The finesse

How it works

Dummy holds ♥ A Q 4 and you hold three small. Lead a small heart from your hand towards dummy and play the queen.

If the player on your left holds the king, they have already played before dummy, and they can't beat the queen without spending the king, which the ace then captures. You win two tricks.

If the king is on your right, they play it after the queen and you win only the ace. It's a 50-50 chance, depending on which opponent holds the king.

Common forms

• Simple finesse. A Q opposite small, as above.
• Repeated finesse. A Q J opposite small: finesse, return to hand, and finesse again. Two chances at the same card.
• Two-way finesse. A J opposite K 10, missing the queen. You can finesse either opponent, so the auction and the count decide which.
• Ruffing finesse. K Q J opposite a void in a suit contract. Lead the king; if it's covered you ruff, and the queen and jack are now winners.

Eight ever, nine never

Missing the queen, with eight cards between the hands, finesse. With nine, play for the drop: cash the ace and king and hope the queen falls.

With nine cards, four are missing, and the queen drops (singleton, or in a 2-2 split) slightly more often than a finesse wins. With eight, five are missing, a 3-2 split is normal, and the queen is usually in the three-card holding.

The odds are close, so any real information should override the rule. An opponent who preempted, or who showed shortage, has told you where the length is.

When not to finesse

• When you don't need the trick. Count your winners first. A finesse that risks the contract to gain an overtrick is a bad bet at any form of scoring but matchpoints, and often there too.
• When a suit will break instead. Establishing a long suit is often better than 50%, and it doesn't depend on one opponent holding one card.
• When you can combine chances. Cash a top honour first in case the singleton king falls, then finesse. That gives you two chances, and it usually costs nothing.
• When the finesse loses to the danger hand. A losing finesse that puts the wrong opponent on lead can cost more than the trick itself.
• When an endplay is available. Making an opponent lead the suit for you turns a 50% guess into a certainty.

Count the hand before you guess

Before taking a finesse, use the information you already have:

1. The auction. An opponent who opened holds most of the missing high cards.
2. The opening lead. It told you something about that suit and often about the hand.
3. The count. Play out the other suits first and the shape may tell you where the honour must be.

Take the finesse as late as you can. By then this information often tells you where the missing honour is.

Where to practise it

The finesse lesson in the suit combinations course plays four finesse holdings a card at a time, and the reference table gives the best line for each holding.