Trump drain first — when to hold your boss card (Friend'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 Friend's view: trump drain first. Trump (giruda) is ♠, contract 13, and P2 is the declarer. Mighty is ♦A, and the Friend card is the Mighty, so I, holding it, am the Friend. My only trump is the ♠10, while the defenders hold as many as seven trumps. Watch what happens when you push a boss card while defender trumps are still out.
Trick 1
The declarer opened with the boss ♥A. I couldn't win with hearts, so I played my lowest, the ♥3.
Trick 2
The declarer started a trump drain with the ♠2. Playing last, I won it with my only trump, the ♠10. But remember: the ♠A hasn't appeared yet.
Trick 3
I led a low ♣8. The declarer took it with the Joker, and P4 had to give up their only club, the ♣A. Now P4 is void in clubs, but nobody knows it yet.
Trick 4
The declarer drained trumps once more with the ♠7. With no trumps of my own, I covered with the Mighty and won back 3 points. But the ♠A is still out there.
Trick 5
This is the turning point of the game. I led my boss card, the ♣K. But P4, now void in clubs, ruffed with the ♠5, and P5 loaded an honor. While defender trumps remain, even a boss card gets ruffed. With no trumps in my hand, the right play was to give the lead back to the declarer with a low card.
Trick 6
Holding the lead, the defenders took 2 more points with ♥J and ♥K. In exchange, the declarer's ♥Q became the boss heart.
Trick 7
P5 led a club and the declarer ruffed with the ♠8, but P4 over-ruffed with the ♠A. Tied at 7:7. But that was the defenders' last trump.
Trick 8
Now the game turns around again. P4 led the ♦Q, and the declarer, who had emptied diamonds in the exchange, ruffed with the ♠J. The defenders have no trumps left, so they can't over-ruff.
Trick 9
The declarer led the boss ♥Q. With the defenders out of trumps, a non-trump boss passes safely.
Trick 10
Last came the declarer's ♠K. Now the highest trump, it added 3 points to make exactly 13 — the contract.
Result
13:7, a narrow win. Boss cards come after the defenders run out of trumps. Count the big trumps still unplayed, and if you hold no trumps, return the lead to the declarer with a low card instead of a boss. You can step through this game yourself in the Basics Replay section of Mighty Korea's school (mightykorea.com).