only low cards situation. – Alexander Woo May 02 '16 at 15:36
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This is rather an extended comment than an answer. The TL;DR version is: there are no simple rules; you have to count your winners (and maybe also your potential losers) and make a plan for the hand first. It also depends on the bidding and on what opponents play to the first trick and what their lead and signalling conventions are.

I misplayed the following hand at 4H in a regional duplicate tournament, matchpoint pairs, a few weeks ago:

Dummy: S: ATx H: Axx D: Jxx C: J8xx

Declarer:

S: Qx H: KJTxx D: KQ9x C: AK

The opening lead was the TC. I paused to study the dummy, more out of courtesy than anything else, and played low. Obvious, right? After all, why waste the JC when you know you'll have to cover it in hand?

Right there, I basically gave away my best chance for the second overtrick, worth about 40% of a board. I'll leave it as a puzzle.

Alexander Woo
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