When to Cover an Honor in Bridge
“Cover an honor with an honor” is one of the first rules you learn in bridge. Like most bridge rules, it’s right most of the time and disastrous when applied blindly.
The goal of covering is to promote tricks for your side, either in your hand or partner’s. If covering doesn’t do that, don’t cover.
The Basic Rule
When declarer or dummy leads an honor, cover it with a higher honor if you have one.
Dummy has ♥QJ3. You sit behind dummy with ♥K84. Dummy leads the queen.
Cover with the king.
Why? If you play low, declarer wins the queen cheaply. If you cover, your king forces out declarer’s ace, and now partner’s 10 might be good.
Without covering: Declarer wins Q, leads J, wins that too. Two tricks.
With covering: You play K, declarer plays A. Now the J loses to partner’s 10. One trick.
Why It Works
Covering promotes lower honors in partner’s hand.
If partner has the 10, covering the queen with the king makes the 10 worth a trick.
If partner has the 9, covering might set up the 9.
Even if partner has nothing, covering at least uses up your honor when declarer is burning theirs.
The principle: don’t let declarer’s honor win a cheap trick when you can force them to use a higher honor.
When NOT to Cover: The Exceptions
Exception 1: Touching Honors in Dummy
Dummy has ♠QJ10. You have the king behind dummy. Dummy leads the queen.
Don’t cover.
If you play the king on the queen, declarer wins the ace. Now the J10 are both good. Three tricks.
If you duck (play low), the queen wins. When dummy leads the jack, duck again. When dummy leads the 10, duck again (or cover, it doesn’t matter anymore). Declarer gets three tricks either way, but you didn’t waste your king early.
Actually, if declarer doesn’t have the ace, ducking twice might be the winning play. If partner has the ace, they can win the second round.
The rule: Don’t cover the first of touching honors. Wait until the last one.
If dummy has QJ, cover the jack.
If dummy has QJ10, cover the 10.
If dummy has QJ109, cover the 9.
Why wait? Because if you cover early, you use your honor when declarer still has higher ones in sequence. Cover the last one and you force out a higher honor from declarer that isn’t part of the sequence.
Exception 2: No Hope of Promoting Anything
You have ♦K82. Dummy has ♦Q65. Declarer leads the queen from dummy.
Don’t cover.
Partner can’t have the jack (you’d see it in dummy or declarer has it). Partner probably doesn’t have 10987. Covering gains nothing. Duck smoothly and maybe declarer will misguess.
If declarer has AJ10, they were always getting four tricks. But if they have AJ9, and you duck, they might finesse the 9 thinking you don’t have the king. Cover the queen and they know you have the king.
Exception 3: The Finesse is Marked
Dummy has ♣AQ10. You’re sitting in front of dummy with ♣K65. Declarer leads low from hand toward dummy.
Let’s say dummy plays the queen.
Don’t cover.
Declarer is taking a finesse. They already know (or assume) you have the king. Covering just helps them by bringing down your king under dummy’s ace. Play low smoothly.
If the queen wins, declarer will probably repeat the finesse. Duck again. Make them use up dummy’s entries.
Actually, in this situation dummy calls the card, not you. But if you had the king, you’d already be thinking “don’t cover” before dummy calls the queen.
Exception 4: Only One Honor in Dummy
Dummy has ♥J62. You have ♥Q84 sitting over dummy. Dummy leads the jack.
This one’s tricky. It depends on what declarer has.
If declarer has AK10, covering doesn’t help. Declarer wins the king, cashes the ace, and the 10 is good.
If declarer has AK9, covering does help. It promotes partner’s 10.
You can’t see declarer’s hand, so you have to guess. But generally, if dummy only has one honor and you’re sitting behind it, covering is often right. You’re trying to promote partner’s 10 or 9.
The real difference: when dummy has a sequence (QJ10), don’t cover early. When dummy has a single honor (J), usually cover.
Covering from In Front vs. Behind
The rule changes based on where you sit.
