Editing Signal (bridge) (section)

==Suit preference signal==
This signal is used infrequently. When it is clear that the choice of lead is between two suits, the play of a high card on a previous trick suggests the lead of the higher-ranking suit and a low card suggests the lower-ranking suit. There are four common cases:
*When following suit on one's partner's lead (complement to the attitude signal): In situations where one's partner has made an opening lead and an attitude signal would not be meaningful, such as when dummy displays a singleton or void in the suit being led, a suit preference signal is used to indicate which of the other two suits to lead – excluding trumps and the suit originally led. The signal can also be useful when a switch to a side suit is not desired, since there are hands in which continuing the original suit or switching to a trump is the right thing to do. In this case, a middle card is often used to indicate this situation, but it can be hard to read.
*When leading in a suit one's partner is expected to [[ruff (cards)|ruff]]: The rank of the card led suggests a preference for the suits to be returned by one's partner after the ruff. Letting one's partner know this may allow one to regain the lead for another ruff. For example, in each of the two hands below, partner has led what is likely a singleton club against a 4{{Hearts}} contract. After winning the {{Clubs}}A, the lead of {{Clubs}}10 for the first hand and {{Clubs}}2 for the second hand indicates which suit partner should return.
**{{BridgeHandInline|A964|104|765|A1062}}
**{{BridgeHandInline|765|104|A964|A1062}}
*When following suit on the declarer/dummy's lead of a long suit (complement to the count signal): When partner has a single honor, a suit preference signal shows which of dummy's side suits is preferred for partner to return after winning a trick. If there is no side entry, the card is a count signal to show one's partner when is best to win or [[duck (bridge)|duck]] a trick.
*When discarding – see below
*Some defenders use the trump suit to show suit preference. When a defender can afford to play either of two trump cards, following suit with the higher card first shows interest in the higher ranking suit while playing the lower card first indicates interest in the lower ranking suit. This is a non-standard agreement – see count signal above.