The Holdup Play

They lead a suit. You have the ace. And the worst thing you can do? Win it immediately.

Sometimes.

The holdup play is one of the most powerful tools in notrump contracts. You let opponents win tricks they’re entitled to anyway, but you control when they win them. The timing breaks their communication and often makes the difference between making and going down.

The Basic Concept

Opponents lead the ♠5. Dummy has 7-3, you have A-6-2. RHO plays the ♠Q.

You can win this trick. But should you?

If you hold up the ace until the third round, one opponent will run out of spades. When that opponent gets in later, they can’t return partner’s suit. You’ve cut the communication between the defenders’ hands.

This only works if:

1. The suit divides unevenly (one opponent has more than the other)
2. You can knock out their high cards while their long suit is blocked
3. The opponent with the short holding is the dangerous one who might get in

When all three conditions apply, the holdup play can turn a failing contract into a making one.

Classic Example

You’re in 3NT:

Dummy: ♠ 7 4
♥ A 6 3
♦ K Q J 10 8
♣ 9 6 2

You: ♠ A 6 2
♥ K 7 4
♦ A 7 4
♣ A K 7 4

West leads the ♠5, dummy plays low, East plays the ♠Q.

Count your tricks: six diamonds, three hearts, two clubs. That’s 11. You just need to knock out the ♦A.

But count their tricks: if spades are 5-3 and you win this immediately, they have five spade tricks plus the ♦A. That’s six for them. You go down.

The solution: duck the ♠Q. East continues spades, you duck again. On the third round, you win the ♠A.

Now East is out of spades. You lead diamonds. East wins the ♦A but has no spade to return. You win whatever they lead back and run your diamonds. Contract made.

If you win the first spade, East gets in with the ♦A and returns their last spade to West. West cashes four more spades. Down two.

When NOT to Hold Up

The holdup isn’t automatic. You need a reason to do it.

Don’t hold up when:

1. You have enough tricks without losing the lead. You have nine top tricks in 3NT. Take them and run. Holding up just gives opponents extra chances to signal or shift suits.

2. A shift is more dangerous than the suit they led. They led spades, you have that suit stopped. But if they shift to hearts, you’re dead. Win the first spade and take your tricks before they find the killing shift.

3. You need their entries. Sometimes you need to use an opponent’s high card as an entry to their hand for an endplay or squeeze. Win early, not late.

4. They might find a devastating shift. If you duck twice in spades and they shift to hearts, you might go down immediately. Sometimes you have to win early and hope.

How Long to Hold Up?

The math is simple. If you hold up until everyone is out of the suit except the leader, you’ve broken communication.

With A-x-x opposite x-x, hold up twice (until the third round). Now RHO is out of the suit.

With A-x opposite x-x, hold up once. You can only hold up once with A-x.

With A-x-x-x opposite x, you might not need to hold up at all. You have length. They might not be able to run the suit anyway.

The Rule of Seven

Here’s a shortcut for figuring out how long to hold up. Add your cards in the suit led (in both hands) and subtract from seven.

You have A-6-2 in hand, 7-3 in dummy. That’s five cards. Seven minus five is two. Hold up twice.

You have A-10-4 in hand, 9-6-3 in dummy. That’s six cards. Seven minus six is one. Hold up once.

Why does this work? Because the opponents started with eight cards (13 minus your 5). If they’re split 5-3, ducking twice exhausts the short hand. The Rule of Seven builds that in.

Reading the Opening Lead

The opening lead tells you about the split.

West leads the 5, East plays the queen. If they’re playing fourth-best leads, West has four or five cards (since the 5 is the fourth card from the top). East has three or four.

If West leads the 2 (their lowest card), they probably have exactly four. The suit might be 4-4. Now the holdup doesn’t gain anything. They both have length.

Pay attention to their card spots. They tell you how the suit divides.

Ducking in Other Situations

The holdup isn’t just about aces. You can duck with kings, too.

Dummy: ♥ K 6 3

You: ♥ 7 4 2

They lead a heart. Play low from dummy. If RHO plays the ace, you lose one trick. If RHO plays low, LHO wins but you still have the king for later.

This preserves your stopper and might block their suit.

