Card combinations

Browse combinations

Suit holdings with the odds of the best line for each. Filter by how many cards the two hands hold, how many entries the line needs, or how often it makes.

Holding Cards
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Playing for Best line makes it
Entries at worst
87 opposite AKJ9 6 4 24.0% 1 The line
87 opposite AKJT 6 4 50.0% 1 The line
87 opposite AKQ9 6 4 24.0% 1 The line
87 opposite AKQT 6 4 50.48% 1 The line
87x opposite QTx 6 1 38.45% 0 The line
87x opposite QT9 6 1 50.73% 0 The line
87x opposite QJx 6 1 76.73% 0 The line
87x opposite QJ9 6 1 79.39% 0 The line
87x opposite Kxx 6 1 50.48% 0 The line
87x opposite K9x 6 1 50.48% 0 The line
87x opposite KTx 6 1 64.45% 0 The line
87x opposite KT9 6 1 79.39% 0 The line
87x opposite KJx 6 1 76.73% 0 The line
87x opposite KJx 6 2 24.0% 1 The line
87x opposite KJ9 6 1 79.39% 0 The line
87x opposite KJ9 6 2 24.73% 1 The line
87x opposite KJT 6 2 50.0% 1 The line
87x opposite KQx 6 2 50.0% 1 The line
87x opposite KQ9 6 2 50.73% 1 The line
87x opposite KQT 6 2 54.84% 1 The line
87x opposite AJx 6 2 24.0% 0 The line
87x opposite AJ9 6 2 37.73% 1 The line
87x opposite AJT 6 2 76.0% 0 The line
87x opposite AQx 6 2 50.48% 0 The line
87x opposite AQ9 6 2 63.0% 0 The line
1151–1175 of 5,793 results
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What one row is

Each row is a holding and a target: these cards, this many tricks. The same cards played for a different number of tricks need a different line, so a holding can appear more than once. We cover five to eleven cards between the two hands, and leave out holdings where the obvious play is already right.

Reading the columns

Best line makes it is how often the best line is sure to take the target. We assume the defenders can see all four hands and always play the card that hurts you most, even where a book would play something else. That makes these numbers lower than book odds, but you can rely on them. A plain finesse is 50%, for comparison.

Entries at worst is the most times the line might need to change hands, across every way the missing cards can lie. Filter to none to see what you can still play for when you have no way back to dummy.

Why the lengths are so uneven

Seven- and eight-card holdings have the most rows, often two for the same cards: one playing for the extra trick and one for the safe play, which need different cards. Eleven-card holdings have very few, because with only two cards missing there's rarely a decision to make. Short holdings are thin too, because there are too few cards to give you a choice.