[lexlogan]

Regarding the RKCB Queen ask, let's say you have an auction like 1H-3H; 4NT-5C; 5D asking about the Queen of trumps. The original method I learned was next step = no, second step = yes. Later I learned agreed suit = no, anything else = yes, with a side suit showing that King along with the Queen. So, in the above auction, if I had the Queen but no side King, I'd bid 5NT, since "anything else" promises the Queen (or ten trumps, of course.) A partner referred me to the ACBL Bidding Toolkit article at the ACBL website, which says that you jump to 6 of the agreed suit with the Queen/no side King. Is this more common than using 5NT? Is there any advantage? By the way, if the Queen ask is above the agreed suit (1H-3H; 4NT-5D; 5S queen ask) I'd bid 5NT to deny the Queen (giving a last chance to stop below slam) and 6H with the Queen and no side King. So the denial bid is the cheapest of the agreed suit or 5NT. Did I make that up or is that a common agreement? Bridge World Standard does not clearly explain these details as far as I can tell.

[TWO4BRIDGE]

lexlogan, on 2013-August-17, 14:33, said:

Regarding the RKCB Queen ask, let's say you have an auction like 1H-3H; 4NT-5C; 5D asking about the Queen of trumps.

5H = no ♥Q
5S = ♥Q + ♠K
5NT = ♥Q + ♦K ( NT shows feature of the "asking suit", ♦ )
6C = ♥Q + ♣K

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Now, for trump ( ♥ ) Q-ask with a suit bid HIGHER than the trump suit , 5S:
5NT = ♥Q and either NO outside K OR MAY have "asking suit" K, ♠
6C = ♥Q and ♣K
6D = ♥Q and ♦K
6H = NO ♥Q

[mgoetze]

lexlogan, on 2013-August-17, 14:33, said:

A partner referred me to the ACBL Bidding Toolkit article at the ACBL website, which says that you jump to 6 of the agreed suit with the Queen/no side King. Is this more common than using 5NT?

Yes, and it is more logical based on the principle that you should stay lower the stronger you are. You can use 5NT to show 2 useful kings, for instance.

However, it is not really a big deal overall - the most important thing is to be on the same page as your partner.

[TWO4BRIDGE]

mgoetze, on 2013-August-17, 17:37, said:

Yes, and it is more logical based on the principle that you should stay lower the stronger you are.

Not really.
I will check for the trump Q at times, when missing a key card, as long as the "ask" is below 5-of-trump .
I don't want to be in 6 missing a key card AND the trump Q .

[mgoetze]

TWO4BRIDGE, on 2013-August-17, 19:16, said:

Not really.
I will check for the trump Q at times, when missing a key card, as long as the "ask" is below 5-of-trump .
I don't want to be in 6 missing a key card AND the trump Q .

I see that your method of participation in this forum has not changed significantly since I was last here.

[TWO4BRIDGE]

mgoetze, on 2013-August-17, 19:36, said:

I see that your method of participation in this forum has not changed significantly since I was last here.

Hey, welcome back .

[Zelandakh]

In the most common version of RKCB follow-ups, you respond 6 of the trump suit with the trump queen, no side kings and nothing extra and 5NT (if available) with the trump queen, no side kings and a useful extra. What is a useful extra? Well the queen of partner's side suit would qualify, as might a void if you were not playing void-showing responses. Some pairs have ways of distinguishing between different types of extra.

As Don mentioned, an alternative approach is for 5NT to replace the most expensive king, in this case diamonds. If you play this then 6♦ becomes your "trump queen + no side kings + useful extra" response. There are pros and cons for both methods. I personally prefer the 5NT = expensive king style but would assume the other with a pick-up partner.

[jeffford76]

Since the person responding to the queen ask doesn't know whether their side has all the keycards when the ask is below five of the trump suit, it is useful to play that jumping to 6 of the trump suit conveys the message "I have a trick source - bid seven if we have all the keycards", and to use 5NT as showing the queen, but denying any outside king. Over the 5NT bid, there is still room for a third round control ask or some other last train bid to still look for 7 if the asker is still interested.

[lexlogan]

Thanks for the replies. I can certainly see the logic of using 5NT to show something extra, but this is not documented in the Bidding Toolkit article, and you can equally argue that 5NT gives the RKCB bidder one more chance to explore for grand slam. As with most "fast arrival" moethods, seems like 6H ought to be used rarely, carrying the message "nothing else here."