A Smooth Plan

South Deals E-W Vul	♠ K J 10 9 ♥ Q 10 8 ♦ K J ♣ Q 9 6 4
♠ A 7 5 2 ♥ A 4 ♦ 10 3 2 ♣ A 10 8 7	N W E S

West	North	East	South
			2 ♥
Pass	3 ♥	All pass

You (West) led the A♥, and the other hands followed low. What now?

ANSWER: Decide now to duck declarer's spade lead! Yes, it is still your lead. No, declarer has not led spades out of turn. Yes, your next lead should be your remaining heart. But that is not the issue here.

If you look ahead, you'll notice that declarer will -- at some point in the play -- probably lead a small spade toward dummy's K-J-10-9. If she doesn't have the queen, she will be wondering whether to play the king or the jack, looking for clues to who has the other spade honors. Her best default plan is to play the jack. But if she thinks you have the ace, she will play the king. Your only chance for two spade tricks is that partner holds the queen and that declarer plays the jack. For that to come true you must play a low spade, smoothly in tempo. If you hesitate after the spade lead, she'll know you have the ace and play the king accordingly. 

THE PRINCIPLE: Before playing to the first trick as declarer or third hand, always take a few moments to ARCH: Analyze the lead, Review the bidding, Count tricks, and plan How to play the hand. As the opening leader, you should do the same before turning your first card face down if there hasn't been enough time already.

Note that ducking with the A♠ is the standard play with this holding unless there is a clear-cut reason for grabbing tricks quickly. Even if declarer has a singleton spade, she always gets a spade trick. If you play the ace immediately, declarer can set up the spades for a discard. If you hesitate, she doesn't have to guess. Your job is to stay out of the way and let her guess wrong.

South Deals E-W Vul	♠ K J 10 9 ♥ Q 10 8 ♦ K J ♣ Q 9 6 4
♠ A 7 5 2 ♥ A 4 ♦ 10 3 2 ♣ A 10 8 7	N W E S	♠ Q 8 4 ♥ 3 2 ♦ Q 9 7 5 4 ♣ K 5 3
	♠ 6 3 ♥ K J 9 7 6 5 ♦ A 8 6 ♣ J 2