Spades are trumps. If you as declarer draw the opposing trumps before playing on hearts, you will make just five spade tricks and ♥ A. However if you delay playing spades and work on the hearts, you will do two tricks better.

You cash ♥ A and trump ♥ 2 with ♠ 2, scoring a trump trick with a spade that would otherwise have fallen under one of yours. You return to hand (here, you can afford to do so in spades; sometimes you’d have to do so in a different suit) and trump ♥ 3. That’s seven spade tricks plus ♥ A.

Each time you trump in the short trump hand (normally dummy), you generate an extra trump trick. But note that trumping in your hand does not gain tricks:

There would be no point in trumping hearts in your hand – you’ll make your spades anyway

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