The Holdup with Two Stoppers

You have K-J-4 in hand, 7-3 in dummy. They lead the suit and RHO plays the queen.

Should you win? Or duck with the king and win the next round with the jack?

It depends. If you need to lose the lead twice to set up your tricks, duck now. Win the second round. This way, when you lose the lead the second time, one opponent is out of the suit.

But if you only need to lose the lead once, win immediately. Don’t give them a free trick.

Double Holdup

Sometimes you have A-x-x opposite x-x-x. You have two stoppers.

They lead the suit. You duck. They continue. You duck again.

Now both opponents might still have cards, but you’ve used up two of their tricks already. The third round, you win. If they get in, they only have two tricks left in the suit (if it was 5-3 originally).

This is rare, but it comes up when you need to lose the lead twice and want to limit their tricks.

The Bath Coup

A related play. You have A-J-x, dummy has x-x. RHO (the leader’s partner) has K-Q-x-x.

They lead the suit, partner follows low, RHO plays the king.

If you win the ace, RHO has Q-x-x left. When they get in, they can run three more tricks.

If you duck the king, RHO has Q-x left. When they get in, they can’t safely continue the suit without giving you a trick with the jack.

This is named after the city of Bath in England. It’s a holdup with a finesse position built in.

When You Have No Choice

Sometimes you have to win immediately because you can’t afford to lose two tricks in their suit.

You’re in 3NT, they lead hearts. You have A-7-4 opposite 6-3-2. If you duck, they’ll win and play another. You’ll lose three heart tricks right there, and you still need to knock out their high cards.

Win the first trick. Hope their suit doesn’t run. You have no better option.

The Holdup in Suit Contracts

The holdup is primarily a notrump play, but it applies to suit contracts sometimes.

You’re in 4♥. They lead a spade, you have the ace. Should you win or hold up?

If holding up means they can’t give partner a ruff later, do it. If it doesn’t matter, win and get on with drawing trumps.

Suit contracts have different dynamics. You’re usually trying to draw trumps and claim, not break communication.

The Avoidance Play

This is the flip side of the holdup. You want to keep one opponent off lead.

You have two suits to finesse. One finesse is into West, one into East. East is dangerous (they have a long suit to run). West is safe.

Take the finesse into West. Avoid putting East on lead. This combines with the holdup: you held up to exhaust East’s suit, now you avoid letting East in.

Common Mistakes

Holding up when you have enough tricks. You have 10 tricks in 3NT. You hold up anyway. Opponent shifts to a new suit and now you’re in trouble. Just take your tricks.

Not holding up when you should. They lead their long suit, you win immediately, you knock out their ace, they run the suit. You go down. You needed to hold up first.

Holding up the wrong number of times. You hold up once when you needed to hold up twice. The short hand still has a card. They get in and return partner’s suit. You go down.

Forgetting to count entries. You hold up twice, great. But now you can’t afford to lose the lead because they’ll cash their suit. Make sure you have enough tricks without losing the lead again.

Advanced: The Mandatory False Card

Sometimes defenders false card to make you hold up when you shouldn’t (or win when you shouldn’t).

West leads the 5, East plays the jack. You have A-10-4. Should you win or duck?

If East has K-Q-J, they’re playing their lowest honor. You should duck.

If East has Q-J doubleton, they’re playing their highest card to look strong. If you duck, West wins the king and returns the suit. You’re in trouble.

This is where counting becomes essential. If West led fourth-best and the 5 is their fourth card, they have four or five. East has three or four. Work out the possible layouts.

Experience teaches you which false cards work and which don’t. For now, use the Rule of Seven and adjust based on what you learn.

The Mental Checklist

When they lead a suit at trick one:

1. Count my tricks. Do I have enough without losing the lead?
2. Count their tricks. How many can they take if I win now?
3. How is their suit likely to split? (Use the opening lead)
4. If I hold up, do I have time to establish my tricks?
5. Is a different suit more dangerous?

Run through this in five seconds. Then decide.

Why This Matters

The holdup play turns failing contracts into making ones. It’s not fancy. It’s not showy. It’s just disciplined technique.

And once you get used to ducking with the ace, it becomes automatic. You’ll see the layout, know you need to hold up twice, and do it without thinking.

That’s when your 3NT contracts start making consistently.