The purpose of a discard system is to try and ‘pass information’ to your partner on where you may hold values useful in defence.  Note it is not an instruction for partner to lead the suit, it is information, rely on partner to determine if switching to the suit offers the best line of defence.  Most of the time partner will make the right choice, but when they get it wrong do not berate them (unless you are looking for a new partner!).

Whichever, discard method you adopt please ensure you give the opponents a full explanation of the possible meanings of the discard.  When the opponents asked what system you play, it is polite to say something like ‘DODDS, do you want to know what the card could/should mean’?

Remember that declarer is allowed to know what the discard system is and could gain from the ‘information’.

Natural (or Attitude) Discards

In a natural (or attitude) discard system you throw a high card to encourage a suit and a low card to discourage it.  This method has the disadvantage that it is sometimes difficult to throw (waste) a high card.  Suit preference methods may provide some improvement over natural discards.

Lavinthal or McKenney Discards.

Lavinthal (after Hy Lavinthal the inventor) is a well known suit preference discard system also known in the UK as McKenney (after the publicist).  With this system you throw from a suit you have no interest in where the value of the card shows the ‘rank’ of the remaining side suit you like.  Note, it is usual to ignore the trump suit.

Assume you are in No Trumps and discarding on Spades, then you can show a suit as follows:

• Clubs; throw a low Heart or a low Diamond.
• Diamonds: throw a high Heart or a high Club.
• Hearts; throw a high Club or a high Diamond.

The downsides of this method:

• Difficult to show a ‘neutral’ or discouraging discard.
• Playing a high side suit card may help declarer.
• No way to encourage in the suit discarded.

Revolving Discards

A similar, and perhaps simpler, suit preference discard system based on the side suits forming a ‘ranked’ circle.  This time you throw a high card to show the higher (clockwise) suit, and a low card the lower suit.  Note, the circle usually ignores the suit on which you are discarding.

Discarding on Spades, the circle of suits is formed by Clubs-Diamonds-Hearts and you show a suit as follows:

• Clubs; throw a low Diamond or high Heart.
• Diamonds: throw a low Heart or a high Club.
• Hearts; throw a low Club or a high Diamond.

This method has the same downsides as McKenney/Lavinthal.

Odd and Evens

This suit preference system is more complicated than both McKenney/Lavinthal and Revolving but has potentially more card selection options to show a suit.  An odd card shows a liking for the suit played and an even card shows suit preference for a side suit (low even card low suit, high even card high suit).  Assume you are in No Trumps and discarding on Spades:

• Clubs; throw an odd Club, a low even Heart or a low even Diamond.
• Diamond; throw an odd Diamond, a high even Club or low even Heart.
• Heart; throw an odd Heart, a high even Club or a high even Diamond.

The downsides with this method are:

• Difficult to show a ‘neutral’ or discouraging discard.
• May not have the right odd/even card available.
• Playing a high side suit card may help declarer.

DODDS

This suit preference system is popular in Wiltshire and similar to Odd/Even but with less card selection options; however, there is an ability to play a neutral card.  An even card is encouraging in the suit played and an odd card encouraging in the suit of the same colour.  Assume you are in No Trumps and discarding on Spades:

• Clubs; throw an even Club (only option!).
• Diamond; throw an even Diamond or odd Heart.
• Heart; throw an even Heart or an odd Diamond.
• Neutral; throw an odd Club (asks for Spades!).

No discard system is fool-proof and the downsides with this method are:

• May not have the right odd/even card available.
• Reduced options to show a suit with the same colour as the one you discard on.

No Discard System

The problem with a discard system is that it also passes information to declarer, and this may help in the line of play.  Some tournament pairs prefer not to use any particular discard system and rely on general playing ability to work out the best defence.  In which case all discards are simply a card they can afford to throw, it is somewhat ‘neutral’ or a suit they have no interest in holding; it is intended to limit the information given away.

This should not be called a ‘Natural’ discard system as it should carry no ‘system’ meaning.

A Hybrid Approach

A Hybrid approach aims to combine the ‘no discard system’ with one of the other systems.  The idea with this approach is that the first discard generally follows the ‘no discard’ approach in that it has no particular meaning.  If the subsequent discard is a different suit then both discards had no meaning.

However, if the discard is in the same suit then it changes the first discard to the chosen system; e.g McKenney, hence if the first card was higher than the second it shows the higher suit, otherwise the lower suit. 

Of course, using this approach you are entitled to infer information from the first discard; especially if it is a particularly high or low card.  Warning  Following this method the partnership MUST take care not to default to a discard system.  If you intend to show a suit then you must take every effort to complete the signal as agreed to avoid complaints and involvement of the Director.