Kokish game tries are similar to trial bids. They come after partner has raised 1 of a Major to 2 of a Major, so:
1♥ – 2♥ and 1♠ – 2♠
So 2♠ would be a kokish game try when the hearts have been raised and 2NT would be a kokish game try when the spades have been raised.
Responder now bids there lowest suit they are happy to accept a game try in…by either having help in that suit because they have a shortage or they have good values in that suit. So Qxx would not be considered that good in the suit where KJxx would be a good holding.
If responder cannot help in any suit they simply bid the major at the 3 level.
If opener doesn’t like the response e.g. 3♣ they can then bid 3♦ or 3♥ and ask for help in the bid suit.
You can also play a direct raise asks for help in the trump suit…but most people play that as a pre-emptive raise.
1♥ – 2♥ – 3♥ and 1♠ – 2♠ – 3♠
The advantage of this system over normal long suit trial bids is if your partner shows no help you haven’t divulged where your weakness is.
So partner opens 1M (so one of a major suit 5+)….and assuming no intervening bids you now bid 2NT which is Jacoby 2NT. This is a game forcing bid showing 4 card Major support and a good 12 points plus.
Just to let you know that some people play different versions of this (see below for nuances)
The responses are:-
3♣ – A hand with singleton/void in clubs – then a cue bid of 4♣ would show a void.
3♦ – A hand with singleton/void in diamonds – then a cue bid of 4♦ would show a void.
3♥ – A hand with singleton/void in hearts – then a cue bid of 4♥ would show a void OR 16+ points if 1♥ was the opening bid.
3♠ – A non-minimum hand with singleton/void in spades – then a cue bid of 4♠ would show a void OR 16+ points if 1♠ was the opening bid.
3NT – Better than minimum hand balanced (14-15 points)
4♣ – A good 5 card suit (2 out of 3 top keycards)
4♦ – A good 5 card suit (2 out of 3 top keycards)
4♥ – A good 5 card suit if 1♠ was the opening bid or a minimum hand if 1♥ was the opening bid
4♠ – A good 5 card suit if 1♥ was the opening bid or a minimum hand if 1♠ was the opening bid. This will show 65 shape in the majors.
One thing you should notice straight away is if you have two 5 card suit then you must have a singleton or void in one of the other two suits…so there must be a priority for these bids:
Priority of Openers Response
Bid a 5 card suit (as long as it has 2 out of top 3 honours)
Bid a singleton or void
Bid 3NT (shows a good 14-15 points)
Jump to 4 of a major to show weak (12-13 points)
Bid 3 of the major to show 16+
Obviously the last 3 are of equal priority…the point is shape showing bids are most important.
Alternative Versions
Some people use the suit bid to show extra length in the trump suit rather than 16+ points.
Bidding a second suit with only 4 cards in it rather than 5
Bidding a second suit without needing 2 of the top 3…but maybe decent suit such as AJ9xx
Suppose partner gives a positive response then all bids after are considered cue bids or 4NT would be RKCB. It’s possible to play 3NT as ace asking or frivolous/serious 3NT…but when you’ve agreed a 8/9 card fit in a Major….it usually makes sense to play in 4 of the Major therefore you can use the 3NT as non-natural.
For a different version why not check out Swedish Jacoby.
When your partner decides to bid 1 of a major in the 3rd position in bridge…sometimes their bid can be weaker than a normal opening. It’s called a 3rd in hand opener. You can also do it in 4th position as well…usually when you hold the spade suit.
So we use an artificial bid of 2♣ or 2♦
The bid of 2♣ / 2♦ asks the opener for their strength….and shows either 3 or 4 card support depending on whether they used 2♣ / 2♦.
Very simply opener rebids their major if they are weak and bids anything else to show they have a sound opening bid.
Rebidding 2 of the major shows a hand with sub-opening values and any other bid now shows at least normal opening values.
