3rd and 5th Leads

Playing 3rd and 5th does not affect when or if to lead an honor, what honor to lead, what to return, how to signal, or any other carding you may have. It only affects when you are on opening lead and have decided to lead a small card

So how do you lead 3rd and 5th? Very easy. When you are leading a small card in a suit of odd length, lead the smallest, otherwise lead 3rd best.

3rd and 5th solves several problems.

• Partner is usually given an immediate count of opening leader's suit length. If the card is the smallest, then opening leader has an odd number. Otherwise an even number.
• When playing 4th best, leading from 3 was a problem. So playing 4th best usually turned into 3rd or 4th best, which is hard to decipher from only one card.

Might as well play 3/5 always against suit contracts and solve the problem.

Third and fifth opening leads were originally designed for four or five card suits, respectively. From a four card suit, the third highest card is led. From a five card suit (or longer), the fifth highest card is led.

• K82 - lead the 2 (3rd best, smallest)
• K842 - lead the 4 (3rd best from an even number)
• K8653- lead the 3 (5th best, also the smallest)
• K97653 - lead the 5 (5th best from an even number)

Alternatively, many players use third and fifth leads from an even or odd number of cards, respectively. The opening leader leads the third highest card from an even number of cards in a suit, and the fifth highest card from an odd number.

Examples:

• K82 - lead the 2 (3rd best, smallest)
• K842 - lead the 4 (3rd best from an even number)
• K8653- lead the 3 (5th best)
• K97653 - lead the 7 (3rd best from an even number)

There is a disadvantage to 3rd and 5th leads in that the third highest card is sometimes too costly to lead. For example, leading the 9 from KJ92 can easily blow a trick.

Using the Rules of 10 and 12 to determine 3rd and 5th leads

The Rule of 10

The Rule of 10 is used when a lead is fifth-best. It works as follows:

• Subtract the opening lead spot card from 10.
• Also subtract the number of cards in dummy that are higher than the card led.
• Finally, subtract the number of cards in your hand that are higher than the card led.
• The final number equals how many higher cards declarer holds in the suit.

The Rule of 12

The Rule of 12 is used when a lead is third-best. It works the same as the Rule of 10, except that the starting number is 12.