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
Playing for Best line makes it
Entries at worst
J opposite KQ87xxx 8 5 96.09% 1 The line
J opposite KQ87xxx 8 6 67.83% 1 The line
J opposite KQ9xxxx 8 4 100.0% 1 The line
J opposite KQ9xxxx 8 5 96.09% 1 The line
J opposite KQ9xxxx 8 6 73.48% 1 The line
J opposite KQ97xxx 8 4 100.0% 1 The line
J opposite KQ97xxx 8 5 96.09% 1 The line
J opposite KQ97xxx 8 6 73.48% 1 The line
J opposite KQ98xxx 8 5 100.0% 1 The line
J opposite KQ98xxx 8 6 73.48% 1 The line
J opposite KQ987xx 8 6 73.48% 1 The line
J opposite KQTxxxx 8 5 100.0% 1 The line
J opposite KQTxxxx 8 6 96.09% 1 The line
J opposite KQT7xxx 8 5 100.0% 1 The line
J opposite KQT7xxx 8 6 96.09% 1 The line
J opposite KQT8xxx 8 5 100.0% 1 The line
J opposite KQT8xxx 8 6 96.09% 1 The line
J opposite KQT87xx 8 6 96.09% 1 The line
J opposite KQT9xxx 8 6 100.0% 1 The line
J opposite KQT97xx 8 6 100.0% 1 The line
J opposite A98xxxx 8 5 73.48% 1 The line
J opposite A987xxx 8 4 100.0% 1 The line
J opposite A987xxx 8 5 84.78% 0 The line
J opposite ATxxxxx 8 6 6.78% 0 The line
J opposite AT7xxxx 8 6 6.78% 0 The line
26851–26875 of 72,594 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.