Slam Bidding Process: Answers

Slam Bidding

 

To succeed in making a slam you need a source of tricks and adequate controls in all suits.

 

First round control is either an Ace or a Void .

Second round control is either a King or a singleton .

 

Sources of tricks can be:

High card strength.

A running suit .

Lots of trumps and side suit shortness in both hands.

 

Typical slam bidding process:

Discovering combined strength of the two hands.

Checking for controls.

 

Example:  Jacoby 2NT

  • Opener bids 1H
  • Responder bids 2NT.  This tells opener:

o   We are in a game forcing auction

o   We have at least a 9 card trump fit, so we might have a source of tricks in trumps.

  • If not signing off, opener shows either:

o   Side suit singleton or void, i.e. control in that suit, at the 3 level; or

o   A second good 5+ card suit, i.e. a source of additional tricks.

  • Responder then bids cheapest first round control and then the partners show controls up the line, discovering if there’s an uncontrolled suit.

 

Blackwood and Gerber

 

The purpose of Blackwood (and Gerber) is not to drag your partner to slam, it’s to avoid bidding a slam missing two controls (aces or keycards) .

 

Avoid using Blackwood when:

You have a void .

There is an unbid suit where you don’t have first or second round control.

 

Roman Key Card Blackwood

If the partnership is contemplating slam in a suit then the King and the Queen of the trump suit are also important cards.

 

RKC provides tools for confirming that the partnership has at least 5 of these 6 cards:

  • The four Aces .
  • The King of trumps .
  • The Queen of trumps.

 

Collectively, the four Aces and the King of trumps are referred to as key cards.

 

Original RKC “0314”.  After the 4NT inquiry:

  • 5C:  0 or 3 keycards.
  • 5D: 1 or 4 keycards.
  • 5H: 2 keycards without the Queen of trumps.
  • 5S: 2 keycards with the Queen of trumps.

 

1430 RKC switches the 5C and 5D responses and is marginally more efficient in some sequences.

  • 5C: 1 or 4 keycards
  • 5D: 3 or 0 keycards

 

Asking for the Queen of Trumps

  • If there’s room for another suit between the RKC response and the trump suit, then the cheapest bid asks if the answerer has the trump Q.

o   5 of trump suit denies the trump Q

o   Anything else shows the trump Q

  • New suit:  shows that king
  • 6 of trump suit denies a side king but shows trump Q
  • Example  (suit is H, using 1430):

o   Inquirer:  4NT “Hey partner, we might have a slam, tell me your keycards.”

o   Answerer: 5C “I have 1 or 4 keycards”

o   Inquirer:  5D “That’s good, but do you have the trump Q?”

o   Answerer (Worst Case): 5H “Sorry, I don’t have it.”; or

o   Answerer (Good Case): 5S “Yes, partner, and I have the SK too!”; or

o   Answerer (Good Case): 6H “I have the HQ but no side King”

  • You can pretend you have the Queen if you know you have a 10 card fit.
  • The higher ranking the suit, the more room for exploration with RKC or Blackwood.
  • Conversely, if your suit is a minor, the RKC answer can force you to slam even if you don’t have enough key cards.
  • Don’t bid slam if you’re missing a keycard and the trump Queen.

Caveats

  • The higher ranking the suit, the more room for exploration with RKC or Blackwood.
  • Conversely, if your suit is a minor, the RKC answer can force you to slam even if you don’t have enough key cards.
  • Don’t bid slam if you’re missing a keycard and the trump Queen.

Copyright 2014 Peter Haglich