This prevents the partnership from getting to the 3 level when only a 2 level contract can make.
Example Hands
So all of these hands you could open 1 of a Major in third or 4th
♠ – AQJ54 ♥ – Q984 ♦ – 6 ♣ – KQ10
♠ – 4 ♥ – AQ1097 ♦ – A986 ♣ – 974
♠ – AQJ105 ♥ – J102 ♦ – Q63 ♣ – 32
♠ – KJ10986 ♥ – A43 ♦ – KQ4 ♣ – 7
♠ – AK10986 ♥ – KQ3 ♦ – A4 ♣ – K7
After your partner bids 2♣ Reverse Drury, each hand would respond in the following way:-
Bid 2♥ – Normal opening strength and shows 54 shape
Bids 2♥ – weak opener…don’t go on partner
Bids 2♠ – weak opener…don’t go on.
Bids 4♠ – no other suit to show fast arrival…no slam interest
There are many different types that people play Bergen raises…
Classic Bergen raises
After an opening bid of 1 Major (5 card suit) the responses are:
3M – 2-6 points 4 card support
3♦ – 10-12 points and 4 card support
3♣ – 7-9 points and a 4 card raise
And that is it…in its simplest form!
To show 10-12 points and a 3 card raise you would have to bid something like 2 of a minor and then support by jumping to 3 or 4 of the Major. Alternatively if you are playing 2/1 you can bid a forcing 1NT and again jump to 3 of the Major to show that hand.
More complex Bergen Raises
So again after opening a five card major this time the responses can be:-
4X = Void in that suit. Cannot show void in spades if hearts opened
3NT = balanced 3334 shape with 3 card support for the major (13-15pts)
A common sequence is 1M followed by the opposition doubling for take out.
If you wish you can keep Bergen raises on after a double…make sure you agree this with your partner.
There has been an overcall
Suppose the bidding goes 1♥ – 2♣ (overcall) – ?
Double – The other 2 suits 2♦ – Natural and forcing 2♥ – 3 card support weak 2♠ – Natural and forcing 2NT – Good 4 Card Raise 3♣ – A cue bid shows a 3 card raise 3♦ – A fit show – showing a good 5 card suit and 4 card support 3♥ – 3 card support weak 3♠ – A fit show – showing a good 5 card suit and 4 card support
What to do with 3 card support?
With 10-12 points and 3 card support – bid a forcing 1NT assuming you are playing 2/1 and rebid 3 of the major.
Alternatively bid 2♣ or 2♦ and then bid 3♥ / ♠.
After Undisclosed Splinter
After the undisclosed splinter you bid 2NT / 3NT to ask where the singleton is. Responder just bids the suit it is in or bids hearts to show a splinter in the major or the other major if you’ve agreed hearts.
Other Versions of Bergen
There are other versions of Bergen raises where you can show good 3 card raises straight away….useful if you aren’t playing 2/1 but then you cannot show undisclosed splinter bids as well if you play that particular system.
Also the downside of Bergen raises is you can give the opponents a chance to double your artificial bids to pinpoint a lead.
2 Way checkback or shortened form 2WCB has to be one of my favourite systems…I’ve already done a 2WCB Video…so I’d advise you to take a look at that after looking through these detailed notes.
I’ve done a recent lesson on 2 way checkback on Mark Nehs YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/CIpTQ_V6e40 – thisone is for Strong No Trump.
This system works well playing 5 card majors and a strong NT. After the sequence for example of 1X, Pass, 1Y, Pass, 1NT.
Playing a strong NT the 1NT response shows less than 15 points.
If you play a weak NT then the response shows 15-16 or 15-17 usually.
There are 3 basic hand types:-
Sign off
invitational (usually going through 2♣)
game forcing 2♦
Let’s look at the sign offs
1♣ – 1♠
1NT – ?
