Your Most Important Suit: Trumps

In this lesson:

Every time you have a trump suit, that is definitely your most important suit. In a suit contract, your goal is to reduce your number of losers to an acceptable number. How you handle your trump is often the key.

Deciding whether to draw trumps first is important, but it is only the first step.

There are so many other factors. You must concern yourself with all of the following:

1. Entries
2. Timing
3. Long suits
4. Short suits
5. Ruffs by your side
6. Potential ruffs and overruffs by the defenders

For each deal, Marty will explain exactly what you should think about and how you should decide the best way to proceed.

This includes:

1. Should you lead trump immediately? If so, how many?
2. When counting winners can guide you to the best line.
3. On a cross-ruff, which suit should you ruff first?
4. When should you not ruff a loser?
5. When do you need to ruff with a high trump?
6. How to ruff a loser despite not having a short suit.
7. When you should draw trump despite having losers you could ruff.
8. How to maximize your intermediates in the trump suit.
9. When you should execute a dummy reversal.
10. How YOU can learn to execute a trump coup.
11. How YOU can set up an end play.

Here is an example of what Marty will discuss in the lesson:

You (South) are in 4♥. The opening lead is the ♠Q. How would you play the hand?

Contract: 4♥ by South

Opening Lead: ♠Q

You will lose 2 clubs and the ♥K. So you must not lose a spade trick. You win the ♠A, cash the ♠K, lead the ♠4, and West follows. If you ruff with dummy's ♥7, East will overruff with the ♥K and return a trump. Eventually, you will have to lose the ♠6 and be down one.

You were very unlucky. You would have made the hand if spades were 4-3 or if East did not have the ♥K. However, you could and should have made the hand on this layout.

Because of the power of dummy's ♥7, you didn't need to risk the possibility of East over-ruffing. Instead, you can guarantee the contract. Ruff the third round of spades with dummy's ♥A. Then lead a diamond to your ♦A and ruff your last spade with dummy's lovely ♥7. E-W are welcome to the ♥K and two clubs.