Advantage gained after an initial action or move, or the position of being able to respond after someone else has acted.
Compound of 'after' (Old English 'æfter') and 'hand' (Old English 'hand', from Proto-Germanic 'handuz'). Used in strategy games, especially card games like whist.
In card games, having the afterhand—going last in a trick—is strategically valuable because you see what everyone else played before committing your cards, which is why seating position was competitive.
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