2♥ – shows 5 spades and 4 hearts
2♠ – shows 5+ spades wanting partner to pass
2NT asking partner to bid 3♣
Let’s look at invitational hands
The responses are:-
1♣ – 1♠
1NT – 2♣ (forces 2♦)
2♦ – ?
Pass – To play
2♥ – invitational values showing 5+spades and 4+hearts
2♠ – invitational in spades 5+ spades
2NT – invitational in NT’s
3♣ – invitational in clubs
3♦ – invitational in diamonds
3♥ – invitational with 5+ spades and 5+ hearts
3♠ – invitational with 6+ spades
If the bidding goes 1m (any minor), 1♥, 1NT, 2♠ without intervening bids then this shows a 44 major hand with game interest…where going through 2♣ would show 54 distribution and game interest…as remember the 1NT rebid does not deny a 4 card spade suit.
Let’s look at game forcing bids
2♦ is a game Force bid asking opener to describe their hand further.
3NT denies 4 hearts and 3 spades and shows a minimum
Alternatively you can make jump bids after:-
1♣ – 1♠
1NT – ?
3♣ – forcing showing 5+ spades and 5 clubs
3♦ – forcing showing 5+ spades and 5 diamonds
3♥ – forcing showing 5+ spades and 5 hearts
3♠ – forcing showing 6+spades
2 Way CheckBack can also be played over 2NT responses in a similar way as for 1NT.
The advantage of using 2 Way Checkback is that it can avoid going to the three level and avoid guesswork as whether or not something is forcing, semi-forcing or non-forcing.
The disadvantage of using 2WCB is you can no longer stop in 2♣.
Lets look at some hands:-
We are playing 5 card majors and a strong NT, so the 1NT rebid shows less than 15 points…so let’s look at some hands and the bidding to go with them:-
a)
b)
c)
d)
♠ Q3 ♥ AKJ72 ♦ 972 ♣ A7
♠ 73 ♥ AKJ72 ♦ A73 ♣ J52
♠ K104 ♥ K72 ♦ AJ109 ♣ K54
♠ K742 ♥ A5 ♦ K84 ♣ Q976
♠ K872 ♥ 5 ♦ K108543 ♣ 32
♠ KQJ842 ♥ 64 ♦ 985 ♣ 43
♠ A7 ♥ AQ985 ♦ 73 ♣ J1098
♠ AJ63 ♥ QJ97 ♦ 1053 ♣ K3
e)
f)
g)
h)
♠ Q7 ♥ K93 ♦ A10875 ♣ A107
♠ J73 ♥ AJ72 ♦ A73 ♣ Q52
♠ A109 ♥ KJ72 ♦ A73 ♣ J52
♠ Q109 ♥ AJ72 ♦ A73 ♣ J52
♠ A853 ♥ Q6 ♦ 5 ♣ 9765432
♠ KQ842 ♥ 64 ♦ K85 ♣ K3
♠ KJ842 ♥ AQ86 ♦ K6 ♣ Q9
♠ AJ842 ♥ K6 ♦ 985 ♣ AQ9
a) 1♥ – 1♠ – 1NT – 2♣ – 2♦.
The 2C bid forces partner to bid 2D and after partner didn’t raise in spades we simply try to play in the best contract which is likely to be 2D when you hold a 6 card diamond suit and partner is relatively balanced.
b)1♥ – 1♠ – 1NT – 2♠.
Because you didn’t go through 2♣, this makes the 2♠ a non-invitational bid. In other words it is FORCING your partner to shut up shop…you don’t want him to bid again.
c)1♣/♦ – 1♥ – 1NT – 2♣ – 2♦ – 2♥ – 4♥
Depending on your methods you are going to open 1 of a minor. You now go through 2♣ before bidding your suit again with 2♥. Partner has a maximum and 3 card heart support so simply raises straight to game.
d)1♣ – 1♥ – 1NT – 2♠
This sequence shows 4-4 in the majors and is invitational. As North is a minimum they can now just pass 2♠.
e)1♦ – 1♠ – 1NT – 2NT – 3♣
2NT is simply forcing partner to bid 3♣
f)1♣ – 1♠ – 1NT – 2♣ – 2♦ – 2♠
This sequence an invitational raise in spades. As north is weak but he does have three card spade support they can simply pass.
g)1♣ – 1♠ – 1NT – 2♦ – 2♥ – 2NT – 3♠ – 4♠
This is a game forcing sequence. Opener shows the 4 card heart suit and responder now bids 2NT. Opener now bids 3♠ to show a 3 card spade suit and responder now bids 4♠.
