West leads the jack of clubs. What do you do? You win in your hand and lead a heart immediately. This puts tempo pressure on West. Will he have the presence of mind to duck the ace? If West plays low without hesitation, my guess is that if you play the jack, you are better than 50-50 to be right.

 

You are declarer in Six Hearts with:

ª	K Q 9
©	K J 8 3
¨	A Q 5 2
§	K 8
	N
	S
ª	10 7 2
©	A 10 9 7
¨	K J 10
§	A J 4

 

West takes a considerable amount of time and leads the ace of spades. My experience tells me that East is more likely to hold the queen of trumps. Most players, even experts, avoid huddling on opening lead when they hold crucial cards.

 

You are West on the following deal:

	North Dealer	ª	A K 10 8
	Love All	©	K J 6 4
		¨	10 8
		§	Q 7 5
			N
ª	Q J 6
©	A 5 3 2		W                          E
¨	K J 4 2
§	9 8
			S
		ª
		©
		¨
		§

                            

W	N	E	S
	1♣		1♠
	2♠		4♠

 

You lead the two of diamonds. Your partner wins the ace and leads back the five with declarer playing the seven and queen. Don't cash the ace of hearts and sit back smugly for the setting trick. Declarer may assume, since you are not playing your partner either for the queen of hearts or for a club trick, that you hold precisely QJx or QJxx of spades and he may (and probably should) finesse you out of your trump trick.

Body language with intent to mislead has no place at the bridge table. Rather, I am addressing what you can do to make yourself difficult to play against. Don't look bored with a Yarborough. Don't sweat when baring a king offside. Play confidently, although you may expect a poor result, and make your opponents guess what to do.

 

My BOLS bridge tip is:

Keep a steady demeanor and consistent tempo, both in bidding and play.
When your opponents' tempo varies, look for a reason for it.