Covering behind dummy (declarer leads from dummy toward their hand):
This is the classic situation. Cover an honor with an honor to promote partner’s cards. This is where the rule applies most.
Covering in front of dummy (declarer leads toward dummy):
Be more cautious. If dummy has AQ and you have the king in front of dummy, don’t play it when declarer leads toward dummy. Declarer is trying to finesse you. Play low and make them guess.
The rule “cover an honor with an honor” mostly applies when you’re sitting behind the honor, not in front of it.
Reading the Spots
The spot cards matter.
Dummy has ♠Q73. You have ♠K82. Dummy leads the queen.
Should you cover?
Look at the spots. If partner has J1096, covering promotes three tricks for partner. If partner has 1096, covering still promotes the 10.
But if dummy has Q1073, you see the 10. Now partner can’t have it. Partner’s best holding is J96. Covering the queen promotes the jack, which is still good.
Count the spots. Figure out what partner might have. Cover if it helps.
Covering at Trick One vs. Later
At trick one, you have less information. You often have to cover by the rule because you don’t know what’s in declarer’s hand or partner’s.
Later in the hand, you know more. You’ve seen some cards. Partner signaled. The bidding told you something. You can make a better decision.
If it’s trick one and dummy leads the queen, just cover (unless dummy has QJ10). You don’t have enough info to do anything fancy.
If it’s trick eight and you know from the play that partner has nothing in the suit, don’t cover. Save your honor.
Declarer’s Tricks vs. Your Tricks
Ask yourself: does covering reduce declarer’s tricks or increase them?
If dummy has ♦QJ10xx and you have ♦Kx, don’t cover the first honor. Declarer is getting tricks in this suit no matter what. Make them work for it. If you cover the queen, declarer wins the ace, and the J10 are both good. If you duck twice, maybe partner has Axx and can win the second round.
If dummy has ♦Qxx and you have ♦Kxx, and declarer leads the queen, covering might promote partner’s jack. Now covering reduces declarer’s tricks.
The goal isn’t to follow a rule. The goal is to minimize declarer’s tricks.
Common Mistakes
Covering too fast
If you snap the king onto dummy’s queen, declarer knows you have it. If instead you think for a moment (whether you have it or not), declarer has to guess. Smooth tempo is part of defense.
Not covering the last of a sequence
Dummy has QJ10. You duck the queen, duck the jack, then duck the 10. Wrong. You should have covered the 10. That’s the last of the sequence.
Covering when partner is marked with the trick
Dummy leads the queen, and from the bidding you know partner has the ace. Don’t cover. Let partner win their ace and save your king for later.
Covering in front of a finesse
Dummy has AQ. You have the king in front of dummy. Declarer leads toward dummy. Don’t play the king. That’s what declarer wants. Play low and make them guess which card to play from dummy.
A Practical Example
You’re defending 3NT. Dummy has ♠QJ1063. You have ♠K84. Declarer leads the queen from dummy.
Don’t cover. You’re looking at QJ10. The 10 is visible, so you know this is a sequence of touching honors. Cover the last one.
Declarer wins the queen. Leads the jack from dummy.
Don’t cover. The 10 is still there.
Declarer wins the jack. Leads the 10 from dummy.
Now cover. This is the last of the sequence.
If partner has A97, they win the ace after you play the king. The suit is dead. If you’d covered the queen on the first round, declarer would have won the ace, and the J10 would both be good.
If partner has 972, declarer was always getting the tricks. But at least you didn’t help by covering early.
The Bottom Line
The rule “cover an honor with an honor” exists because it works most of the time. When declarer leads an honor and you have a higher one, covering often promotes partner’s cards.
But bridge is a game of judgment. Use the rule as your starting point, then adjust based on:
- What you see in dummy
- What partner might have
- Whether covering actually promotes anything
- The layout of the whole hand
Cover when it helps. Duck when it doesn’t. And always take a moment to think before you play, whether you’re covering or not. Smooth tempo beats automatic plays every time.