keylime, on Jan 24 2006, 06:31 AM, said:
Quick question to ask the illustrious panel:
I agree with the connotation here about 4♥. However, is RKC then a milder slam try versus this? Or a CERTAIN slam try? What about let's say, 5♣ instead?
It is not wrong to say that "Last Train" is a milder slam try than RKCB (because RKCB commits you to slam unless 2 keycards/trump queen are missing), but I don't think this is the right way to think about this. Here is how you should think about it:
The splinter limits responder's hand and transfers captaincy to the opener. In other words, if the opener signs off in 4S, responder will always pass (well not quite always - see below).
After the splinter, Last Train puts the ball back in responder's court (ie responder becomes the captain again). Again this is not quite accurate - see below.
However, if the partner of the player who splintered bids Blackwood instead of Last Train, he is choosing to maintain captaincy. When a player bids Blackwood he is suggesting that the answer will allow him to accurately place the final contract. If the answer is not going to help him in this regard, he should not bid Blackwood.
This is really only true in a perfect world. In reality there are many hands in which Blackwood is simply the best you can do - the answer won't always tell you exactly where you belong (since, for example, the presence of a key Jack that you can't find out about or let partner know that you need might make all the difference).
But the bottom line is that the player who bids Blackwood sets the contract - he is in control of the auction. He is the captain.
Blackwood assumes control whereas conventions like Last Train and splinters relinquish control. Blackwood says "I know where we are going (based on your answer to 4NT)". Last Train and splinters say "You decide where we are going".
Now about the "see below" part I mentioned above:
There are situations in which you give up control via bids like splinters and Last Train and then assume control again with a "surprise" continuation when partner signs off.
For example, PClayton is right that a splinter in this situation limits responder's hand to a narrow range. However, it is also appropriate to splinter with another type of hand: a very strong hand that is perfect for Blackwood but for which you want your partner to know about your singleton before you bid Blackwood (so that he can better evaluate for grand slam purposes should all the keycards be accounted for, for example).
Similarly (and much more frequently in practice), there are hands for which the best course of action is to bid Last Train and then bid again. In this auction the opener might have a strong hand that consists of only Aces and Kings. Hands like that are more suited for responding to Blackwood then they are to bidding Blackwood (because if partner bids Blackwood you can show all your cards and if you bid Blackwood the answer will not tell you if you have enough tricks for slam).
So you would typically bid Last Train with such a hand in the hope that partner can take control and bid Blackwood. If it turns out that partner signs off, your hand might still be strong enough to take another call.
It surprises me sometimes how even very good players do not fully understand these concepts. For example, last week I was playing a match at an ACBL Regional against a woman who has won more than 1 World Championship. On one hand her partner opened 1 of a major, she splintered, and her partner signed off. Then she sat there for 3 minutes deciding what to do next.
This doesn't make any sense because the splinter means "you decide what to do next - I am going to pass unless you sign off" (or rarely "I know what I am going to do next but I want you to know I have a singleton"). If, after making a splinter and hearing a signoff, you don't know what to do, it means that you should not have splintered in the first place. On the hand I am referring to the person should have bid the equivilant of Jacoby 2NT (maintaining control) instead of splintering (and giving up control). She was 4441 with 16 HCP.
When I see even very strong players display a basic lack of understanding regarding fundamental principles of bidding like "captaincy", for me it only reinforces the notion that people should not try to learn fancy systems and conventions until they are very very experienced.
If you learned something from reading this post then you will benefit much more from studying concepts like these than you will from trying to learn a complex relay system (for example). You might be able to memorize such a system, but you won't be able to use it effectively. It doesn't matter how good the system is, your results will not be good when you use it.
Learn to walk before you learn to run.
Fred Gitelman
Bridge Base Inc.
www.bridgebase.com