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Odd-Even Discards (Roman Discards)


Odd/Even Discards (aka Roman Discards) are a type of signal for attitude and suit preference. The first discard of a spot card has the following meanings:

  • An odd spot card (9, 7, 5, 3) encourages that suit.

  • A high even spot card discourages that suit, and is a suit-preference signal for the higher side suit.

  • A low even spot card discourages that suit, and is a suit-preference signal for the lower side suit.


Example

Against South's 3NT contract, partner leads the 2:

Dummy
K9
Q43
963You
KQJT9AQJT
8752
T87
64

Dummy plays low, you insert the T, and declarer wins the ace. Declarer now leads a club to dummy's K, continues with the Q, and then the J. What do you discard?

Playing standard methods, discarding the 2 would discourage hearts but wouldn't encourage partner to lead a spade if he gets in. If you discard the 7 instead, this is a muddy-looking card that may be difficult for partner to decipher. Lastly, discarding the T would encourage spades, but likely wastes a spade trick.

Playing odd-even discards, you can discard the 8. This being a high even card, it discourages hearts while simultaneously indicating a preference for spades, the higher remaining suit.

Partner in fact has been holding up the A to see your discard. Once he wins the trick, he can switch to a spade to defeat the contract. The full deal:

Dummy
K9
Q43
Partner963You
432KQJT9AQJT
J968752
QJ52DeclarerT87
A87S876564
HAKT
DAK4
C532


Other Considerations

  • Odd-even discards are only used at a defender's first discarding opportunity.

  • The disadvantage to playing odd-even discards is that you may not hold the necessary odd or even pip cards to signal correctly on a particular deal.

  • Some players also use odd-even signals in attitude situations. However, the risk of holding the "incorrect" pip cards increases, since you often have a limited set of cards to follow suit with (e.g. a tripleton).