You can also play this system over a 2NT rebid…3♣ bids being the weak hands where you might have responded with a 4 count. 3♦ are staymanic and other bids are forcing to game and possible intrest in slam.
Other sequences
These are only a few sequences. Suppose you play a club relay system:
Both show diamonds and spades…but surely one is different from the other…they must be both game forcing…but I think the second sequence should show 5 diamonds and 4 spades and the first sequence should be more slam try and maybe 6/4 shape. The hands below would be great for 6♦
It is used in Blackwood or RKCB after you’ve asked your partner for aces and you get an intervening bid.
So if you get a bid over 4NT you use one of the bids above or if you have more aces you make bids higher up to show two or three aces.
If you are playing RKCB you add in the King of trumps and queen of trumps into the mix as well….so:
Playing Blackwood DOPI
So when a 4NT blackwood is overcalled:
Double = 0 or 4 aces
Pass = 1 ace
+1 Bid = 2 aces
+2 Bids = 3 aces
Playing RKCB (1430) DOPI
So when a 4NT(1430) RKCB is overcalled:
Double = 1 ace or 4 aces
Pass = 1 ace
+1 Bid = 2 aces
+2 Bids = 2 aces + Queen of trumps
+3 Bids = 3 aces
Playing RKCB (0314) DOPI
So when a 4NT(0314) RKCB is overcalled:
Double = 0 aces or 3 aces
Pass = 1 ace
+1 Bid = 2 aces
+2 Bids = 2 aces + Queen of trumps
+3 Bids = 3 aces
Playing RKCB (1430) ROPI
So when a 4NT(1430) RKCB is overcalled:
Double = 1 ace or 4 aces
Pass = 0 aces
+1 Bid = 2 aces
+2 Bids = 2 aces + Queen of trumps
+3 Bids = 3 aces
Playing RKCB (0314) ROPI
So when a 4NT(0314) RKCB is overcalled:
Double = 0 ace or 3 aces
Pass = 1 ace or 4 aces
+1 Bid = 2 aces
+2 Bids = 2 aces + Queen of trumps
+3 Bids = 3 aces
This is a hand where I’ve just lost 13 IMPS because my partner forgot how to play the system…
North
South
♠ K863
♠ AQ10742
♥ AJ
♥ 964
♦ AK9864
♦ QJ5
♣ 6
♣ J
The Hands
So with this hand the bidding went:
North
East
South
West
1♦
2♣
2♠
3♣
4♣
Pass
4NT
5♣
5♦
Pass
5♠
Pass
Pass
Pass
The Bidding
So using DOPI-ROPI the 5♦ bid shows 2 aces….Now if you were playing normal blackwood that would be true…but we play RKCB so that bid now show only 2 of the 5 aces without the queen of trumps….so we missed the easy 6♠ because my partner should have bid 5♠ to show 3 aces (the king of trumps is counted as an ace in RKCB) and unfortunately the other team bid it. Oh well he won’t get it wrong the next time it occurs!
DEPO
This stands for:
Double = Even number of aces
Pass = Odd number of aces
I would suggest this just includes all the keycards AAAAKQ when playing whatever flavour of RKCB you choose to use.
So this is similar to a Jacoby 2NT bid…but different! It’s Swedish!
It’s also called other things: In Sweden it is called Stenberg 2NT, and in Denmark Bekkasin 2NT.
