Story 2

Slam bidding is typically the weakest area of bidding for most players — not because of a lack of fancy conventions, but because of undeveloped judgment. You don’t need complicated conventions. What you need is to learn to evaluate hands better, and to be aware of the slam tools available in standard bidding.  This lesson explains the concept of “duplication” which allows you to diagnose the degree of fit with partner and consequently make better slam decisions. On Page 2 is an explanation of a helpful slam tool: bidding five in a major suit.

Duplication                                                                                                                                                                                                  Duplication is the presence of overlapping partnership values in the same suit. Duplication occurs in two basic forms:

• The king, queen or jack (or any combination thereof) opposite shortness

• Shortness opposite shortness

For example, if you count 3 points for the king and partner counts 3 points (as dummy) for a singleton in the same suit, the combined value is not worth 6 points — in fact it is closer to 3 points because one of the values is usually worthless.  Similarly, if you and partner are both short in the same suit, the real value is much less than the combined point total because you may not be able to ruff anything.

Fit  Evaluation                                                                                                                                                                                                The general requirement for a suit slam (six of a suit) is 33 total points, which includes distributional points. This is approximate. The true requirement may be anywhere from 30 to 36 points depending on the amount of duplication.  To increase bidding accuracy, I recommend the following method of evaluation for suit slams:

• If you find there is no duplication, the requirement for slam is only 30 points. 

• If duplication exists, still use 30 points as your goal, but do not count wasted honors or wasted shortness in the duplicated suit.

• If you cannot determine whether duplication exists, figure on 33 points. This allows for an average amount of duplication.

Locating duplication                                                                                                                                                                                   Every bid you and partner make conveys information, and this will often disclose the presence or lack of duplication. Always ask yourself, “What is partner’s most likely hand pattern? Which suit will he be short in?” Even if you cannot be sure, an intelligent guess is usually good enough.

For many players, slam bidding success is pitiful because they only know one way to bid: Blackwood. Good players, however, are aware of the other options and know when to apply them.  One of these lesser known slam bidding tools is the bid of five in a major suit. Remember this the next time you want to bid 4 NT.

Basic meaning                                                                                                                                                                                        Bidding five in a major suit as a voluntary action (not competitive) is a slam invitation. In the old days, this was just a general slam try, but modern methods give it a specific meaning, according to the auction.

Alternative follow-ups                                                                                                                                                                                 After the bid of five in a major, partner will usually pass or bid six; but there are other options.

In the preceding cases, there was exactly one unbid suit, or an enemy suit, of concern. In other situations, bidding five in a major (voluntarily) is still a slam try, but it asks about the trump suit.

Exception                                                                                                                                                                                                          If your side has made a weak bid and either opponent has acted, bidding five in a major is not a slam try. It is an obstructive bid.

Hand of the Century                        Source: ABF   

2, West followed with the 4 and dummy’s 7 drew the J from East, who immediately returned the 5, which Helgemo ducked around to dummy’s 9. He could now discard dummy’s losing club on the long spade in his hand. Had East not returned a spade, Helgemo was planning to cross to dummy and run the

9.

How did Helgemo come up with this play? When the first round of spades was played, West played low without thought. Holding, say 10xx, he would at least have momentarily considered taking the trick. Secondly, East won the trick with the Jack. Helgemo correctly assumed East had the ten from West’s play so why would East try to false card with a holding of J10x? It was more likely that he in fact held QJ10x and that a declarer of Helgemo’s ability would get the hand right.                                                                                                             Thirdly, why did East return a spade instead of a club, with those two rags in dummy – because he wanted Helgemo to make a decision about the spade suit immediately.    Commentators at the time said Helgemo displayed three important talents necessary to play the spade suit the right way on this hand – imagination, psychology and guts!