This Week in Bridge
(584) Exclusion Keycard
©AiB Robert S. Todd
Level: 10 of 10 robert@advinbridge.com
General
When we are interested in slam in a suit contract but have a void in one of the side suits, it adds some complexity to our slam bidding. We may be able to make a slam missing two Aces (or a grand slam missing an Ace), if partner does not have the Ace opposite our void. When exploring slam, we want to know if partner has that Ace or has the “good Aces”, the ones opposite our losers. One way that we find out about the location of partner’s Aces is by using control showing bids. This is especially effective if we use them to show first round control (if we play that our control showing bids could be 1st or 2nd round, then we know less about which Aces partner hold). There is a gadget that we can use in some auctions that allows us to try to solve this problem. This convention, called Exclusion Keycard, asks partner for their number of Keycards (or Aces if we play Blackwood), excluding one particular Ace – the place where we are void. This Exclusion allows us to find out if partner has enough of the “right Aces” for us to make slam.
Exclusion Keycard – 1430
The conventional Exclusion Keycard is a bid that says, “Partner, tell me how many Keycards you have but do not count a particular Ace (the one we are excluding).”
We can indicate conventional agreement by making an usual jump to a new suit at a very high level.
Example 1
Opener Responder
1♥ 2♥
5♣
This 5♣ bid is Exclusion Keycard in ♥ -- asking partner to ignore the ♣A but answer with their other Keycards.
Most partnerships play the same Exclusion answers as they do to their normal Keycard asks. So, if we play 1430 Keycard, then these are the Exclusion answers too.
Opener Responder
1♥ 2♥
5♣ __?
Partner answers 1430 style, in steps, ignoring the ♣A.
5♦ Step 1 – 1 or 4 Keycards.
5♥ Step 2 – 3 or 0 Keycards
5♠ Step 3 – 2 Keycards without the ♥Q.
5NT Step 4 – 2 Keycards with the ♥Q.
Queen Ask – Problems
When we use Keycard, Step 1 and Step 2 (showing 1 / 4 or 3 / 0) do not tell partner if we have the trump Queen or not. In a normal Keycard auction we use the next step to ask partner if they have the Queen. Of course, we can only use this if there is enough bidding space to make this Queen-asking bid.
A similar problem occurs in Exclusion auctions when there is no space to ask for the Queen.
Example 2
Opener Responder
1♥ 2♥
5♣ 5♦
__
If we are interested in a Grand Slam, then we can use 5♠ to start the Queen Ask – and further explore for Kings. But this does not help us if we are trying to decide if we should bid a small slam or not.
Preempt Keycard Exclusion Answer -- 01122
One improvement we can make to our Exclusion auctions is to use our Preempt Keycard steps.
Step 1 – 0 Keycards
Step 2 – 1 Keycard without the Queen
Step 3 – 1 Keycard with the Queen
Step 4 – 2 Keycards without the Queen
Step 5 – 2 Keycards with the Queen
This is a good agreement because there only 4 keycards to discuss, so like a preempt, we don’t expect partner to have 3-4 keycards. This approach to Exclusion Keycard answers is strongly preferred.
Example 3
Opener Responder
1♠ 3♠
5♦ 5NT
Here 5NT, step 3, shows 1 Keycard with the ♠Q.
Some Other Exclusion Problems
Another issue with this convention is the question of when the bid is Exclusion and when it is something else. This can become extremely complicated and has led to many partnership mixups over the years.
Example 4
Opener Responder
1♠ 3♠
4♣ 5♦
If we bid 5♦, intending it as Exclusion Keycard, then we hope that partner recognizes it as that, and does not think this is some control showing bid.
Conclusion
Keycard is a useful tool for exploring slam, but when we have a void, if we use Keycard to ask for Aces and we find out we are missing two Aces, then we might bid slam and just “hope” that partner does not have the Ace opposite our void. Exclusion is a useful gadget for solving this problem, but make sure that you and partner discuss these auctions -- mixups are common and expensive in these “strange” auctions.