Test your knowledge

Basic strategy - Win more by finding Slam

Question 1 (of 11 on this page)
What is a small Slam ?

1. A light wind
2. winning 12 of the 13 available tricks
3. bidding and winning 12 of the 13 tricks available
4. bidding 12 of the 13 tricks available
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Question 1 (of 11 on this page)
What is a small Slam ?
Answer
3 . bidding and winning 12 of the 13 tricks available

You don't get the credit, or the glory, or the huge bonus points if you don't have the skill and guts needed to bid for the 12 tricks you need. Of course, you then need to proceed to win those tricks. If you fail to win them all, you will receive everyone's praise for trying, and a small penalty, inevitably.
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Question 2 (of 11 on this page)
If you bid "6 clubs", is that a small Slam ?

1. yes
2. no
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Question 2 (of 11 on this page)
If you bid "6 clubs", is that a small Slam ?
Answer
1 . yes

Whatever you bid, you need to make that number of tricks plus 6. That's 12 in all, which is a small Slam.
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Question 3 (of 11 on this page)
What do you have to "bid" to propose a Grand Slam

1. 5
2. 6
3. 7
4. 8
5. 9
6. 10
7. 11
8. 12
9. 13
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Question 3 (of 11 on this page)
What do you have to "bid" to propose a Grand Slam
Answer
3 . 7

A bid of seven is a bid to make every one of the 13 tricks available.
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Question 4 (of 11 on this page)
How many points do you and your partner need altogether to bid for a small slam in No Trumps ?

1. 12
2. 25
3. 28
4. 31
5. 33
6. 35
7. 37
8. 39
9. 40
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Question 4 (of 11 on this page)
How many points do you and your partner need altogether to bid for a small slam in No Trumps ?
Answer
5 . 33

33 points are needed to make small Slam.
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Question 5 (of 11 on this page)
Can you include points for shortage in a suit (voids, singletons etc) when bidding for a NT Slam ?

1. yes
2. no
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Question 5 (of 11 on this page)
Can you include points for shortage in a suit (voids, singletons etc) when bidding for a NT Slam ?
Answer
2 . no

Shortage is the LAST thing you want in a No Trump Slam. But it can be very useful in a suit Slam, if you have enough trumps to make use of it.
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Question 6 (of 11 on this page)
Can I include points for a long suit when I bid for a small Slamin in NT ?

1. yes
2. no
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Question 6 (of 11 on this page)
Can I include points for a long suit when I bid for a small Slamin in NT ?
Answer
1 . yes

A long suit, 5 or 6 cards, can be extremely useful, provided all your other suits have stoppers (big winners) to prevent the opposition from establishing their weaker cards. Add a point for a 5-card suit, 2 for a 6-card suit. But you may also want to check for Aces when you bid.
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Question 7 (of 11 on this page)
How many points do you and your partner need altogether to bid for a Grand Slam in No Trumps ?

1. 12
2. 25
3. 28
4. 31
5. 33
6. 35
7. 37
8. 39
9. 40
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Question 7 (of 11 on this page)
How many points do you and your partner need altogether to bid for a Grand Slam in No Trumps ?
Answer
7 . 37

Unless you have a very lucky distribution, you should reckon on 37 being needed as a minimum. That guarantees they have no Aces.
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Question 8 (of 11 on this page)
Is it possible to find out so precisely how many points you have between you and your partner

1. no
2. yes, approximately
3. yes, precisely
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Question 8 (of 11 on this page)
Is it possible to find out so precisely how many points you have between you and your partner
Answer
3 . yes, precisely

Quantitative bidding, use of 1NT openings and various other bids are all means of finding out.
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Question 9 (of 11 on this page)
How many high card points are there in each suit ?

1. 9
2. 10
3. 12
4. 20
5. 25
6. 40
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Question 9 (of 11 on this page)
How many high card points are there in each suit ?
Answer
2 . 10

The Ace is worth 4, the King is worth 3, Queen =2, Jack = 1. Total=10 points. That's 40 in the whole pack of cards.
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Question 10 (of 11 on this page)
Compared with a No Trump Slam, do you need more High Card Points or fewer points to make a Slam in a suit ?

1. more
2. less
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Question 10 (of 11 on this page)
Compared with a No Trump Slam, do you need more High Card Points or fewer points to make a Slam in a suit ?
Answer
2 . less

In a suit Slam, you can use your trumps to beat the high cards in other suits when you have run out of that suit. This option is not available in No Trumps, so you will need more brute strength yourselves. Reckon on 33 points for small Slam in No Trumps (including length points only), but 31 in a suit Slam (including points for distribution).
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Question 11 (of 11 on this page)
Look at the deal to the right. How many Points do you and partner have, and is it enough for a grand Slam in NT ?

1. 37, yes
2. 37, no
3. 33, yes
4. 33, no
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Question 11 (of 11 on this page)
Look at the deal to the right. How many Points do you and partner have, and is it enough for a grand Slam in NT ?
Answer
4 . 33, no

But with 33 points you DO have enough for a small Slam in NT, and win 12 tricks. You have all the Kings and Aces. That's 8 tricks. You are missing 2 Queens and 3 Jacks, but you'll be able to deal with that, even though you don't have any useful 5-card suits.
Example deal Back to explanation