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Lavinthal Discards
Some partnerships agree in advance to assign special meaning to the first discard.
Lavinthal discards are used on defender's first discard. A high card is shows preference for the higher
ranking of the two outstanding suits, whereas a low ranked card shows preference for the other lower ranked
suit.
Lavinthal Discard System
With this agreement, the first discard you make shows your suit preference.You do not like the suit led and you do not like the discarded suit.
Your signal tells partner which of the two outstanding suits you prefer.
A high card signals your interest in the higher ranking of the remaining suits - a low card for the lower ranking suit. This is known as Lavinthal in the US, or as McKenney in the UK.
Disadvantages of Lavinthal
The potential disadvantage of this method is that you always have to give preference for one suit or other, and you may not want any suit in particular. Partner has to intuit from cards in their hand, in dummy and already played if your signal is legitimate.Opponents are running their Spade Suit
On the third spade lead what is your first discard to show partner your interest in the Heart Suit with AH
- ♠ 3 2
- ♥ A 10 7 3
- ♦ A 9 8 4 3
- ♣ Q J
Discarding either the QC or the 9D show your interest in the Heart suit
Practice This Lesson
The 60SecondBridge game engine does not initiate or respond to Lavinthal Discards
But practise making a
Lavinthal Discard in this Game