Keycard Blackwood

Keycard Blackwood

Keycard Blackwood is a tool for bidding slams. In a survey of top professional players it was listed as one the most valued conventions. The difference between traditional Blackwood and Keycard Blackwood is that in Blackwood you only find out about the Aces partner holds when you bid 4N, while in Keycard Blackwood you find out about partners Aces and the King and Queen of the "Keycard" suit. The Keycard suit will usually be the trump suit. This is valuable information that will allow you to make good decisions about whether or not to bid slam.

Note: There are two types of Keycard Blackwood: 1430 Keycard Blackwood (1430) and Roman Keycard Blackwood (RKC.) These two conventions are the same except for interchanging the meanings of two bids (5<=>5.) RKC was invented first, but 1430 is more commonly used in America today. We are going to discuss 1430 Keycard Blackwood.

Keycards- There are five Keycards: The four Aces and the King in the Keycard suit.
In addition to the Keycards, the Queen of the Keycard suit is also a card that partner can tell you about. When you bid 4N Keycard Blackwood here is what partners responses mean:

1430 Keycard Blackwood Responses to a 4N Bid
5 = 1 or 4 Keycards (You can tell 1 or 4 by your hand and the auction.)
5 = 0 or 3 Keycards (You can tell 0 or 3 by your hand and the auction.)
5 = 2 Keycards w/o the Key Queen
5 = 2 Keycards w/ the Key Queen
Notice, if partner responds 5/5 you don't know about the Queen. If this is the case and you are still interested in slam you can find out about the Queen by bidding the suit just above partners response (if it is not the Keycard suit.) Partner will rebid the Keycard suit without the Queen and bid another suit or 5N with the Queen.

Example Auction (opponents pass throughout)
1 - 4N(1) -- 5(2) - 5(3) -- 5(4)!
(1) 1430 Keycard in Spades
(2) 1 or 4 Keycards in Spades
(3) Do you have the Queen?
(4) No, I don't have the Queen?
It is often reasonable to bid a slam if you are missing only one Keycard and you have the Queen. This is only a general guideline, there are many other factors involved in good slam bidding.

In which suit are we Keycarding?Once you start playing Keycard Blackwood you stop playing traditional Blackwood. But to respond to your 4N bid partner must know what "suit you are Keycarding in," (they must know which King to consider a Keycard.) There are some simple rules to to determine which suit you are Keycarding in...A If you and partner have bid and raised a suit then that is the suit you are Keycarding in.B Otherwise, the Keycard suit is the suit partner bid just before you bid 4N.(Ex. 1-P-2-P-4N, Keycard in Hearts.)