Ruffs in dummy: win extra tricks with dummy's trumps
When you're declarer, one of the nicest tools is the ruff in dummy: when dummy runs out of a suit, you can win the trick by playing ruffing (playing a trump) instead of following suit. Each time you do it cleanly, you turn a side-suit loser into a trump trick.
Why ruff in dummy?
Usually you have losers in a side suit. If dummy can ruff those losers, it often gives you extra tricks.
Typical payoff: you make tricks by ruffing losers. You make tricks with dummy's low trump cards, so you do not always need aces and kings to make tricks.
The basic idea
Find a suit where dummy is short - usually a singleton or doubleton.
Lead that suit until dummy has no cards left in it.
Trump in dummy when that suit is led again.
That is the whole pattern: short suit in dummy -> Keep playing that suit -> ruff in dummy!
Classic mistakes to avoid
Ruffing in the long trump hand, which usually does not gain extra tricks.
Drawing all trumps too soon when dummy still needs trumps for ruffs.
One sentence to remember: Ruff in dummy before drawing trumps.
Examples
Example 1:
The opponents lead the Ace of clubs and everyone follows, then the King of clubs, everyone follows except you, south, ruff. No what?
The basic plan goes like this.
Step 1: Focus on the hand with long trumps (south).
Step 2: Lets have a glance at all our suits: Our spades look good, we want to make three tricks there. Our trumps look very reasonable, after we draw them, we will probably only lose 1 or 2 tricks there. What about our diamonds? Is there anything we can do about those two low losing diamonds in our hand?
Step 3: It's a good idea to ruff our diamonds, so lets do that before drawing trumps! After that we can draw trumps and then setup our spade suit. In other words, the spade suit can wait, as can the trumps, however the ruffing can't wait - we have to do it first, before drawing trumps!
Having the right mentality
One issue a lot of players have is that they are "scared" about the opponents ruffing their tricks. They want to draw trumps really quickly for that reason, often the quicker the better! There is no perfect rule in bridge, and I don't want to trivialise that concern, because one ruff can sometimes ruin a contract, but in general the fear of the opponents ruffing is not a good one. We have to learn to be comfortable playing a hand, or at least a few tricks, with trumps in the opponents hand. Sometimes it is necessary that we leave them there while we take ruffs in dummy, and only later draw them.
In conclusion: Be comfortable playing a few tricks and getting a few ruffs in dummy while the opponents hold trumps, don't be in a rush to draw them. However, don't go too far - if you can afford to draw trumps (usually because you don't need to ruff in dummy), go for it, don't delay for the sake of it!
Guiding principle - ruff in dummy before drawing trumps.
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Learn why long suits are a key trick source in both no-trump and suit contracts, and build the habit of spotting and setting them up as declarer.Finesses for Beginners: Single, Double, and Leading Low Toward Honors
Learn why leading low toward an honor helps your high cards work harder, creates extra tricks, and improves declarer play in both no-trump and suit contracts.Drawing Trumps: A Simple Habit That Saves Tricks
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