Asking for Six Keycards With Blackwood
The author of this conventional agreement is unknown, but several bridge authors have addressed the idea, with Eddie Kantor probably being the most prolific.
There are bidding situations where one partner has shown a two suited hand with perhaps a Michaels overcall or the Unusual Notrump. (Precision players often use an opening bid of 2NT or 3NT to show either both majors or both minors.) It's these auctions, and any other where the partnership is aware that one of them holds two suits that responder would like to know about the kings in both suits. This Six Keycard agreement fits perfectly.
There are several methods avaiable on the internet, but perhaps the most popular is one that uses a modified Roman Keycard Blackwood for responses. However, it's not the best. Below is a simple but effective method, but players are free to devise any set of responses to 4NT they desire.
The Table below shows the Asking Bids and the corresponding Responses:
5 | 0/1 key card |
5 | 2 key cards |
5 | 3 key cards |
5 | 4 key cards |
| 5NT | 5 key cards - no queen |
| 6 | 5 key cards - one queen |
| 6 | 5 key cards - two queens |
If one of your suits is clubs, you might want to eliminate that last step, but with five of the six keycards and both queens, you probably belong in a grand slam.
Roy Wilson