ICP
Robert Todd
Improve Your Card Play 2 - 564

Establishing Length

We usually win tricks with little cards (other than in the trump suit) by setting up our long suits. To establish these little cards in our long suits into winners, we need to play the hand well.  This requires using our large cards in the best way possible to establish our little cards. That means we need to play our combinations as best as we can, manage our transportation, and have some good luck in the way the cards divide.

Improve Your Card Play 2 - 564
COM
Robert Todd
COM Landing Set 1 - 411
COM
Robert Todd
COM Landing Set 2 - 412
COM
Robert Todd
COM Landing Set 3 - 413
COM
Robert Todd
COM Landing Set 4 - 414

ASB

Advanced Slam Bidding Set 9 - 540

Advanced Slam Bidding Set 9 - 540

Last Train

One of the ways that we investigate slam in a suit contract is the use of control showing bids. When one member of the partnership is interested in slam then they show this interest by making a control showing bid. But as the auction approaches game we have a big decision to make, should we go past game or not. This can be a difficult decision; we should not go past game without a good reason -- some extra values. In this situation we would like to have a way to make “one more try for slam”. The way that we do that is with a convention called the Last Train to Clarksville (“Last Train”).

Advanced Slam Bidding Set 8 - 539

Advanced Slam Bidding Set 8 - 539

Non-Serious 3NT/3S

When we find a Major suit fit at the 3-level in a game forcing auction, then partner is usually expressing interest in slam (because without slam interest, partner would have applied the Principle of Fast Arrival and bid 4M.) In this case, now we usually express whether we have slam interest or not by either making a cuebid or simply bidding game with 4M. A partnership can use a gadget called “Non-Serious 3NT” to gain even further clarification about a player’s level of slam interest.

Advanced Slam Bidding Set 6 - 537

Advanced Slam Bidding Set 6 - 537

Responding to Keycard with a Void

When partner bids 4NT as Keycard in our established fit, a void in a side suit can be useful. We may still be able to make a slam if we are missing two Aces/Keycards if the void is in a suit of one of those missing side Aces. We need a way to tell partner about this void if we haven’t already done so earlier in the auction.

Advanced Slam Bidding Set 4 - 535

Advanced Slam Bidding Set 4 - 535

5NT Choice of Slam

5NT is not a common bid. We most frequently use it in Ace-asking auctions to ask for Kings. We now have another use of a 5NT bid in Grand Slam Force. But trying for a grand slam is a rare occurrence and we would like to use 5NT (specially a jump to 5NT) for another more frequently useful purpose. The modern approach is to play a jump to 5NT as a “choice of slams” to help up find the best small slam. Let’s see how this works.

Advanced Slam Bidding Set 3 - 534

Advanced Slam Bidding Set 3 - 534

5-Major Obvious Question

We can use a 5-Major bid for something other than to end the auction. 5-Major can be bid concisely for a variety of reasons -- to take away bidding space from the opponents or to ask partner a specific question (which we call the “obvious question”). Let’s look at our options for how to make use of this 5-Major bid.

Advanced Slam Bidding Set 2 - 533

Advanced Slam Bidding Set 2 - 533

Minor Suit Slams After NT Openings

Minor suit slams are much harder to bid than Major suit slams. This is especially true after we open the bidding with 1NT (or 2NT). We start off the auction looking for Major suit fits and only then look for our minor suit fits after that. These Major suit showing bids are the cheapest bids and that means that our minor suit showing bids take up more space. We look at how we overcome this bidding challenge to bid good minor suit slams.

Advanced Slam Bidding Set 1 - 532

Advanced Slam Bidding Set 1 - 532

Forcing Pass Auctions

When we are in a game forcing auction and the opponents interfere (usually to sacrifice) it is clear that we are not going to go quietly and just let them steal the contract. If the opponents bid over us, then we will either double them and defend or bid on to our game. Forcing Pass is an agreement used to help us work together with partner to make a good decision about which to do. — “Forcing Pass.”