Roman Key Card Blackwood

Plain Blackwood counts aces and nothing else. Yet the king and queen of trumps decide as many slams as the side aces do. A small slam missing one ace and the trump king is usually down at once, and a grand slam missing the trump queen is a guess. Roman Key Card Blackwood (RKCB) counts the trump king as a fifth ace and finds the trump queen along the way. This guide uses the 1430 responses, which most pairs play today, and covers the older 3014 order as well.

Once a trump suit is agreed, 4NT asks partner for key cards. There are five of them, the four aces and the king of the agreed suit. Partner answers in steps, and the two higher steps also say whether partner holds the queen of trumps.

The step answers are ambiguous on purpose. The captain always knows from the auction whether partner holds one key card or four, zero or three. If the captain signs off believing partner has the lower number and partner actually has the higher one, partner simply bids the slam.

The name 1430 is a memory aid. The first step shows 1 or 4 and the second shows 3 or 0. The older order, 3014, swaps the first two steps. The 5♥ and 5♠ answers are the same in both.

1 or 4 comes first because the player who bids 4NT usually holds the strong hand, and partner then holds one key card far more often than none. The cheapest answer goes to the most frequent holding, which leaves the most room below five of the trump suit for the queen ask. 3014 is not wrong, and some partnerships prefer it when the weaker hand is the one asking.

What matters is that both of you play the same one.

After a 5♣ or 5♦ answer, the trump queen is still unknown. The cheapest bid that is not the trump suit asks for it. Without the queen, partner returns to the trump suit. Holding it, partner bids a side suit where they have the king, or 5NT if there is no king to show.

When hearts are trumps the room is tighter. After a 5♣ answer, 5♦ is the queen ask and partner can still say no by bidding 5♥. After a 5♦ answer, the next bid that is not hearts is 5♠, which commits the partnership to slam if partner lacks the queen. So with hearts agreed and a 5♦ reply, the captain usually either signs off in 5♥ or bids slam directly.

Once the captain knows the partnership holds all five key cards and the trump queen, 5NT asks for specific kings. Partner bids the cheapest side suit in which they hold the king, or returns to six of the trump suit with none. Like 5NT in plain Blackwood, it promises everything that matters and invites a grand slam.

Plain Blackwood would have told North that one ace was missing, but not whether the ♥K and ♥Q were in the right hands. With 3014, South would have answered 5♦ instead of 5♣. The queen ask would then be 5♠, and South could no longer show the ♠K below 6♥.

• Not agreeing the trump suit. Key cards depend on which king is the trump king. When the auction has shown two possible fits, the usual rule is that the last suit bid naturally is trumps. Agree a rule and stick to it.
• Asking with two fast losers in a side suit. RKCB counts key cards, not controls. If you hold two small in a suit nobody has bid, cue-bid first.
• Asking with a void. An ace opposite your void is counted and wasted. Cue-bid, or use Exclusion Blackwood if your partnership plays it.
• Forgetting that 5NT promises everything. The king ask guarantees all five key cards and the trump queen. Partner may jump to seven.
• Overruling the captain. After a sign-off in five of the trump suit, partner passes, unless they hold the higher of the two possible key card counts.

Many partnerships add agreements for voids: 5NT shows two or four key cards plus a useful void, and six of a suit shows one or three key cards with a void in that suit, when that suit is below the trump suit. Kickback replaces 4NT with the bid one step above four of the trump suit, which saves room when a minor is trumps. Minorwood uses four of the agreed minor as the ask for the same reason. If an opponent bids over your 4NT, DOPI and ROPI tell partner how to answer. And the best RKCB auctions start with a good description of the fit, such as Jacoby 2NT or a splinter bid.

What is Roman Key Card Blackwood 1430?

Roman Key Card Blackwood 1430 is a 4NT ask for five key cards, the four aces and the trump king, with the answers in the 1430 order. 5♣ shows one or four key cards, 5♦ zero or three, 5♥ two key cards without the trump queen and 5♠ two key cards with the trump queen.

What is the difference between 1430 and 0314 (3014)?

0314 and 3014 are two names for the same older response order, and it differs from 1430 only in the first two answers. In 1430, 5♣ shows one or four key cards and 5♦ zero or three; in 3014, 5♣ shows zero or three and 5♦ one or four.

How do you ask for the trump queen in RKCB?

After a 5♣ or 5♦ answer, the cheapest bid that is not the trump suit asks for the queen. Partner signs off in the trump suit without it, and with it bids a side king or 5NT.

What does 5NT mean after Roman Key Card Blackwood?

It confirms that the partnership holds all five key cards and the trump queen and asks partner to show a specific side king. It is a grand slam try.

Is RKCB better than plain Blackwood?

For most partnerships, yes. Counting the trump king and locating the trump queen avoids slams that plain Blackwood would bid missing an ace and the king of trumps.