A side-suit bid after the count is a Side-suit Ask. Above five of the trump suit, it's about whether to bid seven, whereas below it could be either a small or a grand slam try. The basic question is usually about the feature in the ask suit (a feature being a king unless either player has splintered the suit, in which case it is a void for the splinterer or a no-ace for his partner). But if we do not already know about the queen of trumps, the cheapest Side-suit Ask is about her, as in traditional Roman Keycard Blackwood.
The negative response to a Side-suit Ask is the cheapest trump suit bid available. All other responses are positive. As well as answering 'yes' to the basic question, a positive in a side-suit also shows a feature in that suit, while a no-trumps positive denies the ability to show another feature.
| West | North | East | South | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | pass | 2NT | pass | ||
| 3NT | pass | 4 | pass | ||
| 4NT | pass | 5 | pass | ||
| ? |
asks about the heart king; in response, 6 denies it, while all other responses show it, plus: 5NT = no other side-suit king, 5
= spade king, 6
= diamond king.| West | North | East | South | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | pass | ||||
| 1 | pass | 2NT | pass | ||
| 3 | pass | 4 | pass | ||
| 4 | pass | 5 | pass | ||
| ? |
asks about the heart splinter; in response, 5 says that it is singleton, while all other responses show a void heart.| West | North | East | South | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | pass | 2NT | pass | ||
| 3 | pass | 4 | pass | ||
| 4 | pass | 5 | pass | ||
| ? |
is the cheapest Side-suit Ask, and we don't yet know about the queen of trumps, so this is a Queen Ask. In response, 5 denies the trump queen, while all other responses show it (or the equivalent – two extra trumps).See also the Italian Ask.
NEXT: Italian Ask