Module 2 Reference — Defensive Signals

The Three Messages — and Which Applies

Signal	Question	Standard meaning
Attitude	"Do I like this suit?"	High encourages, low discourages top priority
Count	"How many do I hold?"	High-low = even, low-high = odd
Suit preference	"Which OTHER suit?"	High = higher side suit, low = lower

Whose suit is it? — A-C-A. Partner's suit → Attitude (then count). Declarer's suit → Count (then suit preference). Your discard → Attitude (then suit preference). Signalling is a partnership agreement — NOT part of ACOL or SAYC; this course teaches Standard. Recognise UDCA / Odd-Even / DODDS to agree with a new partner, but you needn't play them.

Attitude — the Everyday Signal

Point	Detail
When	Partner leads and you follow; and on your first discard
High spot card	Encourages — "keep leading this" — the highest you can spare
Low spot card	Discourages — "look elsewhere" — the lowest you hold
Returning partner's suit	From a doubleton, the higher card; from three+, your original fourth-highest (a length message)

High is happy. Never burn a working card on a signal, never signal in the wrong situation, never let your tempo do the talking. (Upside-down? Low is loyal.)

Count — How Many Do I Hold?

Point	Detail
When	Declarer or dummy leads and you follow — attitude is irrelevant, length isn't
High-then-low	Even number (a doubleton comes down high-low automatically)
Low-then-high	Odd number
Its great use	Times a hold-up — tells partner exactly when to take an ace and strand declarer
Beaten early?	Show length on the NEXT round with the cards you have left (the extended count — agree it)

High-low, even I know. Trump echo: high-low in trumps holding 3+ = "I want to ruff" — and it's the same for everyone, Standard or upside-down.

Suit Preference — Which Other Suit?

Point	Detail
When	Only once attitude AND count are meaningless — most often when you give partner a ruff
High card	Asks for the higher-ranking of the two obvious side suits
Low card	Asks for the lower-ranking
Never	The trump suit or the suit in play — always the two other side suits

High card, high suit — the size of a ruffing card is a signpost to your entry. Unlike attitude and count, suit preference is played the same way whether or not you use the upside-down method.

The Smith Peters (NT)

Point	Detail
What	Your FIRST card in declarer's suit reports back on partner's opening lead
High	"I liked your lead — come back to it"
Low	"Your lead's going nowhere — switch"
Why it matters	Answers persist-or-shift, the guess that decides most no-trump defences — and it's the systemic fix for the count-vs-attitude ambiguity

Smith speaks of the suit you left behind. A partnership agreement — agree it (and alert when asked); it overrides plain count on that first card.

Discarding Without Giving It Away

Point	Detail
Two audiences	Every card you drop is read by partner AND declarer
You shed from strength	You part most easily with a card from an A/K suit — declarer knows it, so it maps your honours
Length leaks too	Each discard crosses a card off your shape — you do declarer's counting for him
Guard your holding	Keep length parity with dummy; never bare a king or queen just to keep a signal tidy
False picture	Paint one only once the count proves honest defence loses — and never at the cost of partner's read

Two people read every card you drop. Ask not just what it tells partner, but what it tells declarer — and throw the card that helps the first without arming the second.