So partner opens 1M (so one of a major suit)….and assuming no intervening bids you now bid 2NT which is Swedish Jacoby. You can play it either game forcing or non-forcing to three of the major and shows possible interest in slam in that suit.
The responses are:-
3♣ – Any minimum hand
3♦ – A non-minimum with no singletons or voids
3♥ – singleton clubs
3♠ – singleton diamond
3NT – singleton in the other major
4♣ – void in clubs
4♦ – void in diamonds
4♥ – void in the other major
Suppose partner gives the negative 3♣ response…now 3♦ asks for singletons…
Again you bid step responses to keep the bidding as low as possible:
3♥ – No singleton/void OR a void in spades if you’ve agreed hearts.
3♠ – singleton club
3NT – singleton diamond
4♣ – singleton in the other major
4♦ – void in clubs
4♥ – void in diamonds
4♠ – void in hearts
Unfortunately there is no room to show a void in spades if you have it if you have agreed hearts, without going past 4♥.
Again there are different ways of playing this system….this is my modification of Swedish Jacoby.
Any other bids are cue-bids and 4NT would be RKCB (4130).
Lets look at some examples
a)
b)
c)
♠ KQ1086 ♥ 108 ♦ 72 ♣ AK73
♠ KQ1086 ♥ A872 ♦ K32 ♣ 2
♠ AJ8643 ♥ KJ5 ♦ K742 ♣ Void
♠ AJ54 ♥ 62 ♦ AQ854 ♣ Q2
♠ AJ543 ♥ 4 ♦ AQ ♣ A9873
♠ K1097 ♥ A2 ♦ AQJ ♣ 7654
a) 1♠ -2NT – 3♣ – 4♠. The 3♣ shows a minimum and therefore you are no longer interested in slam and just sign off in 4♠.
This is the same as the Acol 2♣ opening bid i.e. a strong (23+ points) balanced hand, OR a game forcing hand. The negative bid is now 2♥. Although again you can just use this as a relay bid to see what opener has exactly. Relaying is my recommendation. Openers rebids of NT would show:
2NT – 23-24 points
3NT – 25-27 points
4NT – 28-30 points
These bids are the only bids passable.
Let’s look at an example 2♦ opener:-
North ♠ AKQJ863 ♥ K8 ♦ 7 ♣ AK7
South ♠ 954 ♥ A2 ♦ 1086432 ♣ Q3
So the bidding could go:-
2♦ – 2♥– 2♠ – 3♠ – 4♣ – 4♥ – 5♣ – 6♣ – 6♠.
So 6♠ is reached by cue bidding 1st 2nd and 3rd round controls in clubs. Because North is missing the ace of diamonds it’s right for south to cue bid the 3rd round control in clubs.
Another partnership agreement that people have is to show a very poor hand opposite the strong suited hand by just bidding the next suit up. Since the two diamond bid is game forcing…the auction might go something like…
2♦ – 2♥
3♦ – 3♥
3NT – Pass
So 3♥ could be a 5+ card suit but can also be a negative…as you don’t want the weak hand to play it out in 3NT as they might only have game if they are playing it out.
2♦ – 2♥
3♦ – 3♥
4♦ – Pass
The above sequence can be passed out
2♦ – 2♥
3♦ – 3♥
3♠ – Forcing as it is a change of suit.
Some alternatives…
These are just some ideas you could choose to play…again this is down to partnership agreement.
2♣ – 2♦
2NT*
Shows 23-24 points.
2♦ – 2♥
2NT*
Shows 25-26 points.
2♣ – 2♦
3NT*
Shows 27-28 points.
2♦ – 2♥
3NT*
Shows 29-30 points!!!!! I’ve never picked up 29 points so this would be a bit crazy to play this.
Let’s have a look at a 2♣ opener playing Benjamised Acol…
Please note people play this in different ways…as long as you and your partner are playing it the same way….that is the most important thing!
