A lot has been written about opening moves.

We’ve all heard some of the popular maxims as bridge players. “When in doubt, lead a spade,” is just one of possibly thousands of them.

But what about the things an opening card for the trick can tell you about your opponent?

The opening move of a trick can be compared to the act of walking over to another person in a bar and saying, “Hi!” (In some instances, it can also be compared to walking into a bar and flipping people off…)

Bidding is agreed to be the language of bridge. The first card an opponent picks to open their trick with counts, too.

Whether it’s the first trick, the sixth, or the second-last, here’s what a first card has to say.

“I know I’m losing this trick,”

Where a cunning opponent willingly foregoes a trick, beware. They’re usually holding into their good cards for the next trick – and it’s a sure sign that you should play your next card more carefully.

“I’m changing suit,”

Leading a trick gives a player the advantage of choosing the suit for said trick. This is an advantage for them, and could be a major disadvantage for you. At times, it can feel like you’ve just had your suit ripped off – and here you’re standing, naked as a baby. Consider your next move with extreme care.

“Fill me in, partner,”

Has your opponent just opened with a very weak choice? They might be relying on their partner’s likelihood of playing the stronger card in the same suit.

It’s the equivalent of tagging in your partner at wrestling. Again, careful with how you intend to respond to this. (This is not a good point to be out of your own high-cards.)

“Have some of this,”

Leading with any of the AKQJ combinations in the strongest suit can change the game. (It can also lose the game. It depends, of course, what you’re doing with the rest of the cards…)

When an opponent chooses to open strong, it’s likely that the rest of their game could be strong, too. Also remember, once they’ve played these cards, they don’t have them in their hand anymore.

Just like any other game, it depends what you do from here.

“I’m just distracting here,”

When the first card of an opponent’s trick seems too low, it can mean that they’re simply putting it out there as a distraction. Either your opponent just messed up, or they planned to do it.

There’s usually a couple of won tricks planned for their play from there.

“Oops,”

Sometimes an opponent can open with a card that was an obvious mistake.

These wouldn’t count as a mis-click, just a bad strategic choice.

Where an opening card appears to have been a judgment error, it gives an opponent something to exploit.

Here, it’s okay to play some stronger cards. And of course, make sure you’re not the player who made the bad choice!