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 Clear this filter	Playing for	Best line makes it	Entries at worst
T7 opposite K8xx	6	1	54.76%	1	The line
T7 opposite K9xx	6	1	77.71%	1	The line
T7 opposite K98x	6	2	50.0%	1	The line
T7 opposite KJxx	6	2	24.97%	1	The line
T7 opposite KJ8x	6	2	68.17%	1	The line
T7 opposite KJ8x	6	3	0.89%	1	The line
T7 opposite KJ9x	6	3	5.65%	1	The line
T7 opposite KJ98	6	3	18.17%	0	The line
T7 opposite KQxx	6	2	55.65%	1	The line
T7 opposite KQ8x	6	2	79.39%	1	The line
T7 opposite KQ8x	6	3	1.37%	1	The line
T7 opposite KQ9x	6	3	6.14%	1	The line
T7 opposite KQ98	6	3	50.0%	0	The line
T7 opposite KQJx	6	3	100.0%	0	The line
T7 opposite KQJ8	6	3	100.0%	0	The line
T7 opposite A9xx	6	2	1.78%	0	The line
T7 opposite A98x	6	2	77.05%	1	The line
T7 opposite AJxx	6	2	55.43%	1	The line
T7 opposite AJ8x	6	2	85.61%	1	The line
T7 opposite AJ8x	6	3	1.37%	1	The line
T7 opposite AJ9x	6	3	6.38%	1	The line
T7 opposite AJ98	6	3	50.0%	0	The line
T7 opposite AQxx	6	2	74.48%	1	The line
T7 opposite AQ8x	6	2	85.61%	1	The line
T7 opposite AQ8x	6	3	1.61%	1	The line

1951–1975 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.