Friday, August
19, 2005 10:14 PM
Hand
Evaluation - Exclusion Blackwood ( Duality )
PITBULLS:
Exclusion Blackwood is a new tool for us. Whenever you are thinking
about Q bidding a void ,
think Exclusion Blackwood instead.
The trouble with Q bidding a void is that partner thinks it is a king or an Ace
so he does not discount terrible duplication of value so continues to make encouraging
noises. My partner held this hand ♠Void
♥Q10987x
♦Jxx ♣AK10x , I opened 1NT.
Partner transferred to hearts followed by bidding 3♣. I bid 3♥ confirming hearts as
the trump suit. If I have nothing in spades , a grand
slam in hearts is possible ♠xxxx ♥AKx ♦AK ♣Qxxx
. If I have horrible duplication of value in spades ,
6♥ would be very iffy.
A void showing bid is
exclusion Blackwood by definition , so 4♠ asks
for Aces. Partner with ♠AKQx ♥Kxx ♦Axxx ♣xx shows two outside
the spade suit (5♦) so you sign off in 5♥
. With the other hand , you get a 5♥ response so 6♥ is a baby bid.
My
partner had a hand that “exclusion” would have kept us out of a bad slam. He held ♠AQ10xx ♥void ♦Axxx ♣AJxx , opened 1♠ getting a 1NT
response from me. He bid a quiet 2♣ ( what else
?) but I showed a limit raise in spades
by bidding 3♠ Given the parameter of the forcing NT where my
maximum is in the 12 HCP range we are in the 26 HCP range. Having said that , if there is no duplication of value in hearts, a
grand slam is possible ! ♠Kxx ♥xxxx ♦Kx ♣KQxx are the magical cards
where 13 tricks are a possibility. Anyway partner decided to Q bid 4♣ to
test the waters so I replied 4♦ which obviously says
I like my hand on the auction. What next ? 5♥ exclusion by partner
is a two way bid. It asks me to show controls omitting the heart Ace but it
obviously tells me that
he is void in hearts. I held the wrong hand for him as I held the heart Ace
instead of the spade king making slam a bad contract. I respond no Aces so he
now realizes that we are in the 26 HCP range with possible duplication
. Accordingly he passes my 5♠ response ( zero aces ) . My hand was ♠Jxx
♥Axxx ♦Kx ♣K10xx
but what
if my hand was ♠Jxx ♥xxxx ♦KQx ♣KQxx . In light of his non
forcing 2♣ bid and his slam aspirations , I
would just bid 6♠ ! . There is no hand that he could hold that he bids 2♣
with a void in hearts that slam cannot
make . He needs around 16 HCP outside the heart suit
so “filling in the blanks” 6♠ must be cold ! Exclusion Blackwood is a two way bid on some auctions !!
2/1
auctions with a minor fit when showing a void
in the majors is defined to be exclusion Blackwood
. So you do not Q bid the void. You hold ♠void ♥xx ♦Axxx ♣AQJ10xx , partner opens a heart. You bid 2♣
, partner raises to 3♣ . Do not even think of Q bidding your spade
void. Jump to 4♠ which is exclusion Blackwood for clubs
! . With minors agreed , you can get away with
Exclusion Blackwood at the 4 level in the
major. Here is another auction . I held ♠AKxxxx ♥void ♦Axxx ♣Kxx ,
partner opens 1♦. I respond a spade , partner
bids 2♦. 4♥ to play is an
impossible bid as you have a million other bids to show spades and hearts. 4♥ is exclusion KCB with
diamonds as the agreed suit.
Opening
2♣ is where exclusion Blackwood could be a very
frequent bid. If you have found a minor fit early, jump to 4 of a major is exclusion
Blackwood. 2♣-P-3♣-P 4♦ is not splintering to the weak hand. Clubs are agreed and we
have a void in diamonds with exclusion KCB . With a
major fit after two clubs , a jump to the 5 level is an obvious Exclusion
Blackwood bid.
2♣-P-2♦-P
2♠-P-3♠-P
5♣-P-?
Ok what
about the sequences where exclusion KCB does not apply ?
What about the strong distribution 6-5 hands ? ♠x ♥AKJxx ♦AQJ10xx ♣x you open 1♦ and partner bid 1♠. Do not be a
kangaroo and jump to 4♥ . That is exclusion
Blackwood with spade support !! Bid 2♥ as a quiet reverse
or 3♥ as a jump shift
reverse when you are weaker. What about the strong two suiters
with the spade suit ? Here is where I think exclusion
Blackwood is silly. Exclusion Blackwood forcing the auction to the 5 level when
there is a threat of serious duplication of value
is bad Bridge. A leap to the 4 level in spades is natural
so not Exclusion Blackwood. ♠AKQxx ♥x ♦x ♣AKxxxx 1♣-P-1♥-P 4♠ as Exclusion
Blackwood is too risky so will put the heart contract in jeopardy at the 5
level when severe duplication of value in spades in responder’s hand.
Comments ?