More experienced players will know about gapped finessing vs dummy (okay I made up that term right now but I bet you can figure out what it means.) This article will not cover gap finesses, because that is seriously so, so hard.

Many partnership things in bridge are something you and partner discuss and decide beforehand. Conversations like

If I open 1S, I show 5+ spades and 12+ points.

If I play a small card, that’s encouraging.

“What about when declarer leads the suit?”

Oh, then my small card shows an odd number.

But Third Hand High (Enough) is one of the few things in bridge that is not a partnership agreement. It is simply the only correct way to play. This article talks about what to play from equivalent cards in third seat when attempting to win the trick.

But why Third Hand High?

zoolander

In all of the diagrams, declarer is south, the closed hand. We are either E or W.

Let’s start at the beginning. What is third hand high? Why is third hand high? And would anyone please ask, how is third hand high?

Third Hand High applies when you are in third seat and you are trying to win the trick.

     AK2
5   -----   Q863
    (closed
      hand)

Declarer calls one of the top honors from dummy. This is not third hand high. We can give a signal here. Spoilers: we are not winning this trick.

Let’s take a look at when third hand high applies.

    654
2  -----  QT3
  (closed
    hand)

Partner leads the 2 and dummy plays the 4. What card do we play? The 3, letting declarer win a cheap trick? No way.

So is the T good enough? Imagine declarer has AJ5. If we play the T, declarer will win the J. Then later he will take the A, for a total of two tricks. This is the layout.

      654
K972 -----  QT3
      AJ8 

Declarer is not entitled to the J! I urge you to lay out the cards yourself and try this to be sure you understand it. If we put in the Q, declarer can win the A or not. Regardless, East will play the T next, and declarer’s J will be trapped and cannot score a trick.

So when we play third hand high, we play our highest card, not our high-ish card.¹

Let’s try another fundamental one.

    876
 2 ----- K95
  (closed
    hand)

Are you worried that your King will be captured by the Ace? That’s okay! Do not let declarer win a cheap trick! If you don’t drive out the Ace now, they’ll simply win some spot (like the T or the J), and still have the Ace for later! If this is the full layout:

      876
QT42 -----  K95
      AJ3 

Then declarer is entitled to the A and A alone. The J cannot be scored legitimately, unless you do not put up the K. By playing third hand high, we are trying to punch declarer’s high card in the mouth.

This is the goal of third hand high. Note that it’s not always right to play third hand high – you still have to use logic and be thinking. But if your third hand high prevents declarer from winning a cheap trick while also potentially establishing partner’s (or your own) high cards, then it’s probably right.

But why Third Hand High (Enough)?

zoolander

Third Hand High (Enough) is how a defending partnership can begin to sort out their combined holdings. Let’s look at an example from above, but improve one single card.

     654
 2  -----   QJ3
  (closed
    hand)

Partner leads the 2.

Our suit in the previous section was QT3. We had to follow the Q, third hand high, to prevent declarer from winning the J.

This time we have QJ3. So we could follow either of the high cards. They’re equivalent; who cares which one we play? We just gotta play one, right?

Right?

Unfortunately, partner cannot see our cards! If we play the Q, partner won’t know that we have the J. Okay, so we play the J, lowest of equivalents. That shows the Q, right?

Well… it’s a little more complicated than that. What if we were dealt the J and no higher honor? Then we would have to play J, third hand high, right? So what gives? What the hell is the point of this article?

When third hand plays 3HH, the strictly correct interpretation is that third hand’s card denies the card below. So when we follow the Q, it denies the J. When we follow the J, it denies the T. It does not promise the Q. It may imply it.

What if we had QJT instead of QJ3? Then we play the T. QJT95? Play the 9.

Often, it will still be ambiguous. But at least there is the chance that partner has the next higher cards. In fact, sometimes it will be very clear!

     AJ2
876 ----- Q played
   (closed
    hand)

Let’s say we chose to lead the 8 of this suit, top of nothing vs the opponents’ NT. Declarer calls small from dummy. Partner plays the Q and it wins the trick.

Where is the K?

Partner has it, right!? What declarer would duck the Q here? So in this case, partner’s Q while not promising the K, makes it quite clear who holds it! It would behoove us to continue this suit at our first opportunity. Partner cannot attack it from his side; only we can play this suit.

For completeness, let’s try the same thing as E. It is important when reading and practicing to do it from both sides of the partnership! It will help you build empathy, a critical bridge skill. And life skill. Maybe.

      AJ2
  8  -----  KQ54
    (closed
      hand)

Partner leads the 8. Declarer follows small from dummy. You play the Q. Good job!

Notice how cruel this is on partner if you follow the K. Why on earth would partner think that you have the Q? In fact, when we understand 3HHE, the play of the K denies the Q.

Now let me change this hand just a little more.

    AJ2
 6 ----- KQT93
  (closed
    hand)

Wow, hell of a lead, partner! When dummy plays small, we contribute the nine, lowest of equivalents. Dummy’s J is finessed, so our T9 are equivalents to the KQ too. When it holds the trick, partner will know what’s up. Also, when we win the trick, we will continue with the K, top of an honor sequence.

In summary, Third Hand High (Enough) is only when following in third seat, and only when we are trying to actively contribute to the trick. Follow lowest of equivalents to give your side a chance to analyze the deal correctly and put up your best fighting chance! And once you understand this rule, you can understand when you should violate it, and the fact that partner will see your violation and will be wondering why you have done this may alert him that something drastic needs to happen on the deal!