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
QJ opposite K8x 5 2 100.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite K87 5 2 100.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite K9x 5 2 100.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite K97 5 2 100.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite K98 5 2 100.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite Axx 5 2 100.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite A7x 5 2 100.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite A8x 5 2 100.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite A87 5 2 100.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite A9x 5 2 100.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite A9x 5 3 2.32% 1 The line
QJ opposite A97 5 2 100.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite A97 5 3 2.32% 1 The line
QJ opposite A98 5 2 100.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite A98 5 3 2.32% 1 The line
QJ opposite ATx 5 3 50.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite AT7 5 3 50.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite AT8 5 3 50.0% 1 The line
QJ opposite AT9 5 3 50.0% 1 The line
K opposite 98xx 5 1 2.68% 1 The line
K opposite 987x 5 1 3.75% 1 The line
K opposite Txxx 5 1 5.66% 1 The line
K opposite T7xx 5 1 5.66% 1 The line
K opposite T8xx 5 1 6.88% 1 The line
K opposite T87x 5 1 7.96% 1 The line
1451–1475 of 72,594 results
/ 2904

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.