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There are varying levels of interest in slam. Sometimes our hand is terrible for slam and we want to discourage partner at all costs. Other times our hand is fantastic and we plan to take charge and force the auction to slam. Usually, though, we are somewhere in between, at varying ends of the spectrum. Sometimes we have a decent hand but no particular slam interest ourselves; we simply are willing to cooperate if partner has slam interest. Other times we are close to forcing to slam and just need to hear some cooperation from partner.

 

It’s essential that we be able to distinguish our varying levels of slam interest. Too often I’ll see something like this:

 

♠ AQ842 ♥ KJ94 ♦ K3 ♣ A2                 ♠ KJ5 ♥ QT5 ♦ A92 ♣ KJ63

 

1♠                    2♣

2♥                    4♠

 

Responder, looking at only 14 HCP and 4333 shape, considers their hand a “minimum” and jumps to game, signaling no slam interest. Opener has a very nice hand, but not enough to overrule this decision, and an excellent slam is missed. If you think opener’s hand is too good to pass 4♠, consider a hand responder could have (and should have for the 4♠ bid) like xxx Qx AQJ QJxxx. Now you’re off the ace of hearts and could easily lose 2 trump tricks; the 5-level isn’t safe. As important as bidding good slams is, avoiding bad ones and not getting to the 5-level needlessly are even more essential.

 

Then, on the next hand, their underbidding disaster still fresh in their minds, this happens:

 

♠ AK943 ♥ QJ7 ♦ K94 ♣ 53                  ♠ Q72 ♥ AK5 ♦ J84 ♣ AJ96

 

1♠                    2♣

2NT                 3♠

4♦                    4♥

4NT                 5♠

6♠

 

This time, though neither was particularly interested in slam, they both kept control bidding, in case partner had a good hand. And they reached a miserable slam.

 

How can we avoid these mistakes? The key is to determine and then communicate our level of slam interest. Are you actually interested in slam, or just cooperating? If you are interested, how interested are you? Do you need partner to also be interested, or just to not have a total dog?  If you’re not interested, are you really not interested, or does your hand just have some useful features? Here’s how to do it.

 

 

 

The 1-5 Method

Rate your hand on a scale of 1-5. A 1 is the worst hand ever. (Remember that we are making this assessment in the context of slam bidding, so this rating isn’t just about HCP, but about slam suitability. A hand like Axx Axx Axxxx xx with lots of controls and a 5-card suit is much better than a 4333 hand loaded with quacks like QJx KJx QJx KJxx, even though the first hand has 12 HCP and the second has 14 HCP.) A 5 is the best – willing to force to slam opposite what partner has already shown. The rest are in between. A 2 is a useful minimum – it has some decent controls and/or shape, but no significant extra values. (The hand above with 3 aces is a 2.) A 3 has moderate extra values and/or good fit/shape. A 4 has significant extra values and wants to be in slam unless partner has the worst hand. It’s always important to remember that our evaluation is relative to what we’ve shown in the auction. If partner has opened 2♣ we need significantly less to be interested in slam than if he has opened 1♣.

 

In the context of a normal 2/1 auction, where both partners have shown opening hands, here’s how the five ratings break down:

 

1. Terrible minimum. 12-14 HCP, poor controls, poor shape, poor fit, at most 1 keycard.
   ♠ AJ654 ♥ Q32 ♦ Q2 ♣ QJ8
2. Decent minimum. 12-15 HCP, some controls. Perhaps some extra shape and/or fit.
   ♠ AQ843♥ KQ76 ♦ 53 ♣ K8
3. Moderate extras. 16-17 HCP, decent controls/shape/fit.
   ♠ AKJ65 ♥ 7 ♦ KQT8 ♣ K65
4. Significant extras. 17-19, good controls.
   ♠ KQT54 ♥ Q6 ♦ AQJ3 ♣ A6
5. Slam force. 19+ HCP or lots of shape. Enough to picture slam opposite a bad 12-count.
   ♠ AKJ98 ♥ 4 ♦ AK985 ♣ A5

 

For slam to be good, the partnership’s hands need to add up to 6. If I have a 5 – a hand so strong I’m forcing to slam no matter what – slam will be good even opposite a 1. If I have a 4 – a hand just short of forcing to slam – I need partner to have a 2 – no extra values, but some useful cards. If I have moderate extra values – say I’ve opened the bidding and have 16 HCP, which would give me a 3 – I need partner to have similar strength – also a 3.

