| Keycard Blackwood is a tool for bidding slams. In a
survey of top professional players
it was listed as one the most valued conventions. The difference
between traditional
Blackwood and Keycard Blackwood is that in Blackwood you only find out
about
the Aces partner holds when you bid 4N, while in Keycard Blackwood you
find
out about partners Aces and the King and Queen of the "Keycard"
suit. The Keycard suit will usually be the trump suit. This
is
valuable information that will allow you to make good decisions about
whether
or not to bid slam.
Note: There are two types of Keycard Blackwood: 1430 Keycard
Blackwood (1430)
and Roman Keycard Blackwood (RKC.) These two conventions are the same
except
for interchanging the meanings of two bids (5 <=>5 .) RKC was invented
first, but 1430 is more commonly used in America today. We are going to
discuss 1430
Keycard Blackwood.
Keycards - There are five Keycards: The four Aces and
the King in the Keycard
suit.
In addition to the Keycards, the Queen of the Keycard suit is also a
card that
partner can tell you about. When you bid 4N Keycard Blackwood here is
what
partners responses mean:
1430 Keycard Blackwood Responses to a 4N Bid
5 = 1 or 4 Keycards (You can
tell 1 or 4 by your hand and the auction.)
5 = 0 or 3 Keycards (You can tell 0 or
3 by your hand and the auction.)
5 = 2 Keycards w/o the Key Queen
5 = 2 Keycards w/ the Key Queen
Notice, if partner responds 5/5 you don't know about the Queen. If this
is the case and you are still interested in slam you can find out about
the
Queen by bidding the suit just above partners response (if it is not
the
Keycard suit.) Partner will rebid the Keycard suit without the Queen
and bid
another suit or 5N with the Queen.
Example Auction (opponents pass throughout)
1 - 4N(1) -- 5(2) - 5(3)
-- 5(4)!
(1) 1430 Keycard in Spades
(2) 1 or 4 Keycards in Spades
(3) Do you have the Queen?
(4) No, I don't have the Queen?
It is often reasonable to bid a slam if you are missing only one
Keycard and you
have the Queen. This is only a general guideline, there are many other
factors involved in good slam bidding.
In which suit are we Keycarding?
Once you start playing Keycard Blackwood you stop playing
traditional
Blackwood. But to respond to your 4N bid partner must know what "suit
you are
Keycarding in," (they must know which King to consider a Keycard.)
There are
some simple rules to determine which suit you are Keycarding in...
A If you and partner have bid and raised a suit then that is the
suit you are
Keycarding in.
B Otherwise, the Keycard suit is the suit partner bid just before you
bid 4N.
(Ex. 1-P-2-P-4N, Keycard in Hearts.)
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