Suit preference signals (McKenney, Lavinthal)

Bridge today is very competitive. Expert pairs are doing everything they can to get any extra edge, and one area where experts are exploiting is suit preference signals.

But before we look at it, lets be clear - good signalling is all about simplicity and clarity. Two very important things that I like to clarify

1. On partner's lead, set a signal. My suggestion is high or low to encourage, whichever you prefer. However, DO NOT treat this as a suit preference signal, be clear and simple, it is an attitude signal

2. On your first discard, make it clear what that is - I suggest attitude signal again. So lets say you're playing low encourage - if you discard the 2 of spades on your first discard, you are encouraging spades - simple but important! Do not say to partner later "I thought my 2 of spades was asking for a club". NO - it is low to encourage (or high encourage if you are playing that).

So, only after getting out of the way the important organisational skills needed for a good partnership - knowing what signal applies at what time, can we look at some excellent times where suit preference should apply. There are an enormous amount of times where suit preference can apply when both players start thinking along these lines, I'm going to highlight a few of the main ones.

Play of the trump suit in defence

On this hand partner leads a diamond, your Queen is taken by declarer's Ace. Declarer then plays three rounds of spades. Have a look at your hand, if partner was on lead, what suit would you want partner to play? A heart of course, so signal the highest suit by playing your 9 of spades, then the 8, then the 5. Playing your trumps from highest to lowest should strongly indicate that you want the highest suit.

Summary: Play your small trump cards meaningfully - convey to partner whether you want the high suit or low suit when they get on lead.

When declarer's length in a suit is known

A very typical time is when you have bid and raised a suit.

Partner's bid of 3♥ showed a 4 card heart raise. Partner now leads the Ace of hearts - it should be clear to you that declarer has only a singleton heart - partner has 4, so the distribution is 4351. It is in this time that players tend to use their heart cards as suit preference. You would love a diamond, so play your highest heart - the K or the Q should do it. Whereas, if you wanted a club, you could play the 3 - your absolute lowest. (Experts go so far as to play the 9 showing ambivalence or tolerance for either switch - I suggest starting off simple and working up towards more nuanced signalling eventually, don't try to do too much with signalling if you're not used to it as it can take a big toll on your mental energy).

When you have the Ace and King

This is a very common time, lets look at an example

Partner leads the 9 of hearts which looks like a singleton or a doubleton. From your perspective the next three tricks are certain, your ace and king will win them and then you'll give partner a ruff. Why not at the same time make partner's life easier, send the message "Come back the high suit when you are in, not the low suit!".

Win the Ace, then cash the King, then give your partner a ruff - partner should get used to this idea - why did you win the Ace then play the King, not the other way around? - it should convey a suit preference signal.

Where to next

• -> Related: Bridge Signals: Attitude, Count, and Suit Preference
• -> Back to Defence: Signals