K-strip — low trump bait before the boss (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: the K-strip. Trump (giruda) is ♦, contract 16, and Mighty is ♠A. The Friend card is the Joker, so P4, holding the Joker, is my Friend. I hold the boss trump ♦A, but P3 holds ♦K, ♦Q and ♦10 outside. Watch me lead low trumps as bait first, then catch the King with the Ace once it stands alone.
Trick 1
I opened with the non-trump boss ♥A. My Friend, out of hearts, loaded the ♠J.
Trick 2
Holding back the ♦A, I led my lowest diamond, the ♦4. It's bait to pull the defenders' trumps cheaply. P3 gave up the ♦10, and my Friend took it with the Joker.
Trick 3
My Friend continued the trump drain with the ♦7. I saved the ♦A and won with the Mighty, and P3 played the ♦Q. Now P3 has only the ♦K left.
Trick 4
Now I led the ♦A. P3 had to play the last diamond, the ♦K, and it fell to the Ace. Had I started with the Ace, the King would have survived under the cover of the Queen and the 10.
Trick 5
One more round with the ♦J pulled all the remaining outside trumps. I saved my ♦9 and ♦6 for ruffing only.
Trick 6
Now my weakness shows. I led the ♥4, and the defenders took it with the ♥J for their first 2 points.
Trick 7
The defenders kept attacking hearts, and my ♥Q fell to the ♥K. The defenders took 4 points from hearts alone.
Trick 8
Now the counterattack. The defenders led the ♣A and loaded the ♣K, but playing last, I had been void in clubs from the start. I ruffed with the ♦6 and won back 3 points. That's the value of not spending all my trumps.
Trick 9
I led the ♠9, and my Friend covered with the boss ♠K for 2 points.
Trick 10
On the last trick I ruffed with my remaining ♦9, making exactly 16 — the contract.
Result
16:4, the contract made exactly. Don't play your boss the moment you hold it; strip away the low cards protecting the opponent's big card first, then play it — that's the K-strip. You can step through this game yourself in the Basics Replay section of Mighty Korea's school (mightykorea.com).