So a 2♣ opening bid I play as showing
strong single-suited hand (this replaces the strong Acol 2 bids)
20-22 points with a 5 card suit (I would make a suggestion that it shows specifically a MINOR suit….because it is easy to use puppet stayman or muppet stayman to ask for 5 card majors). This means that a direct 2NT opening bid should be 20-22 points without a five card MINOR suit but may contain 5 of a MAJOR.
Before we begin, some players use Reverse Benji which swaps the meanings of the 2♣ and 2♦. Whilst this may seem easier to learn (as this way you are keeping the 2♣ bid the same as you are used to in normal ACOL), it is technically less sound.
A strong single-suited hand (but may have a secondary four-card suit), or 20-22 points with a 5 card MINOR suit relatively balanced (can play this as 5431 shape). The strong single-suited hand is equivalent to a hand suitable for a two-level opening playing traditional Acol (including clubs – not directly available playing traditional Acol) i.e. 4 ‘quick tricks’, and; 8+ playing tricks for hearts or spades, 8½ playing tricks for clubs and diamonds. A playing trick is like an ace, or KQ. To work out your playing tricks imagine the suits breaking “normally”.
With a long minor and a secondary major, consider opening at the one-level. There is always a danger that your 1♣/♦ opener may get passed out….
Responding to 2♣
You can respond in different ways depending on partnership agreement…
But my preference to the 2♣ opening is:
• 2♥, 2♠, 3♣, 3♦ – My own suit and nothing else outside it in terms of useful points So AKJxx at least. Or I can jump with a solid hand like AKQJxx. • 2♦ – I just use this as a relay or waiting bid…I would bid this probably 97.4% of the time!
Openers Response
a) If a strong single-suited hand, bid the suit. This then becomes the equivalent of opening an Acol 2♥ or 2♠, with the added bonus that you can bid a strong club suit (albeit at the three-level) – not available in ‘standard’ Acol. The only downside is that a strong diamond suit has to be shown at the three-level and the weaker hand might be declaring in diamonds.
Responder then bids as if partner has opened a strong 2, but the added advantage is that he can ‘pass’ opener’s response. Note that if opener has to show his strong suit at the three-level, the bid is technically non-forcing, but responder should still strain to bid.
Opener can jump the bidding to show even stronger hands (but not strong enough for a 2♦ opening) (e.g. 2♣ – 2♦ – stop 3♠ would show a 9 playing trick hand in spades…this would set the suit), and subsequent bids from responder are either cue bids (if opener jumps it is a cue and an agreement that there could be slam on) or a natural suit that wasn’t good enough to respond with or a stopper giving opener a chance to bid 3NT. With no points or any shape you can simply pass.
b) 20-22 points with a five card suit MINOR. You can then respond with 3♣ as asking for partners opening 5 card MINOR, or you can use whatever methods you use after a 2NT such as transfer bids. If the initial 2♣ opener can contain a 5 card ♣ suit….then to show clubs you now bid 3NT over 3♣ and bid 3♦ to show diamonds.
Alternatively you can conserve bidding space and over 3♣ use 3♦ to show a club suit and 3♥ to show a diamond suit. It’s harder to remember but keeps the bidding lower meaning you have chance to cue bid 3♥ or 3♠ to agree a fit in clubs without going past 3NT and possibly look for a slam in clubs. Obviously make sure you have the agreement with partner.
