October 2018 - 45

Newer Players

Parrish the Thought
BY ADAM PARRISH

adam@bridgewinners.com

adamparrish.us

Slam bidding
Over the next few months, we're
going to spend a bit more time talking
about State 4 auctions - when we have
set a game force and agreed on a major
suit as trumps. These are the best type
of auctions, where we have a yes answer to both of our essential questions.
Now the priority shifts to answering
question No. 3: Do we have a slam?
By definition, when we are in State
4, we are in a slam auction. We have
determined that we are playing in our
major and will play in at least game.
The only question is whether we belong in slam: Will we play four? Or six?
(Or maybe seven?)
Slam bidding is actually about avoiding bad slams. There are three ways in
which a slam can be bad:

❶
❷
❸

We are off two aces (or key cards).
We are off a cashing ace-king.
We lack the firepower to take 12
tricks.

The first two are relatively straightforward; we want to avoid slams where
we have two unavoidable top losers.
The third is subtler, as it deals with
evaluation, but ultimately just as obvious - slam is typically pretty good with
33 high-card points and usually not so
good with 25 HCP.
For the first two issues, we have
specific tools to help us avoid bad
slams. For Type 1, we have Blackwood
(or Roman key card Blackwood). For
Type 2, we have control bidding. These
tools are both very useful, but they
serve specific purposes and must be
used correctly. For example:

♠K Q J 10 4 3 ♥A K 6 ♦ Q 7 ♣A 8.
1♠
2♠
?

2♣
3♠

Slam looks likely: You have 19 HCP
and an excellent suit, and partner has
forced to game and raised you. Most
people would reach for their trusty
hammer at this point, Blackwood,
and bid 4NT. And just as you can beat
a screw into a hole with a hammer,
Blackwood may get the job done. But
it's the wrong tool for the job - at least
at this point in the auction.
Say partner shows you one ace. Now
you can be confident it's not a Type
1 bad slam - you're only missing one
ace. But are you sure it's not a Type 2
bad slam? Could you be off the ♦A K?
Sure you could. Couldn't partner hold
something like:
♠A 5 2 ♥Q J 10 7 ♦J 8 ♣K Q 9 4?
You've used the wrong tool for the
job, and now you have to guess whether
slam will be good or not.
Instead, you should control bid 4♣.
You shouldn't worry that partner will
think you are supporting her club suit.
Spades are trumps. Period. There is
zero chance we're playing this hand
in clubs. Your 4♣ bid is a control bid
showing slam interest and a first- or
second-round control (i.e., the ace or
king or a singleton or void) in clubs.
Put another way, it says, "They're
not cashing the ace-king in this suit,
partner," either because you're looking
at the ace or king or because you have

shortness and can ruff.
If partner has a diamond control, she
will control bid 4♦. Now you know
it's not a Type 2 bad slam, and you can
use Blackwood to make sure it's not a
Type 1 bad slam. Often these tools are
used in conjunction like this: control
bidding first to ensure all suits are controlled (Type 2) and then Blackwood to
make sure you're not missing too many
aces (Type 1).
As a general rule, you want to avoid
or delay using Blackwood when you
have an uncontrolled suit, i.e., a suit in
which they might be able to cash the
ace-king. Blackwood is also not particularly useful when you have a void
- knowing how many aces partner has
is not really the information you need,
it's which aces she has. In these cases,
consider whether control bidding is a
more appropriate tool.
Of course, sometimes you've got to
get a screw into the wall and all you
have is a hammer; line it up and give it
a whack and hope it works.
♠K 8 4 3 ♥4 ♦A K Q 7 3 2 ♣Q 4.
West

North
1♠

East
4♥

South
?

Partner rates to have the ace or king
of clubs for his opening bid, but it's
far from certain. You'd love to start a
control bidding sequence to make sure
partner has the clubs under control.
But you're out of room. Your best bet is
to bid 4NT (Blackwood for spades) and
hope that partner has you covered. Or
that they don't lead clubs.
◾
October 2018 Bridge Bulletin

45
http://www.adamparrish.us
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2018
