Spades Strategy: Introduction to Trump Promotion

A trump promotion is another technique that you can use to try and increase the number of tricks that your team takes.

The technique creates tricks by promoting trump holdings that would not normally make a trick by themselves.

For example, if we held a spades suit of J76♠️, it would not normally make a trick, as the A♠️, K♠️, and Q♠️ could be led and win all 3 of our spades.

However, if one of the A♠️, K♠️, or Q♠️ were missing, we have potential to win the third lead of spades.

This can be done when a non-spade is led and we trump high, forcing an opponent to either allow us to win the trick, or spend a higher spade to win with. An example:

In this end of hand scenario, the opponents require all 4 tricks to not be set, East is void in spades, and partner has led the 13th club.

It is our turn to play and we have a decision to either take a discard, trump low, or trump high.

If we play passively and allow West to win the trick cheaply by discarding or trumping low...

West will effortlessly gobble up both our and our partner's inadequately guarded spade honors.

And West will just barely make his team's bid.

Going back to before...

If instead we make West fight for this trick by trumping high, we can promote our partner's Q♠️.

The J♠️ will never make a natural spade trick when it is only part of a 2 card long spade suit.

There is not much to lose by expending it on this trick and forcing West to spend a higher honor to win the trick.

And West must either overtrump or be set immediately.

With the K♠️ gone, suddenly partner's Q♠️ is worth a trick even though the spades suit is only 2 cards long.

And partner has taken the setting trick thanks to us promoting his holding.

The key ingredient to this trump promotion is that North's club lead acts as a pseudo-spade. If North instead leads a spade...

North will be one spade short of winning the setting trick even after we play third hand high.

And West once again salvages his team's bid.

Here is one more example where we require our partner's cooperation.

The opponents are threatening to set our side if we cannot earn our last trick, and it's our turn to lead.

Leading a spade will surely set our side unless our partner has the A♠️ or 2 of the 3 remaining spades.

But with a trump promotion tactic, all we need from partner is just the K♠️ (regardless if it is protected) and some cooperation.

Going back to before...

We lead a sidesuit our partner is void in to act as a pseudo-spade.

And if partner dutifully offers up the K♠️, the A♠️ will be forced out (or immediately win the trick).

And our Q♠️ will be promoted to a winner for the last trick.

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