[Double !]

I play but struggle with UDCA, so I need some input regarding carding.

1) holding 2 smallish cards in a suit, should you decide to lead that suit at trick 1, which card do you lead?


1a) holding 2 smallish cards in a suit, should you decide to lead that suit after trick 1, which card do you lead?


2) If playing udca, do you also reverse carding when giving a suit preference signal such as when leading a card for partner to trump? e.g.: playing a higher card to ask for a shift to the lower of logical alternatives (as opposed to playing a small card to request the lower suit.)

n.b. I have gotten conflicting answers on these topics, so, as always, TIA.

dhl

[cherdano]

Short answer: UDCA = Upside-Down Count and Attitude.
1) Lead agreements are a separate issue from udca vs standard carding, just make your normal leads unless you have agreed otherwise.
1a) See 1).
2) No (unless you have specifically agreed upside-down suit preference).

[the hog]

UDCA - called Reverse count outside the US - refers to the cards you play on partner's leads.

Playing standard methods, either on the opening lead, or in the middle game, you lead the top from 2 small cards.

You do not reverse methods when playing back a card for pd to trump. A high card calls for the return of a high ranking suit, a low card for the return of a low ranking suit.

[jmc]

I have often wondered if subsequent discards are UDCA or standard. So declarer is running his long suit and I decide to pitch 2S because I want a spade. My next discard is ostensibly a count signal, so, if i have 4 clubs, 8632, do I play 2?

I have had some very good players tell me that when discarding playing UDCA, you still give present count using standard methods.

Marilyn Hemenway has a little article about this that she calls "LSD: Leads Signals and Discards." You can find it here:

http://www.omahabrid...Pubs/L_S_D2.pdf

How do you and your partners do it?

Mhem gives an example on the bottom of page 26 that illustrates the issue well.

Dummy is 104, 853, KQJ96, 932 and the ops are in 3nt. You hold J7, QJ764, 10872, K10. Partner leads a C and your Kc wins, partner overtakes the 10c and returns the Qc. It is probably time to discard and give partner a signal. If you want to give a count signal in diamonds what do you play playing UDCA? If your methods require first discard to be att, pretend you want to give a d discard as your second discard, having already used the first discard to show h values.

jmc

[skjaeran]

1a) This depends upon your opening lead agreements. I play 2nd and 4th, but 1st/3rd/5th in parner's suit. So I lead low if the suit is unbid by partner and low if he's bid it.

1b) This depends upon your subsequent lead agreements. We play attitude subsequent leads in general. So here I lead high. But if partner's signalled for the suit, we give count. In that case I lead low.

2) I play straight lavinthal - a high card ask for the highest suit, a low for the lowest suit.