Ruff and discard

A ruff and discard (also known as ruff and slough or ruff and sluff) is a play in contract bridge. It occurs when a defender in a suit contract, usually by mistake or because of lack of choice, leads a suit that dummy and declarer are both void in, when dummy and declarer have at least one trump each.

This gives declarer the option of discarding a losing card from one hand while playing a trump from the other, usually garnering an undeserved trick in the process. Thus the ruff and discard is generally to be avoided by the defenders, except in rare cases where declarer has no side suit loser to discard. It is often inflicted upon the defence via an endplay.

In the following position West is on lead and spades are trumps:

When West leads a heart, declarer can ruff in one hand and throw a club loser from the other, making both the remaining tricks. With any other player on lead, declarer would only make one trick.

However, if one of N-S hands had a diamond instead of a club, the West's (nor any other player's) play would make no difference: the declarer can always take the remaining two tricks by crossruffing clubs and diamonds.
 

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