 

Let’s look at this in action. Let’s say the auction begins like this:

 

1♠        2♣

2♠        3♠

?

 

Here’s some hands we might have:

 

1. ♠ QJ8432 ♥ QJ3 ♦ KJ3 ♣ Q3
   Yuck! This is a 1. Flat, quacky, no keycards. Consider what partner would need for us to have a slam. Something like ♠ AKx ♥ Kxx ♦ Ax ♣ AKxxx. That’s a 21-count of all aces and kings! That’s totally a 5.
2. ♠ AQT852 ♥ K73 ♦ 73 ♣ A3
   Only 13 HCP, but this hand is much more promising. We’ve got good trumps, lots of controls, an honor in partner’s suit, 2 keycards plus the trump queen. Definitely a 2.
3. ♠ AJT732 ♥ K7 ♦ QJ4 ♣ AJ
   Some real extra values – 16 HCP. Decent controls. A 3.
4. ♠ AKJ953 ♥ 4 ♦ AQ5 ♣ K42
   Serious extra values, a singleton, lots of controls. Not enough to force to slam, but you don’t need much from partner. A 4.
5. ♠ AQJ864 ♥ AQ8 ♦ 9 ♣ AK9
   You’re forcing to slam for sure. This is a 5.

Communicating Slam Interest

 

Now that we can evaluate our hand, how do we communicate that to partner? We’re going to use one of our existing tools to communicate our level of slam interest – control bidding. The primary purpose of control bidding is to show our controls so that we avoid slams off a cashing ace-king. But we can also use control-bidding to clarify how our hand rates on the 1-5 scale.

 

When you hold a 1 or a 5 it’s easy: a 1 signs off immediately, and a 5 forces to slam (though occasionally it will still want to control bid first to make sure we’re not off a cashing ace-king). For hands in the 2-4 range, we can differentiate their quality by the number of times we control bid. A 2 is worth one slam move, such as a control bid. So you control bid once and then sign off. This says you are willing to cooperate with slam (you didn’t sign off immediately) but have no real slam interest of your own. i.e., you have a 2. A 3 makes 2 moves. A 4 just has to listen for partner to make a move; that means he has a 2 and you have enough for slam.

 

Let’s see how the hands we looked at earlier might bid.

 

♠ AQ842 ♥ KJ94 ♦ K3 ♣ A2                 ♠ KJ5 ♥ QT5 ♦ A92 ♣ KJ63

 

1♠                    2♣

2♥                    2♠

4NT                 5♥

6♠

 

Opener has a 4 – 17 HCP, good controls, and decent shape. Responder has a 2 – minimum values and 4333 shape, but 2 keycards and another king. Instead of jumping to 4♠, responder should bid 2♠. This is their one slam move – setting trumps at lower level rather than jumping counts just like a control bid. That should be enough for opener. Since they have controls in all the suits, so they can jump straight to Blackwood.

 

 

♠ AK943 ♥ QJ7 ♦ K94 ♣ 53                  ♠ Q72 ♥ AK5 ♦ J84 ♣ AJ96

 

1♠                    2♣

2NT                 3♠

4♦                    4♥

4♠

 

This time opener has a 2 and responder has a 3. So opener should make 1 move (the 4♦ control bid) and then sign off. Responder control-bids 4♥, but when they hear opener sign off they know partner only has a 2, so there’s not enough for slam; they should respect this and pass.

 

Our rating will change as the auction progresses and we learn more about partner’s hand. A singleton or double fit could easily change our rating by a point or two. For example:

 

 

 

♠ QJ85 ♥ A64 ♦ A974 ♣ K3

 

1♠        2NT

3♥*      ?

 

This hand started off as a 2 – a minimum but with good controls and a good fit. The 3♥ bid showing heart shortness increases the hand’s value significantly. It’s now a 4! Unless partner has a terrible quacky minimum (i.e., a 1), you want to force to slam. Start with either 3♠ or a 4♣ control bid. If partner control bids, you can drive to slam. If they sign off, you can respect that and pass.

 

♠ 84 ♥ QJ4 ♦ A83 ♣ AQ954

 

1♥        2♣

3♣        ?

 

Again, your hand started as a 2, but the double fit in club upgrades it to at least a 2.5, maybe a 3. Start with 3♥ to show the fit, and plan to control bid to show continued slam interest.