[gurgistan]

This is a meta question about discards.

I play Roman discards, ie, if I discard odd then I want that suit and if I discard even I do not want that suit.

Whatever discards someone plays, Lavinthal, etc there are occasions when it seems to me that it should be right to not follow the rule.

For example, if partner and I have supported one another in hearts during the bidding but opponents end up in game in spades, after we cash our AK (if we hold them) there is not going to be a third round winner. We should just dump hearts as we deem it appropriate.

It seems to me that some other kind of meaning could be given to these discards.

Does anyone play anything much more advanced than the usual Lavinthal, Roman and Standard discarding?

[PrecisionL]

I thought using that scheme that even discards conveyed suit preference.

There is also Obvious Shift at trick one.

[nigel_k]

There should be a hierarchy, e.g. first discard shows attitude, if that is not relevant then it shows count, if that is not relevant then it shows suit preference.

[MFA]

Our style is to stick to our lavinthal discards. If something deep is needed we still try to solve it within the lavinthal frame.

Subsequent discards show count, but that includes even more lavinthal if several cards are discarded from the same suit.

I find it dangerous to switch between different carding depending of what looks logical for the player in the situation. Partner might disagree.

[gurgistan]

As a rule, I show count except where it conflicts with attitude (or might benefit declarer more - though I will be damned if I know when that is).

[ArtK78]

Perhaps I am missing something.

Discards are cards played when not following suit and not playing trump. So if you and your partner are cashing heart tricks in a spade contract and you are both following suit, you have not made any discards. Therefore, whatever signalling methods you use when discarding have no application.

If you are talking about later in the hand when you are making heart discards, then, clearly, the attitude expressed in the heart suit is known (and, for that matter, the exact hearts that you hold may also be known). Therefore, if the heart discard chosen has any meaning, it must be suit preference. But whether the heart discard chosen has any meaning can only be determined in the context of the whole hand.

So, suit preference is one interpretation. Meaningless noise is another interpretation.