Your opponent leads the C
, worth 2 pips. You must follow suit. Your hand holds the K (which wins); your visible pile shows the J (which loses). There is no Rising Rule in this Declarer game, so ducking is legal.
Do you win with the K, or duck with the J? Why?
Reveal answer
Answer
Win with the K. Nothing is stalking this King: with only two-card tricks, you only ever meet Hearts again when you choose to lead it or when you’re not void, so you pick the moment either way, and waiting buys it no extra safety it doesn’t already have. Ducking only gives something away: the C‘s 2 pips go free to your opponent, and the King’s eventual capture is no more certain tomorrow than it is right now. Taking it banks 2 + 4 = 6 pips this instant, plus two more cards toward your base count, all of it already counting toward your 36. With no partner to protect and no ambush waiting on a safe King, count what’s certain: sure Card Points now beat imaginary caution later.
. Nothing is stalking this King: with only two-card tricks, you only ever meet Hearts again when you choose to lead it or when you’re not void, so you pick the moment either way, and waiting buys it no extra safety it doesn’t already have. Ducking only gives something away: the C‘s 2 pips go free to your opponent, and the King’s eventual capture is no more certain tomorrow than it is right now. Taking it banks 2 + 4 = 6 pips this instant, plus two more cards toward your base count, all of it already counting toward your 36. With no partner to protect and no ambush waiting on a safe King, count what’s certain: sure Card Points now beat imaginary caution later.