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
87xx opposite AKTx 8 4 13.57% 1 The line
87xx opposite AKT9 8 3 89.57% 0 The line
87xx opposite AKT9 8 4 24.0% 2 The line
87xx opposite AKJx 8 3 86.74% 0 The line
87xx opposite AKJx 8 4 33.91% 0 The line
87xx opposite AKJ9 8 3 89.57% 0 The line
87xx opposite AKJ9 8 4 41.52% 2 The line
87xx opposite AKJT 8 4 52.83% 2 The line
87xx opposite AKQx 8 4 67.83% 0 The line
87xx opposite AKQ9 8 4 75.43% 2 The line
87xx opposite AKQT 8 4 86.74% 1 The line
9 opposite QTxxxxx 8 4 70.65% 0 The line
9 opposite QTxxxxx 8 5 13.57% 0 The line
9 opposite QT7xxxx 8 4 76.3% 1 The line
9 opposite QT7xxxx 8 5 13.57% 0 The line
9 opposite QT8xxxx 8 3 100.0% 1 The line
9 opposite QT8xxxx 8 4 96.09% 1 The line
9 opposite QT8xxxx 8 5 13.57% 0 The line
9 opposite QT87xxx 8 4 100.0% 1 The line
9 opposite QT87xxx 8 5 19.22% 0 The line
9 opposite QJxxxxx 8 3 98.04% 0 The line
9 opposite QJxxxxx 8 4 81.96% 0 The line
9 opposite QJxxxxx 8 5 37.3% 0 The line
9 opposite QJ7xxxx 8 3 98.04% 0 The line
9 opposite QJ7xxxx 8 4 84.78% 1 The line
23751–23775 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.