Summary about signals (to begin with) for my mentees

1.      Having an agreement (even perhaps an inferior agreement) is better than no agreement at all.
Decide what you like here, and get your partner to agree to it.

 

2.      Agree with your favourite partner whatever you like.
In my lessons we agree standard-carding and Roman discards

 

3.      Standard carding means: high/ low = even count = encourage

 

4.      If partners leads a honour of a suit, give attitude by playing the highest card you can afford.

5.      If declarer leads a suit AND the information is important for partner (don’t help declarer unintentionally) give count by playing high/low.

 

6.      Lead Conventions

Ø      4th from a long suit not headed by a sequence of 3 Honours
Ø      Highest from a sequence of 3 honours ( AKJxx, KQJx, KQ10xx …)
Ø      10 promises 0 or 2 higher cards (AJ108x, KJ10xx; or 109x …..)
Ø      9 promises 0 or 2 higher cards (A1097x, K109xx, or 98x …)
Ø      Leading the J denies a higher honour
Ø      If partner has bid a suit open 3th or 5th
Ø      High from a doubleton
Ø      In a suit without future we play top of nothing (the highest)
i.e. 975; 864

7.      Roman discards (first free discard)

Ø      Odd card (3,5,7,9,)
like the suit of the card.
Ø      Low even card 2,4,6 means like the lower of the remaining suits.
Ø      High even card 6,8,10 means like the higher of remaining suits.

Roman discards include Lavinthal.

8.      If you win partners lead and you want to play back the suit:

Ø      Play the originally 4th, if you had 4 or more
Ø      Play the highest, if you had 2 or 3.
Ø      Deblock a doubleton honour

9.      Suit-preference and count are only given, if partner needs the information.
Don’t help declarer without any revenue.