Lets look at some examples
Let’s look at some examples of 2♣ openers and the hands below them are the responding hands:-
a)
b)
c)
d)
♠ AKQ10863 ♥ 108 ♦ 7 ♣ AK7
♠ 7 ♥ A8 ♦ A73 ♣ AKQ10765
♠ K64 ♥ AKJ1084 ♦ AKQ ♣ 6
♠ AKQJ863 ♥ 102 ♦ 9 ♣ AK7
♠ 954 ♥ 62 ♦ KQ8543 ♣ Q3
♠ KQ842 ♥ Q4 ♦ 9852 ♣ 43
♠ AQJ732 ♥ 4 ♦ 73 ♣ A753
♠ 954 ♥ A7 ♦ 1086532 ♣ Q3
e)
♠ K7 ♥ AQ6 ♦ KQ9 ♣ AQ1087
♠ A853 ♥ K972 ♦ 5 ♣ KJ65
a) 2♣ – 2♦ – 3♠ – 4♠. With nine playing tricks in spades, North opens 2♣ and shows the spade suit after his partner’s 2♦. North bids 3♠ showing 9 playing Tricks. South has sufficient support and values for game…but no interest in slam.
b) 2♣ – 2♦ – 3♣ – 3♠ – 3NT. 9 playing tricks in clubs so North opens 2♣. South bids 2♦. North shows his good club suit, South shows his useful spade suit, and North bids the obvious game.
c) 2♣ – 2♠ – 3♠ – 4♣ – 4NT… – eventually 7♠ . South is good enough to bid his own spade suit and North shows good support. Bidding slowly with 3♠ is a very strong position…you are looking for a slam. A Cue-bid of 4♣ followed by RKCB should get you to 7 spades.
d) 2♣ – 2♦ – 3♠ – 4♥ – 4♠. North has 9 tricks – so jump to 3♠. South having genuine spade support, cue-bids ♥A. This should also show some extra values elsewhere as the 2♣ opener didn’t open 2♦ game force. Slam is on but it’s difficult to find. You could make the argument that South shouldn’t cue bid the ace of hearts without holding something useful in clubs as north only has 9 Playing tricks guaranteed.
e) 2♣ – 2♦– 2NT – 3♣ – 3♦ – 3♠ – 4♣ – 4♠ – 6♣. 2NT shows a 5 card MINOR. 3♣ asks and 3♦ shows CLUBS! 3♠ is now a cue bid agreeing clubs and 4♣ is now Roman Key Card Minorwood. 4♠ shows two keycards and you take a view to bid 6♣. You would normally open 2NT with this hand, partner would look for a major fit and not find it and settle for 3NT most of the time.
Another partnership agreement that people have is to show a very poor hand opposite the strong suited hand by just bidding the next suit up. Since the two diamond bid is game forcing…the auction might go something like…
2♦ – 2♥ 3♦ – 3♥ 3NT – Pass
So 3♥ could be a 5+ card suit but can also be a negative…as you don’t want the weak hand to play it out in 3NT as they might only have game if they are playing it out.
Other Agreements?
The 20-22 point with a 5 card MINOR can have partnership agreements, such as:
• Only contains a five card MINOR with no four card MAJOR • Could contain a singleton or not • Could be 2245 or 2254 shape • Is always a 5332 shape
It’s up to partnership agreement of how exactly you play the 2♣ opener.
Over 97.4% of the time you are going to bid 2♦ to see what opener has.
So blackwood is a method of finding how many aces the partnership has….but using RKCB you can find out the aces, the king of trumps and the queen of trumps…all useful cards for a slam. You can also go on to find out about other kings.
3♥ – singleton clubs
RKCB
So this assumes you’ve agreed a suit fit…let’s say the bidding has gone…
North
South
2♦*
2♥*
2♠*
3♠*
4NT*
In this example 2 diamonds was a game force (some people play this as a weak 2 in diamonds). Here 4NT would be RKCB agreeing spades.
The first bid looks at the four aces, the king of trumps and the queen of trumps. So it counts the King of trumps as the 5th Ace…clearly it’s an important card when looking for a slam.
The responses to 4NT are:-
5♣ = 1 or 4 This shows one or four aces
5♦ = 0 or 3 This shows none or three aces
5♥ = 2 or 5 This shows two or 5 aces
5♠ = 2+Q This shows two aces plus the queen of trumps
This style of RKCB is known as 1430 and is commonly accepted to be the best way of playing it….
