The Opening Lead Against Notrump

The best lead against notrump is from a solid suit, something like AKQJ1075. As long as you lead a high card, you take seven tricks.

The next-best holding is a strong suit, but not quite impregnable, something like KQJ974. When you hold a strong suit with touching high cards, you should lead an honor, to prevent delaying the suit's establishment and allowing the offense to win a cheap trick.

When you don't hold a strong suit, you should lead from a long suit if the offense did not bid the suit at either opponents' first opportunity. For example, if it goes

1		1
2NT		3NT

and you hold a long suit in clubs or diamonds, lead from your long suit. But if you hold long hearts or spades, choose another suit.

Passive Leads

When they have bid your long suit, or you don't have one, choose a passive lead, one that has the smallest chance of giving the other side a trick by placement. The best passive lead is from a suit headed by no high cards at all. After

1		3
3NT

lead the indicated suit from the following holdings:

• 94 872 QJ97 J842 - heart
• KJ7Q84 J864 763 - club
• J53 Q84 J962 K53 - heart

When you are boxed in with high cards in each suit and no long suit of your own, lead from the suit with the highest card, except for the Ace. In particular, avoid leading from a suit headed by the Jack or ten. If you lead from a King and the lead costs a trick, the King might still take a trick later, but if you blow a trick by leading from a Jack or ten, you won't get it back.