[jillybean]

Unless of course it is partners bid suit, leading doubletons is common practice but I think an overrated and somewhat risky lead.
I am providing a quick talk on doubletons at the non sanctioned game today and wondering if there is some more wisdom I can gain from bbf'ers.

We have competitive and noncompetitive auctions, leading a doubleton and following suit with a doubton.

Leading a doubleton when partner has bid the suit. high - low or low - high
Blind leads, what may be preferable than a doubleton against a suit contract. (touching honors, trump lead, 4th best, singleton!)
Following suit with a doubleton, high - low or low - high

[mikeh]

Too late to help with your talk but if you want to improve your understanding of leads, I strongly recommend the Bird and Anthias books on leads…one v notrump and the other v units. Be aware that, imo, they tend to slightly underestimate the impact of their double dummy analysis…hence, as one example, their results overstate, imo, the effectiveness of leading an unsupported ace, since when they do so they always make the right switch. At the table, partner will think you have the king (assuming ace from ace king) so he’ll give you the ‘wrong’ sighal and most human defenders will then not defend double dummy. Despite this issue, the books are, imo, extremely good.

Perhaps of (slightly) more use today: on some hands the lead is obvious…a singleton in partner’s suit v a suit contract, of the King from KQJ10x against a notrump contract, etc. but on many, many hands there will be two, three or even four plausible choices…many hands on which one is considering leading a doubleton would be in these categories.

On those hands, I doubt any sort of blanket rule would be valid. As with so much in this game, context matters. One needs to really think about the auction…try to deduce at least something about the other three hands. This can be easy…everyone has been bidding…or very difficult…say 1N P 3N P).

Then one has to decide whether we are going to try to set the contract or avoid giving up an overtrick or two. At imps, for example, one tends to make the lead that has the most potential for a set…here, a doubleton in an unbid suit..or a suit bid only once by dummy, may be best…one needs a couple of trump and ideally the auction suggests partner has some strength. You might also lead that at mps not so much to go plus but because it may be the safest lead or the best combination of safety with some hope of going plus.

There’s a reason that there have been books written on leads. I’d never tell any students that they should avoid leading doubletons against suit contracts….but I’d also avoid saying that they should always do so.

I appreciate that your audience likely won’t ‘get’ the subtleties so you may need to keep it simple. But if you do…I’d suggest at least prefacing your remarks with something to the effect that as they advance in the game they will come across hands where your general advice may not be correct.

[P_Marlowe]

mikeh, on 2026-June-11, 11:41, said:

Too late to help with your talk but if you want to improve your understanding of leads, I strongly recommend the Bird and Anthias books on leads…one v notrump and the other v units. Be aware that, imo, they tend to slightly underestimate the impact of their double dummy analysis…hence,
<snip>
Despite this issue, the books are, imo, extremely good.

<snip>

The book makes a case, that doubleton leads are quite often a reasonable choice, since they tend to be passive leads.

[jillybean]

P_Marlowe, on 2026-June-11, 11:48, said:

The book makes a case, that doubleton leads are quite often a reasonable choice, since they tend to be passive leads.

Not too late, the game starts at 12:30

Yes, xx can be a reasonable, passive leads I think the subtleties, as Mike mentioned, are not well understood by newer players.
For some reason, doubletons are a favoured lead and I was asked to talk on this, I think lead vs. following suit, blind vs. suggested leads and a little
on alternatives will be enough today. These are very much kitchen bridge players with a handful of players excited, willing and able to learn there is more to the game.

I do always preface what I say with "this is just one of many, many approaches, decide with your partner which approach you prefer".
I will be sure to add, as you get more experienced, these methods will change. (and as methods change...)

[awm]

I like doubleton leads -- they have more upside than leading from three or four small (both because a ruff is possible, and because they tend to give partner more clarity in my carding where we lead high from doubleton). Of course, singleton leads or leads from a sequence of three cards are better (but you often don't have these things in your hand). There are also auctions that call for a more aggressive lead (although the Bird-Anthias books back my feeling that a passive lead is usually better when the auction doesn't suggest anything in particular).

[bluenikki]

jillybean, on 2026-June-11, 07:59, said:

Unless of course it is partners bid suit, leading doubletons is common practice but I think an overrated and somewhat risky lead.

I don't claim it means anything, but I personally will not lead a (small) doubleton against a suit contract unless it is partner's suit or it's the only unbid suit. Likewise against notrump I guess.

This has at least the benefit that partner will not have to guess whether it's a singleton or a doubleton.

Well, if the auction suggests a trump lead, I lead a trump regardless the length. (But low from doubleton honor.)

[pescetom]

The partner that most influenced me in terms of play was firm that a doubleton lead was a last resort.
I slowly learned to rank it higher, as mikeh said on some hands it is even obvious.
In a talk to a club field I would provide a few examples and encourage discussion rather than try to list elusive truths.

[thepossum]

Interesting thread. Am following

Am trying to think of various hand types and strains and which could work and which not
Thinking of unblocking partners suit and things like that