[mike777]

Am I missing something..

ON BBO and maybe f2f people seem to love to lead from nothing rather than best suit.

[kgr]

mike777, on Oct 3 2009, 08:12 AM, said:

Am I missing something..

ON BBO and maybe f2f people seem to love to lead from nothing rather than best suit.

That is a bad habbit from me against trump contracts. I probably payed too much MP's?
Tell me when I should lead more aggressive (also at MP's)?

[andy_h]

I lead whatever looks right based on form of scoring, auction and contract. Sometimes that might just be from three small.

[dake50]

Goren had opening leads ranked by preference. Do that unless you can convince yourself 'not this auction'.

[aguahombre]

andy_h, on Oct 3 2009, 03:57 AM, said:

I lead whatever looks right based on form of scoring, auction and contract. Sometimes that might just be from three small.

yep. there are so many variables it is hard to answer such a general question specifically. I often wish I had led from nothing, after it is too late, but certainly listening to the auction, and guessing the layout can't be all bad. I know I am leading K from KQ-- too much when JXX shows up in dummy too much. I know I am leading low from k or q too much when partner always has the other honor but not the jack, ten, or 9. Opening leads are not the forte of many players.

[nigel_k]

dake50, on Oct 4 2009, 05:16 AM, said:

Goren had opening leads ranked by preference. Do that unless you can convince yourself 'not this auction'.

The best choice of lead depends a lot on the auction. The cards in your hand are a secondary consideration. A passive lead is fine if the auctions calls for it (eg opponents have no long suits, bare minimum values or the strength is concenrated in one hand) but more often an attacking lead is best even at matchpoints.

[Trinidad]

dake50, on Oct 3 2009, 07:16 PM, said:

Goren had opening leads ranked by preference. Do that unless you can convince yourself 'not this auction'.

I think the opposite is closer to the truth: Listen to the auction, decide what suit(s) you want to lead, then look at your hand.

Only when the auction is unrevealing, you decide what to lead based on the cards you hold.

Rik

[aguahombre]

all this is great since Terry always says I never look at my hand before making my opening leads, anyway.

[mike777]

As I said....people seem to prefer to lead from nothing.


I have no complaints about people listening to the auction and making a decision it is just that assuming that decision very very often they lead from nothing rather than something.

[MattieShoe]

Usually I find the opening lead in NT to be obvious, but leading into a suit contract, I have a much tougher time. Can any of you recommend a resource that breaks down some basic guidelines?

[pooltuna]

MattieShoe, on Oct 4 2009, 09:22 PM, said:

Usually I find the opening lead in NT to be obvious, but leading into a suit contract, I have a much tougher time. Can any of you recommend a resource that breaks down some basic guidelines?

I thought Ewen wrote a book on opening leads maybe thinking of his book on doubles

[nigel_k]

Actually Blackwood's book on opening leads is still pretty good if you can find it anywhere.

[jdonn]

I agree that one of the most major mistakes most players make is leading too passively in general, against almost all contracts, where a more aggressive lead is called for.

[Lobowolf]

MattieShoe, on Oct 4 2009, 09:22 PM, said:

Usually I find the opening lead in NT to be obvious, but leading into a suit contract, I have a much tougher time. Can any of you recommend a resource that breaks down some basic guidelines?

Mike Lawrence's book, "Opening Leads."

[eyhung]

Enthusiastic second vote for Lawrence's book. It's one of the few books where after I read it and started applying its lessons, I began to notice immediate, significant improvement in my scores. Even a good player will find his discussion on what to lead from

QT86 QT86 QT86 6

against 1♦ - 1♥ - 1♠ - 1NT particularly insightful.

[eyhung]

Quick clarification in response to a PM : some good players may already know that a heart is a standout lead on that hand, but I have found that there exist plenty of players who do not see why that a heart is a standout. So not all players will benefit from the book, but I think some of the points it makes (when to lead from AJx against a suit contract; when to lead 5th-best; what to lead from 98x vs. 972; suggestions for lead-directing double definitions) are not well-covered elsewhere. So if you lack confidence in your opening leads, it's a good book to read.

[S2000magic]

 pooltuna, on 2009-October-04, 20:34, said:

I thought Ewen wrote a book on opening leads maybe thinking of his book on doubles

Robert Ewen wrote an excellent book on opening leads (titled, with no great originality, Opening Leads); I'm rereading it now for the umpteenth time.

The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge used to classify books in its bibliography as optional for a modern technical on bridge and mandatory for a modern technical library on bridge. (The latest edition claims to categorize them as such, but the books are no longer marked.) Ewen's books Doubles for Takeout, Penalties, and Profit and Opening Leads were both marked as mandatory; his book Preemptive Bidding was either mandatory or optional (I don't recall which, and I don't have my older edition of the Encyclopedia handy.)

I cannot find my copy of Doubles; I hope that I lent it to my mom and that she'll give it back.

[S2000magic]

 Lobowolf, on 2009-October-05, 16:06, said:

Mike Lawrence's book, "Opening Leads."

How's it compare to Ewen's?

(He plagiarized the title, I submit.)

[whereagles]

There are three major books on opening leads: Ewen, Blackwood and Lawrence.

Blackwood is the most complete one.
Ewen is probably the best. Systematic and to the point.
Lawrence is good and easy to read, as most of Mike's books are.

Then there's Kelsey's "Test your opening leads", which is a nice exercise book.