Slam Bidding is Easy
All the slam bidding gadgets are great but your basic bidding is going to be the biggest help in judging your overall strength on a hand.
Points For 6NT
With 2 balanced hands and 33 points between you and your partner you've got a pretty good chance of making 6NT.
Why 33 points? Well, 33 points is enough not to guarantee that we make 6NT, but it's enough to make 6NT likely to make more often than not.
Is that good enough for slam bidding? I think it is. You can spend a bit of time on Google and you can check what percentage of the time top players make their slam, and you'll find it's going to be around about 70%. I'll save you Googling it, but have a look if you like.
So a 70% slam is reasonable, and with 33 points between the two hands, we have a reasonable chance of making a slam. It's going to make more often than not.
Points For 6 Of A Suit
30-32 points with a good trump fit and distribution will often be enough for slam in a suit contract and sometimes you can make with less than that. But it's still good to have these basic numbers to work with.
Finding Out About Strength
Simple bidding is often going to give you all the information you need about your combined strength but one useful way of getting more information from partner is to bid fourth suit forcing before setting trumps.
Slam Bidding Conventions
Asking For Aces
Many players want to leap off to ask for aces using some version of Blackwood but aces alone aren't enough to make a slam. The trouble is that it's not always easy to know how to get the information needed at a lower level.
Splinter Bids
Splinter bids are another way you can show strength and distribution, inviting to slam before having to bid past game.
Cue Bids
Cue bidding is another option to show precisely where your aces and kings are rather than just how many you have.
A Hand From A Tournament
In a recent tournament I was playing Standard. If you play Acol, you'll need to adjust your point count thinking just a little bit, but the concepts are still exactly the same.
Responding to 1NT
North opens 1NT showing 15-17 points and a balanced hand. East overcalls 2♦, and this 2♦ doesn't necessarily show Diamonds. It simply says that East has a 5 or 6 card suit somewhere, but we don't know what suit it is yet. You might think that's a strange system, but that's what they were doing.
Strong Enough
On this hand I've got 18, North has shown 15 to 17, so that's 33 to 35 points between the two hands.
This one's a little bit better because I do have that 5 card club suit. Of course it's a little bit scary because maybe the opposition have got the ♥A and ♥K. But, I did not know what to do, so I fell back on my standard idea. I just crossed my fingers and bid 6NT.
Slam Makes!
6NT Made 7.
Your Turn
Don't be shy about bidding slam. It's scary. It's exciting. Enjoy it!
I thought slam was there but didn't know how to bid it.