Blackwood Slam Bidding Convention in Contract Bridge

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Bidding slams are exciting – never a dull moment.  Back in the late 1930s, Easley Blackwood came up with a conventional bid to ask partner to disclose the number of Aces.  Being a manager for an insurance company and wanting to capitalize on his newly invented bid, Easley called his convention “Wormwood” (not wanting senior managers to think his card play was risky). 

Easley also applied for a patent on Wormwood.  But the name never stuck and the patent office scoffed at the idea of patenting anything to do with Bridge.  Fortunately, his convention was loved by many who simply called his treatment the Blackwood convention.  And so Easley’s Blackwood bidding system has become the beloved slam asking bid over the last 70 years.

Slam – Three Possibilities

1. Classic Suit Slams – Majors, Minors
Use 4 Notrump “Blackwood” to check for Aces

2. Distributional extra long suits and two-suited Slams – Majors, Minors
Use 4 Notrump “Blackwood” to check for Aces

3. Balanced Slams – Notrump
Use 4 Club “Gerber” to check for Aces (more in next lesson)

Blackwood Prerequisites:

1. No worthless doubleton or void (instead use control bidding)

2. Suit Agreement (not Notrump contract)

3. One player jumps with self-sustaining suit (usually a major suit)

4. Small slam
a. 33+ distributional points
b. 12 tricks
c. 3-4 Aces or controls (singleton/void)

5. Grandslam
a. 37+ distributional points
b. 13 tricks
c. 4 Aces or controls, 3-4 Kings or controls (singleton/void)

The purpose of the Blackwood convention

1. Explore small slam
a. Bid 4 Notrump to ask
b. Used to ensure sufficient Aces (3-4 or controls/shortness)

2. Explore grandslam
a. Promises Aces or all first round controls (void)
b. Follow-up bid 5 Notrump to ask
c. Used to ensure sufficient Kings (3-4 or controls/shortness) [Read more…]