Art of the Falsecard
by Jim Munday


Defensive signalling is critical for long term success at the bridge table. It is the main tool for the two defenders to communicate with each other. There are times, however, when it can be useful to mislead partner, in an effort to mislead declarer at the same time. It is important to choose the proper time, lest it do more harm than good. A common example is to win a trick with the higher of touching honors (such as KQ or QJ) when declarer takes a finesse. Here is a subtler example; let's look at the hand first from declarer's perspective:

S: xx
H: AJTx
D: AQT
C: Qxx
S: AKQJxx
H: Qx
D: Jx
C: KJx

After trying for a slam, we come to a halt in 5D: against silent opposition and the opening lead is the D:8. The first few tricks go quickly. East wins the D:A and returns the D:T, which West ruffs. West then leads a low heart. Our contract is suddenly in jeopardy. If we knew which red suit finesse to take, we can still make this. If we believe East, the heart finesse is not going to work. He returned the D:T, a suit preference signal for hearts. Expecting the heart finesse to be doomed, we win the D:A, pull trump, and take the diamond finesse. If it works, we can discard our losing heart, and our contract will succeed.

Let's rotate 90 degrees and now consider the hand from East's perspective: S:x H:xxxx D:Kx C:AT9xxx.

Partner leads the D:8, which we hope is a singleton. We can give partner a ruff, but that only gives us 2 tricks. If partner has a trump trick, it won't go away, otherwise declarer can make his contract by taking a heart finesse, if he needs one. Our best chance is deception. Knowing that declarer will be unlikely to risk taking a finesse at trick 3 (and suffering another ruff), we return the D:T, asking partner to play a heart back. This is a safe maneuver, as misleading partner cannot cost. A classic falsecard. Will it work 100% of the time? No, declarer may think we are up to something, but more often than not, declarer will decline the heart finesse, and lose the contract.

Here's an example of a bad time to falsecard. You hold: S:T9x H:AKx D:xxxx C:xxx.

The contract is 4D:, declarer having shown an above-average opener, and you decide to lead the D:T. Dummy comes down:

S: Jxx
H: Qxx
D: Jxx
C: KJxx

Declarer wins in hand with the D:Q (partner encouraging) and follows with a low heart to the Q, which holds (obviously). Another heart at trick 3, partner playing low. The is not the time to be clever and win the ace. You are not fooling declarer (he knows he's missing the K and you have it), only partner. This can be very dangerous as partner will credit declarer with the D:K and play us for a high card somewhere else, which we do not have. When he gains the lead, he may make a damaging shift, giving declarer a gift trick.

It's important to have signalling agreements with your partner. However, sometimes a successful defense involves misleading partner, in an attempt to mislead declarer at the same time. Next time you play, look for opportunities to falsecard. They come up more often than you think.