Making Slam Bids

Introduction

A slam bid is any bid at the 6 or 7 level. A 6-level bid is a small slam, and a 7-level bid is a grand slam. In addition to the contract points and the game bonus, there is a slam bonus of at least 500 points. In a competitive match a slam contract can be the difference between winning and losing.

Winning a slam contract requires very strong hands with very few losing tricks. This lesson provides some bidding techniques that help you to recognize a set of hands with a potential for making a slam bid.

Partnership Point Count

One measure of success in a slam contract is the partnership point count. The partnership point count will indicate a high probability that the partnership can win the slam contract with careful play.

In my experience the slam contract thresholds listed below are very reliable measures of success and work most of the time.

Other Slam Considerations

A slam bid needs high cards. Missing one Ace could defeat a Grand Slam, and missing 2 Aces could defeat a Small Slam. Also, missing an Ace forces you to win the rest of the tricks in a small slam. A Slam bid in a suit needs at least 8 trumps, and should have enough high cards to avoid losing a trick.

Slam Potential

Slam potential is the relationship between the combined partnership points or HCP as it compares to the point criteria needed to make a small slam bid. If the combined points or HCP are just under the small slam criteria, then a small slam invitation is appropriate. If the comined points or HCP are equal to or greater than the small slam criteria then a direct small slam bid might be appropriate. The small slam decision process depends on the specific conventions used.

Evaluating slam potential is a part of the bidding process. Before making a bid, determine if there a slam invitation or better is justified by comparing the total points and HCP in your hand plus your partner’s hand. If the total is near 32/33 points, and you have a suit or have decided to play in No Trump, then a slam invitation or a slam bid is appropriate.

For example, your partner has opened 1 ♣ and then jumps to 2 NT, showing 18/19 HCP. You have 13 HCP and a balanced hand. You can invite a slam quantitatively with a 4 NT bid or initiate the Gerber convention. You open 1 ♠ with 21 points, and partner raises to 3 ♠, showing 10-12 points. You can invite a slam by initiating Blackwood.

Slam Bidding Conventions

The slam bidding conventions deal with high-card strength, and 2 of the conventions deal specifically with Aces and Kings. The high-card strength convention is quantitative bidding. The 2 honor-card systems are Blackwood, Gerber. This lesson describes quantitative bidding, Blackwood, and Gerber. Cue bidding is another convention, but it is complex enough to have its own lesson.

Quantitative Slam Bidding

Quantitative slam bidding uses only the combined points or HCP in the partnership to determine if a slam is approriate. This technique is used primarily with No Trump bidding.

When your partner opens 1 NT and you have 15 HCP, the combined HCP range is 30-32 HCP, enough to make a slam invitation by bidding 4 NT. Your partner will accept with 17 HCP and bid 6 NT. With 15 HCP, your partner will not accept by passing.

When your partner opens 1 NT and you have 17 HCP, the combined HCP range is 32-34 HCP, enough to bid a small slam by bidding 6 NT. Your partner will pass.

Blackwood Convention

When your partnership shows slam potential with over 30 combined points or HCP, Blackwood provides a way of verifying slam potential by determining how many Aces are shared in the partnership. Blackwood is most appropriate when there is a trump suit. After a trump suit has been determined, a 4 NT bid is a small slam invitation and expects a Blackwood response.

Sometimes a partner determines that there is a good potential for a slam before responding with a Blackwood invitation. When a player bids Blackwood before a trump fit is determined, the player has the responsibility of naming the trump suit. Usually, the trump suit is the suit bid by the partnership before Blackwood was invoked.

The Blackwood bidding rules are as follows.

The total number of Aces is the number in your hand plus the number described by your partner’s bid.

When to Use Blackwood

Blackwood should be used when the combined point count is near of over the slam minimum for a suit-contract and you do no When a hand has a void, you need more information than just a count of Aces, so cue-card bidding is recommended. If you have settled on a No Trump contract, the 4 No Trump bid is quantitative.

