Blackwood, the answers

This article is the third part of a series of articles. You can find the first part on the blog here and the second part here. Enjoy your reading!

You’re finally there. Your sequence has been perfect. The conditions are all met. Blackwood is employed. Now you have to answer. This is not the most difficult part but some problems occur that we will attempt to solve here.

Table of contents

1. Which system of answers should you choose?
What to do when they intervene?
Asking for keycards with a void.
Practical exercises
Exercises : Bidding is not everything there is in life!

1. Which system of answers should you choose?

The standard system is as follows (remember the Trump King is a key-card):

4NT
› 5♣ ➔ 3 or 0 keycard(s).
› 5♦ ➔ 4 or 1 keycard(s).
› 5♥ ➔ 2 keycards without the Queen of trumps.
› 5♠ ➔ 2 keycards with the Queen of trumps.
› 5NT ➔ 2 keycards and a void.
› 6♣(♦,♥) ➔ 1 or 3 keycard(s) and a void in the bid suit. If the jump is in the trump suit, the void is in a higher suit than the trump suit.

This system calls for some comments.

30-41 or 41-30 ?
Many high-level players advocate 41-30. The technical reason for this choice is as follows: responder has 1 key more often than 0 and therefore, with this system, will bid 5♣ more often than 5♦. This of course has a certain advantage when Clubs are trumps, but also when Hearts are trumps because we can now ask for the Queen of trumps with 5♦.
These arguments are quite convincing but still quite marginal, especially if you are an “old player” who might make a mistake by changing systems, because of years of habit (personal experience). In addition, even though this is not crippling, it’s not the SEF.

About special responses
Note that with a void, you must answer 5NT if you have two keycards and a bid at the 6-level shows a void and one or three keycard(s).

Some additional precisions:
› Showing the Queen of trumps without actually having it.
This is a technique that you need to know and the use of which is not so rare. It is based on the fact that, if your side has ten trumps, the presence of the Queen is not necessary to be sure not to lose any trump trick. Consequently, if the player who answers to RKCB is certain of the presence of these ten trumps, he should respond 5♠ whenever he has two keys. Example: