Handing the lead to the Friend (declarer's view)
'Me' at the bottom is the viewpoint player; P2–P5 are the other four seats.
Setup
Mighty Basics Replay. This game is from the declarer's view: handing the lead to the Friend. Trump (giruda) is ♣, contract 17. Mighty is ♠A, and I called the Mighty as the Friend card, so P5 is my Friend. I hold the Joker, trumps ♣A, ♣J, ♣7, ♣4, and ♥A from the kitty, with no diamonds at all. Watch the declarer deliberately lead losing cards instead of trying to win everything, handing the lead to a strong Friend.
Trick 1
You can't lead trump on the first trick, so I made the opening lead with the non-trump boss ♥A.
Trick 2
I started the trump drain with ♣A. My Friend P5 loaded ♣K onto the declarer's sure winner. Loading honors.
Trick 3
The first handoff to the Friend. I led a low ♣4. It drains trumps and, at the same time, hands over the lead with a card that cannot win. My Friend took it with ♣Q.
Trick 4
My Friend led the boss ♦A. Void in diamonds, I saved my trumps and loaded ♥J. With the defenders' honors, that is 4 points in one trick.
Trick 5
My Friend led a low ♦5 into my void to give the lead back. I took it with the Joker. The Joker loses its power on the last trick, so I spent it early and kept my trumps.
Trick 6
I finished the trump drain with ♣J. The defenders' last trump, ♣10, came out, and counting the clubs played, the defenders have no trumps left. So I stop draining here.
Trick 7
The second handoff, and the turning point of this game. With ♥K still out, I led ♥Q, which could not win. The defenders loaded ♥K and ♦K hoping their side would win, but my Friend, last to play, covered everything with the Mighty. That is 5 points in one trick.
Trick 8
With the lead, my Friend led ♠K, now the boss, and this trick made our contract of 17.
Trick 9
My Friend's ♦9 won as the boss, and I loaded ♠J instead of ruffing.
Trick 10
The last trick. I ruffed my Friend's ♠4 with my last saved trump, ♣7. No trumps are left outside, so even a 7 wins.
Result
20:0, a run. For all ten tricks the lead passed only between me and my Friend; the defenders never led once. Instead of trying to win everything alone, hand the lead to a strong Friend — that's handing the lead to the Friend. You can step through this game yourself in the Basics Replay section of Mighty Korea's school (mightykorea.com).