Double Finesse

A double finesse is a finesse that's taken against two opposing honor cards:

		Dummy
		AQT
West				East
K98				J765
		South
		432

South is on lead and needs two spade tricks. A double finesse can be taken by leading a low spade to dummy's T. If East shows up with either the J or K, South can take a second spade finesse upon regaining the lead.

This is superior to finessing the Q whenever West has both the king and jack.

However, when faced with a 9-card holding, it may slightly better mathematically to finesse the queen:

		Dummy
		AQT83
West				East
???				???
		South
		6542

In this layout, South is in hand and needs all 5 heart tricks. It's best to finesse the Q and then play the A. (Note that if South only needs 4 heart tricks, the correct line is to lead to the A first.)