Three patterns to remember from LCS:
1. Two sequences means 2D (two-dimensional) DP. Track progress in both with dp[i][j].
2. Match vs skip is the core decision. Match gives diagonal +1, skip gives max of top or left.
3. Many problems reduce to LCS. "Minimum deletions to make strings equal" = m+n−2×LCS. Next, you'll see Edit Distance, where you have three operations instead of just skip. Apply these patterns when you encounter similar problems.