The Management of Trumps is, perhaps, the most difficult of the problems presented to the Whist-player. Before discussing the special uses of trumps, it may be observed that in some few hands trumps are led like plain suits, because they are your strongest suit, and you prefer leading them to opening a weak suit. The principles already discussed, which guide us to the most favourable chances for making tricks in a suit, apply to trumps equally with other suits. The privilege, however, enjoyed by the trump suit of winning every other, causes some modifications of detail (noticed at pp.64-71, and at pp.85-88); for, since the winning trumpsmustmake tricks, you play a more backward game in the trump suit. Thus, with ace, king, and small trumps, you lead a small one, by which you obtain an increased chance of making tricks in the suit, and you keep the command of it, and must have the lead after the third round, the advantage of which will be presently explained. Even if your partner is so weak in trumps that the opponent wins the first trick very cheaply, but little (if any) harm accrues; for the opponent then has to open a suit up to you or your partner.
In the great majority of hands, trumps are applied to their special uses, viz.: 1. To disarm the opponents, and to prevent their trumping your winning-cards; and 2. To trump the winning cards of the adversaries. In order to comprehend when trumps may be most profitably applied to the first, and when to the second, of these uses, we must first clearly perceive the objects aimed at throughout the hand, viz.: to establish a suit, to exhaust the adversaries' trumps, and to retain the long trump, or a certain winning card with which to get the lead again, for the purpose of bringing in the suit; also to endeavour to obstruct similar designs of the opponents. It follows that you should