Using Blackwood

Your partner’s response to Blackwood tells you how many Aces are in partner’s hand, so you know the number of Aces in your partnership. If the combined number of Aces is less than 4, a bid of 5 in the trump suit is appropriate. If that is not possible, then bid 6 in the Trump suit. If the combined number of Aces is 4, you have choices. A bid of 6 in the trump suit ends the bidding. A bid of 5 No Trump asks for Kings, with the same responses at the 6-level. If the combined number of Kings is less than 4, a bid of 6 in the trump suit is appropriate. If that is not possible, then bid 7 in the Trump suit. If the combined number of Kings is 4, then bid 7 in the trump suit, ending the bidding.

Gerber Convention

When your partnership shows slam potential with over 30 combined points or HCP, Gerber provides a way of verifying slam potential by determing how many Aces are shared in the partnership. Gerber can be used with a suit contract other than a ♣ contract. It also works with No Trump. After a trump suit has been determined, a 4 ♣ bid is a small slam invitation and expects a Gerber response.

If your partner jumps to 4 ♣ where ♣ has not been mentioned by the partnership before, then you can assume your partner knows what Trump bid is appropriate. When a Trump or Np Trumps has not been determined, the Gerber bidder is responsible for bidding it.

The Gerber bidding rules are as follows.

The total number of Aces is the number in your hand plus the number described by your partner’s bid.

Using Gerber

Your partner’s response to Gerber tells you how many Aces are in partner’s hand, so you know the number of Aces in your partnership. If the combined number of Aces is less than 4, a bid in the agreed contract at the 5-level is appropriate. If that is not possible, then bid 6 in agreed contact. If the combined number of Aces is 4, you have choices. A bid at the 6-level ends the bidding. A bid of 5 ♣ asks for Kings, with the same responses at the 6-level. If the combined number of Kings is less than 4, a bid of 6 in the agreed contract is appropriate. If that is not possible, then bid 7 in the agreed contract. If the combined number of Kings is 4, then bid 7 in the agreed contract, ending the bidding.

Evaluating Two Hands, Part 1

Evaluate the hand below for slam potential.

The North hand has 15 HCP and 15 points overall. The South hand has 17 HCP and 17 points overall. The combined points in the two hands are 32 HCP and 32 points, enough potential to at least explore a small slam.

The bidding omits East and West. If North starts the bidding, it might go as follows:

North South Comments 1 ♦ 2 ♥ South Jump shifts, showing at least 17 points as responder 4 NT 5 ♥ North calculates at least 32 partnership points and invites with Blackwood. South shows 2 Aces. 5 NT 6 ♦ North asks for Kings. South shows 1 King. 6 ♥ pass With only 3 Kings. North settles for small slam. South passes.

This example shows how Gerber works with No Trump. It also shows how the system sometimes comes up short. South starts the bidding.

North South Comments 1 NT South shows 15-17 HCP. 4 ♣ 4 ♠ North calculates at least 32 partnership points and invites with Gerber. South shows 2 Aces. 5 ♣ 5 ♥ North asks for Kings. South shows 1 King. 6 NT pass With only 3 Kings. North settles for small slam. South passes.

When playing in No Trump, the opening lead is important. If West leads anything besides a ♣, South can win by attacking the ♥ suit first. After losing to the Jack of ♥, South will win the rest of the tricks and the contract.

If West leads a ♣, then South must take all of the winning tricks, leaving two small ♥. South will lose the last two tricks. If you find a solution, please let me know.

Evaluating Two Hands. Part 2

Evaluate the hand below for slam potential.

The North hand has 15 HCP and 16 points overall. The South hand has 17 HCP and 18 points. The combined points in the two hands are 32 HCP and 34 points, enough potential for a slam bid.

The bidding omits East and West. If South starts the bidding, it might go as follows:

North South Comments 1 NT South shows 15-17 points and a balanced hand 2 ♣ 5 ♦ With 2-4 card major suits, North bids Stayman. South shows no 4-card major suits. 4 NT 6 NT North invites to a small slam. South accepts with 17 HCP.

Review Questions

Some questions have more than one correct answer.

Use this hand to answer the next 5 questions.

1. Does this pair have good slam potential based on HCP or points?

2. What bidding method is best used to show there is a missing Ace?

3. What suit is most vulnerable in a 6 NT contract?

4. What would be the expected final bid for this hand?

5. How would North respond to Gerber 4 ♣?

If you have any comments or suggestions please send them to peterkonieczko76@gmail.com

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