PLEASE NOTE YOU CAN PLAY IT:
5♣ = 0 / 3 This shows none or three aces
5♦ = 1 / 4 This shows one or four aces
This style of RKCB is known as 3014 and is now frowned upon by some Expert players!
SO LET’S NOT PLAY IT THIS WAY!
How do you ask for the trump queen?
Whatever the response is…such as 5 clubs or 5 diamonds, then the next SUIT bid up asks for the trump Queen. Note if you had agreed hearts and the response was 5 diamonds…you would need to bid the next bid up from the trump suit…i.e. 5 spades. Or if you know that 5 diamonds equals 3 controls then you can use 5 hearts as a queen ask….partner shouldn’t pass if he gives a positive response!
To deny the trump queen you can bid the trump suit at the lowest level. If you have the trump queen you can:
Jump to slam with no other useful cards in your hand.
Bid a suit with a king in or cue bid to show the two other kings (see later)
Bid 5NT to show zero kings but a useful queen or queens.
North
South
2♦*
2♥*
2♠
3♠
4NT*
5♣*
5♦*
5♠*
So in this case 5 clubs shows 1 or 4 keycards. 5 diamonds* asks for the Queen of spades. 5 spades would deny the trump queen.
If instead of 5 spades being bid and 5 hearts was bid instead this would show the King of hearts and the Queen of trumps.
North
South
2♦*
2♥*
2♠
3♠
4NT*
5♣*
5♦
6♣*
Here the 6 clubs* would show the trump queen plus the King of clubs.
So what about asking for kings?
North
South
2♦*
2♥*
2♠
3♠
4NT*
5♣*
5NT*
6♥*
7♠
Here the 5NT asks for kings….you can play this several ways…straightforward asking for the number of kings or cue bidding the kings….
Asking for kings the replies would mean:
6♣ = 0 kings
6♦ = 1 King
6♥ = 2 Kings
6♠ = 3 Kings
Another popular method….one which I prefer and recommend is to cue bid the kings:
6♣ = The king of clubs, or the two none touching kings, or two other kings.
6♦ = The king of diamonds, or the two none touching kings, or two other kings.
6♥ = The king of hearts, or the two none touching kings, or two other kings.
6♠ = The king of spades, or the two none touching kings, or two other kings.
Again this is down to partnership agreement whether you can bid the two kings you don’t have! Also make sure if it shows 2 none touching kings or the other 2 missing kings.
This is also known as paradox kings when you make a bid in a suit where you don’t actually have the king in that suit…but it shows the other two kings….the paradox.
What Do I Do With A Void?
A common response to 4NT is:
5NT = 0 / 2 / 4 with a useful void
6♣/♦/♥ = 1 /3 with a useful void in that suit.
6 trump suit = 1 / 3 with a void in a suit above the trump suit
A useful void would be a suit that partner hasn’t bid….very often it will be the splinter bid.
What happens when the opposition interfere over 4NT?
There is a full explanation on what happens if the opposition double or bid against you here. It’s generally called DOPI-ROPI !
Let’s look at a sequence
♠ AJ10987
♠ KQ4
♥ 87
♥ AK32
♦ A4
♦ K5
♣ AKQ
♣ 983
So with this hand the bidding would go:
4♥
South
2♣
2♦
2♠
3♠
4
4♥
4NT
5♠
5NT
6♣
7NT
Bidding explanations….
2♣ – Big hand
2♦ – Relay
2♠ – 8 Playing Tricks with spades as trumps
3 – Slam try in spades
4♣ – Cue Bid
4♥ – Cue Bid denies the ace of diamonds
4NT – RKCB 4130 responses
5♠ – 2 out of the 5 aces + Queen of spades
5NT – Asks to cue bid kings
6♣ – Shows the king of clubs or the other two kings….therefore must be two red kings
– Slam try in spades