Drawing the opponents' trumps: how far?

Drawing trumps protects your masters, but pulling them all, every time, is a common mistake. The right dose depends on your plan.

The goal: secure your side suits

Knocking out the opponents' trumps stops them from ruffing your aces and tens. With a long, strong side suit, clearing trumps first guarantees it will run.

When to stop

No need to pull one more trump if you're already master everywhere. Each pointless trump round costs you a card and a tempo. Count: if one opponent trump remains but it's smaller than yours, leave it, it will fall on its own.

When not to draw at all

• You need your trumps to ruff a short suit.
• You're after the last trick: keep a master trump for it.
• On defence: drawing trumps usually helps declarer, not you.

See also

FAQ

Should you always draw all the trumps?

No. You draw trumps to protect your masters, but stop once you're master everywhere or when you need trumps to ruff.

How do you know if trumps remain?

By counting the ones already played. With 8 trumps in play, follow the rounds: when the count adds up, you know whether an opponent still holds one.