Roman Key Card Blackwood (Key Card, RKC, RKCB, 0314, 1430) is a variation of the Blackwood convention. It is used when the partnership has agreed to a trump suit and is interested in slam. A 4NT bid asks partner how many "key cards" he holds. A key card is any ace or the trump suit king.
There are two versions of RKC: 0314 and 1430 ("Fourteen-Thirty"), which refer to the step responses below.
Responses to 4NT
Playing 0314
Meaning | |
---|---|
5![]() | 0 or 3 key cards. |
5![]() | 1 or 4 key cards. |
5![]() | 2 or 5 key cards without the queen of trumps. |
5![]() | 2 or 5 key cards with the queen of trumps. |
Playing 1430
Meaning | |
---|---|
5![]() | 1 or 4 key cards. |
5![]() | 0 or 3 key cards. |
5![]() | 2 or 5 key cards without the queen of trumps. |
5![]() | 2 or 5 key cards with the queen of trumps. |
The 4NT bidder can usually (!) determine if responder has 0/3, 1/4, or 2/5 key cards.
Void-showing responses
If responder has a void, she can make one of the following bids to describe her hand.
Meaning | |
---|---|
5NT | An even # of key cards and a void somewhere. |
6![]() | An odd # of key cards and:
|
6![]() | An odd # of key cards and:
|
6![]() | An odd # of key cards and:
|
Asking for Kings (5NT)
A 5NT rebid asks partner for kings. It is a grand slam try, and should only be bid if the partnership holds all 5 key cards and the queen of trumps.
There are two ways to play 5NT:
- To ask partner to bid his cheapest (non-trump) king.
- To ask partner how many kings he holds (standard Blackwood responses):
- 6
shows 0 kings.
- 6
shows 1 king.
- 6
shows 2 kings.
- 6
shows 3 kings.
- 6
An example auction playing RKCB with the 5NT "cheapest" king-ask:
Opener | Responder | |||||
![]() | ![]() | |||||
![]() | ![]() | |||||
![]() | ![]() | |||||
![]() | ![]() | |||||
Opener 1 ![]() 4NT (1) 5NT (3) 6 ![]() | Responder 3 ![]() 5 ![]() 6 ![]() |
- RKCB for hearts.
- 2 key cards without the
Q.
- Asking for partner's cheapest king.
- Showing the
K.
- Signing off because of the missing
K.
Asking for the Trump Queen
Sometimes the 4NT bidder wants to know the location of the trump queen, but hears a 5 or 5
reply. These responses don't indicate whether responder holds the queen of trumps. So, the 4NT bidder can bid the cheapest non-trump suit to ask this question. The responses to the queen-ask are as follows.
Responses to the Queen Ask | Meaning |
---|---|
Bidding the trump suit | No trump queen |
5NT | The trump queen without any side-suit kings |
Bidding any non-trump suit | The trump queen AND the king of that suit |
An example auction playing RKCB 1430 with a queen-ask:
Opener | Responder | |||||
![]() | ![]() | |||||
![]() | ![]() | |||||
![]() | ![]() | |||||
![]() | ![]() | |||||
Opener 1 ![]() 3 ![]() 4NT (1) 5 ![]() Pass | Responder 2 ![]() 3 ![]() 5 ![]() 5 ![]() |
- RKCB for spades.
- 1 key card.
- Asking for the
Q.
- Denies the
Q.
Why You Should Play 1430 vs. 0314
American expert Marty Bergen says that he asked 60 top pairs which Blackwood variant they use. 8 use plain Blackwood, 8 use RKC 0314, and an overwhelming 44 use RKC 1430. 1
Why is this? Eddie Kantar, author of "Roman Keycard Blackwood: The Final Word", theorizes that RKCB is usually used when a "strong" hand is interested in slam, and wants to ask the "weak" hand for key cards. As a corollary:
"One of the beauties of using Roman Key Card Blackwood instead of regular Blackwood is that it allows the 4NT bidder to ask partner whether he holds the queen of the agreed suit, as well as for other goodies. (Ed. note: See 'Asking for the Trump Queen', above.) To do this economically the asker needs room. The optimal response to 4NT, therefore, is
![Roman Key Card Blackwood Bridge Convention - Bidding (51) Roman Key Card Blackwood Bridge Convention - Bidding (51)](https://i0.wp.com/www.bridgebum.com/c.gif)
(as opposed to
![Roman Key Card Blackwood Bridge Convention - Bidding (52) Roman Key Card Blackwood Bridge Convention - Bidding (52)](https://i0.wp.com/www.bridgebum.com/d.gif)
) allowing a follow-up bid of
![Roman Key Card Blackwood Bridge Convention - Bidding (53) Roman Key Card Blackwood Bridge Convention - Bidding (53)](https://i0.wp.com/www.bridgebum.com/d.gif)
to become the queen-ask.
"Playing 0314, a
"After a zero response the asker usually signs off. The end result is that a
"Playing 1430 the
"Playing 0314, the '1' response is ,
RKCB In Competition
Responses when the opponents double
Modified ROPI can be used when the opponents double 4NT. Playing regular Blackwood, ROPI would normally mean Redouble = 0 aces and Pass = 1 ace. Playing RKCB, however, the following scheme saves a little bidding space:
- Redouble = 0, 3 or 5 keycards
- Pass = 1 or 4 keycards
- 5
= 2 keycards without the queen
- 5
= 2 keycards with the queen
For congruity, the meanings of Redouble and Pass can be switched if playing 1430.
Responses when the opponents overcall
There are a couple ways to make RKCB responses when the opponents bid over 4NT. The first is modified DOPI. DOPI normally means Double = 0 aces, and Pass = 1 ace. But when playing RKCB:
- Double = 0, 3 or 5 keycards
- Pass = 1 or 4 keycards
- Cheapest suit = 2 keycards without the queen
- Second-cheapest suit = 2 keycards with the queen
Again, the meanings of Double and Pass can be flipped if playing 1430. Note that DOPI and ROPI are identical in nature, which make them easier to remember than the following method.
Approach #2 to showing key cards is DEPO, which stands for "Double = Even number of key cards, Pass = Odd number of key cards." Thus:
- Double = 0, 2 or 4 key cards
- Pass = 1, 3 or 5 key cards
The benefit of DEPO is that it's more economical over high-level overcalls such as .
Other Considerations
- It is important to agree with partner when RKC is on, and when it is off. Sometimes one player wants to just ask his partner how many real aces he holds, and this can cause a lot of confusion at a precariously high bidding level.
- In short, RKCB can get very complicated. That is why Kantar was able to write a 244-page book about it. It requires a healthy amount of partnership discussion.
Origins
Roman Key Card Blackwood was initially based on Roman Blackwood, a Blackwood variant that was used by the famous Italian Blue Team in the 1960s. American expert Eddie Kantar is credited with popularizing the "key card" nature of the convention thereafter.
References
1 Bergen, Marty (2008). Slam Bidding Made Easier. Note: Mention "BRIDGEBUM" when buying this book directly from Marty to get 2 softcover books free.
2 Kantar, Eddie (2003). "A Key Question". ACBL Bulletin, January 2003.