BABY BLACKWOOD
After an auction where both partners have agreed on a major suit as trump,
there's no need to jump to four notrump to ask about aces. Three notrump
will do just as well. It's important that both partners know they have
agreed on a major suit, though.
After agreement on a major suit, 3NT is a Blackwood bid
The partnership can also decide that when one partner opens a major, and
the other immediately jumps to three notrump, there is an implicit agreement
on the trump suit.
Baby Blackwood is not used for minor suit slam tries.
There are several benefits to using three notrump as Blackwood. The first
and most obvious is the ability to stop sooner than other players when
missing two aces. Also, since the bidding starts one level lower, another
benefit is the ability to ask for queens. (3NT for aces, 4NT for kings,
and 5NT for queens. Easy.) A partnership can play a variety of responses,
but the most popular are either Standard or Roman Keycard. You choose.
Um, before you choose though, take a look at my preference...
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