Mighty

After the cards are dealt, a bidding phase begins to determine the declarer. If you are unsure how high you should bid, first examine your hand for a potential opening lead. If you have a strong opening lead, it is generally safe to bid a contract equal to the number of trump cards you expect to establish.

For example, if you hold the ♥A as a strong opening lead and have five ♣, you can reasonably bid 15♣. If you have six ♣, you may bid 16♣.

Do not overthink the bidding. You can bid confidently, become the declarer, and refine your plan after checking the three blind cards. If you do not have a reliable opening lead, you may consider bidding one point lower or placing some trust in the blind cards. In practice, many players aim for a contract of 15, so do not hesitate to bid aggressively when appropriate.

Now, you have become the declarer. Suppose your contract is 15♣. Which cards should you keep from the blind cards, and which cards should you discard?

The first priority is to discard ambiguous point cards. For example, if your hand contains ◆7 and ◆J, the ◆J should be discarded first. Any point cards discarded to the blind count as captured by the declarer, so it is usually better to discard uncertain points rather than risk losing them during play. After discarding ◆J, the remaining ◆7 becomes a singleton and should also be discarded. By eliminating one suit in this way, the declarer can more easily control the hand using trump cards.

If your hand contains ◆7 and ◆K, you may again discard the ◆ suit in the same manner, as it is difficult to draw out the ◆A in a single lead. However, if your hand contains ◆7, ◆8, and ◆K, keeping the ◆ suit and discarding cards from other suits may be the better choice. In this case, leading diamonds twice may force out ◆A, allowing the ◆K to become the top card.

Consider another example: suppose your remaining cards are ♠Q, ◆4, ◆J, ♥3, ♥Q. In this situation, discarding ♠Q first is often the best choice. You may hesitate between discarding one suit or discarding a point card, but in general, it is preferable to discard point cards even if doing so leaves your suit uneven. Therefore, in this case, I recommend discarding ♠Q, ◆J, and ♥Q.

If you do not have the Mighty card, you should almost always select Mighty Friend, since the Mighty is the most powerful card in the game. Choosing a different Friend at a severe disadvantage in nearly every case. (If this happens repeatedly, people may not want to play with you.)

• There are essentially no alternatives. If you do not hold the Mighty, you should select Mighty Friend. Remember that when the trump suit is a spade, the Mighty is the ◆A.

So what if you do have the Mighty? In this case, you usually have two main options: Joker Friend or First Help Friend. Deciding between these two is often difficult and depends heavily on the situation. First Help Friend means that the first player who helps the declarer and wins the first trick becomes the Friend.

• If you have the Mighty card and have a reliable opening lead, selecting Joker Friend is generally a good choice. In this case, you can follow the standard game plan:
  1. Lead with your opening lead.
  2. Play a low trump card to give the Joker an opportunity to appear.
  3. When your Friend leads a trick with a trump card, play the Mighty to draw out the defenders' remaining trumps.

What if you have the Mighty but do not have an opening lead? In this situation, choosing Joker Friend becomes more questionable. You may have experienced the following dilemma:

• "I have the Mighty, but no opening lead. If I choose Joker Friend and lose the first trick, the defenders may play a Jocall and force out the Joker. To avoid this, I might have to play the Mighty on the opening lead."

In this case, First Help Friend may be more attractive than Joker Friend. Securing the first trick in a stable manner is crucial for the declarer. The advantages of selecting First Help Friend include:

1. Instead of spending the Mighty on the opening lead, you may allow your Friend to win the first trick and then use the Mighty on the second trick when a trump suit is led.

2. You can anticipate a Jocall from your Friend if you are using signal cards. (Signal cards will be discussed later.)

3. If you hold the Jocall and select First Help Friend, and your Friend wins the first trick, you can play the Mighty on the second trick, allowing you to call the Joker at an optimal timing.

In short, if you hold the Mighty but lack an opening lead, you should carefully consider whether Joker Friend or First Help Friend is the better choice. Experience plays a major role here, and developing a feel for which option works best comes with practice.

Next, we will examine the basic strategies of the declarer.