How can I practice opening leads?

Use a trainer that sets you many lead problems and grades each card you could choose. The BridgeTricks Lead Trainer does this with double dummy analysis at IMPs and matchpoints. Lead polls on Bridge Winners and a good book are useful extras.

Is there a free opening lead trainer?

Yes. The BridgeTricks daily set and lead duels are free without a limit, and a free account adds 3 practice hands a day. Bridge-Trainer for iPad and iPhone is free, Bridgetastic gives 5 free lead queries a day, and Bridge Winners polls are free.

How does a computer grade an opening lead?

It cannot see the hidden hands either, so it deals them many times in ways that fit the auction. A double dummy solver then plays each layout with all four hands in view, and each lead is scored over all of them. The more layouts it uses, the steadier the grade. BridgeTricks uses 4,000 layouts for every hand.

Is the best lead the same at IMPs and matchpoints?

Not always. At IMPs beating the contract matters most, so a lead that may give away an overtrick can still be right. At matchpoints every trick counts, so a safe lead often scores better. The Lead Trainer grades each lead both ways.

Where can I learn the rules for opening leads?

Start with the opening leads guide, which explains which suit and which card to lead against notrump and suit contracts. Then practice them on as many hands as you can.

Opening lead practice in 2026: trainers, polls and books

Updated 18 October 2026

BridgeTricks is our own product. Every other app is described from its own site and store listing, checked on 18 October 2026.

Picking the right card to lead is a skill you can train, yet most players meet the problem only a few times a session. Practice tools give you lead after lead, and the better ones tell you how each card would have done. Some suggest a lead for a hand you bring, some poll other players, and books teach the thinking behind it.

5 ways to practice opening leads at a glance

Opening lead practice tools compared

	Best for	Platforms	Price
BridgeTricks Lead Trainer	Graded lead practice at IMPs and matchpoints	Any browser, computer or phone	Daily set and duels free, 3 practice hands a day free; Pro $7 a month, Master $12 a month
Bridgetastic lead advisor	A suggested lead for a hand you enter	Web	5 lead queries a day free; Pro $5 a month or $39 a year
Bridge-Trainer	Learning the lead rules step by step	iPad and iPhone	Free, no ads, no account
Bridge Winners lead polls	Seeing what strong players would lead	Web	Free
Books on opening leads	The reasoning behind leads	Book	Depends on the seller

Prices and features checked on 18 October 2026. Sources: Bridgetastic pricing, the Bridge-Trainer listing on the App Store, Bridge Winners and BridgeTricks pricing. Prices are web prices, in US dollars.

BridgeTricks Lead Trainer

The Lead Trainer shows you a hand and an auction, and you pick a card. The three hidden hands are then dealt 4,000 times in ways that fit the bidding, a double dummy solver plays each layout out, and every lead you could have made is scored at IMPs and at matchpoints. You see how your card compared with every other one, and you can ask Kib, the AI explainer, about the hand (3 questions in total on the free and Pro plans, 50 a day on Master).

There is a daily set of 5 hands that is the same for everyone, unlimited duels with a rating, a practice mode, and survival and rush runs. Free accounts get 3 practice hands and 3 arcade runs a day, Pro ($7 a month or $60 a year) gets 10, and Master ($12 a month or $99 a year) has no limit. It trains only the opening lead and does not cover the defense after the first trick.

Bridgetastic lead advisor

Bridgetastic is a website built around an AI coach. Its opening lead advisor takes an auction and a hand you enter and suggests a lead with its reasoning, and the same page has 18 practice drills. The free plan allows 5 lead queries a day, and Pro costs $5 a month or $39 a year. It suits a player who wants to check a lead from the last session.

Bridge-Trainer

Bridge-Trainer is a free app by Avi Berger, made for the iPad and also listed for the iPhone, with no ads and no account. Its lead modules cover leading from sequences, fourth best, and active against passive leads. Other modules teach suit combinations such as finesses, safety plays and the hold-up, as well as bidding and scoring. It suits a newer player who wants the rules one step at a time. It has only a handful of App Store ratings so far.

Bridge Winners lead polls

Bridge Winners is a free community site where members post lead problems as polls. Other members vote for a card and explain their choice in the comments, so you see what strong players would lead and why. The polls show opinions, though, and nothing is scored against a double dummy result.

Books on opening leads

A book explains in depth why one lead beats another. Mike Lawrence has written on opening leads, and so have David Bird and Taf Anthias. A book cannot react to the card you would have picked, though, so it works best next to a trainer.

How to choose

To get a score for every card you could lead: BridgeTricks Lead Trainer.
To check a lead you made at the club: Bridgetastic's lead advisor.
To learn the basic rules on an iPad or iPhone: Bridge-Trainer.
To see what strong players would lead: Bridge Winners polls.
To learn the reasoning in depth: a book by Mike Lawrence, or by David Bird and Taf Anthias.
To read the standard rules first: the opening leads guide.

FAQ

Common questions

Short answers to what readers ask most.

How can I practice opening leads?: Use a trainer that sets you many lead problems and grades each card you could choose. The BridgeTricks Lead Trainer does this with double dummy analysis at IMPs and matchpoints. Lead polls on Bridge Winners and a good book are useful extras.
Is there a free opening lead trainer?: Yes. The BridgeTricks daily set and lead duels are free without a limit, and a free account adds 3 practice hands a day. Bridge-Trainer for iPad and iPhone is free, Bridgetastic gives 5 free lead queries a day, and Bridge Winners polls are free.
How does a computer grade an opening lead?: It cannot see the hidden hands either, so it deals them many times in ways that fit the auction. A double dummy solver then plays each layout with all four hands in view, and each lead is scored over all of them. The more layouts it uses, the steadier the grade. BridgeTricks uses 4,000 layouts for every hand.
Is the best lead the same at IMPs and matchpoints?: Not always. At IMPs beating the contract matters most, so a lead that may give away an overtrick can still be right. At matchpoints every trick counts, so a safe lead often scores better. The Lead Trainer grades each lead both ways.
Where can I learn the rules for opening leads?: Start with the opening leads guide, which explains which suit and which card to lead against notrump and suit contracts. Then practice them on as many hands as you can.

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