SLAM
BIDDING
by Walt Sturm
Consistently successful slam
bidding requires that you win the requisite number of tricks a high percentage
of the time. Understanding this is easier than accomplishing it in most cases.
The following recipe has served me well through the years and I recommend it to
you.
The first step is simply
diagnosing that a slam might be possible on a given hand in the context of the bidding
that you have heard thus far in the auction. For example, opposite an opening
of 1NT (15- 17 HCP). you should not even dream about a slam with a balanced 10
or so HCP. Next, if a slam appears possible, you must identify the specific
cards and features that are necessary in a partner`s hand to make slam a good
bet, i.e. , at least 50% for a small slam and 67% for a grand slam.
Finally, you must review your
kit of slam-bidding tools and select the most appropriate one or a sequence of
them. For example, it is usually essential to clearly establish the trump suit
before launching into RKC Blackwood or Gerber. Some players behave as though
they believe that Blackwood is the only way to reach a slam. In fact, it is not
a slam-bidding tool at all, but a way to avoid a failing slam, e.g., missing
two aces. Do you know the caveat that you must never ask for kings if an ace is
missing?
Tools that I use and
recommend are cue bids, asking bids, RKC Blackwood and RKC Gerber,
void-showing, blasting, forcing major raises, minor-suit Staymen, threeway jump
shifts, and the Grand Slam Force.
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