42  Suit preference signals

When partner leads a suit for the first time and we can’t beat the two cards played, we know how to signal attitude (high for like, low for not) but what about other situations? The commonest is when you are the first partner to discard: you should always try to make this a suit preference signal inviting a switch.

Signalling with a discard  The old-fashioned method was to drop the suit you want, but this often depletes the very resource you are inviting. Better is the method often known as McKinney, but more often as Lavinthal, here it is:- Suit A is led, you drop suit B which is the suit you don’t want, so this clearly wants one of the two remaining suits. So you drop high or low to suggest the higher-ranking or lower-ranking of those two.

Example: on a spade lead you drop a high diamond, suggesting that you want a heart lead.

Signalling when sending for a ruff  You have detected that your partner has just led a singleton (in a trump contract) so, having taken the current trick or later if you haven’t, you lead back this suit and your partner trumps it. Are you feeling smug? Well don’t unless the card you sent him tells him what suit to lead you, to get back in your hand for a second ruff.  It should have been a low or high card on the same principle as Lavinthal. Maybe you learnt something there.

Signalling in No Trumps I do not recommend Lavinthal here. The common discarding problem in NT is that every time you throw a card on declarer’s triumphant cashing of his long suit, you weaken one of your own. Do not weaken two suits, just one. Having decided which suit you want to keep, keep it as long as possible.  So the first defender to throw a discard is saying “Please keep this suit, partner, I’m keeping the other one.” In case you’re thinking there are three other suits, not two, I’m ruling out the first suit led by defence, which is presumably the defenders’ suit for both to keep anyway.

The real nature of preference signals. They are but suggestions, not commands. This is because signaller cannot always spare an unmistakeable card (what is a 5 or 6?) or hasn’t any of what they would like to have. So use discretion about leading the signalled suit.