Stop Bidding Slams on the Wrong Kind of Points

The rule is burned into every bridge player: 33 HCP is the threshold for small slam, 37 for grand. Count to 33 and bid six. Simple.

Except it’s wrong, regularly, and for a specific reason that’s easy to explain once you’ve seen it play out.

The Problem with Queen-Jack Hands

Queens and jacks are worth points. They’re not reliably worth tricks in slam.

Say you and partner hold 33 HCP between you. Sounds great. But suppose the combined hand looks like this:

Hand 1: ♠ K Q J 10 — ♥ Q J 9 — ♦ K Q J — ♣ Q J 9

Hand 2: ♠ A 9 8 7 — ♥ A K 10 8 — ♦ A 10 9 — ♣ K 10

That’s 33 HCP. Now count your controls. Hand 2 has two aces and two kings. Hand 1 has three kings buried in queen-heavy suits. You’re in 6♠ and you need trumps to split 3-2, at least one finesse to work, and no bad breaks anywhere.

That’s not a good slam. That’s a coinflip dressed up in a high point count.

The Right Checklist for Slams

Instead of focusing purely on HCP totals, good slam bidders ask:

1. How many aces do we have? Missing two aces is usually fatal. That’s why Blackwood exists.
2. What’s the trump fit? Eight trumps minimum; nine is better. Slam on a seven-card fit is a gamble.
3. Are there obvious losers? If you can count two immediate losers before you’ve played a card, the slam is too aggressive.
4. How good is the shape? A ruffing value, a side-suit void or singleton, can replace a missing point’s worth of work, sometimes more.

Controls matter more than raw points at the slam level. An ace-heavy hand with 29 HCP often produces a better slam than a queen-heavy hand with 33.

The Corrective

Use Blackwood or RKCB to check aces before committing to slam. Add the points, yes, but also ask: can this hand play tricks, or is it just sitting there looking pretty on the scoresheet?

Thirty-three HCP with four aces is a far better slam than 35 HCP with only two aces and a fistful of jacks. The number is a guide, not a contract.

The players who bid slams well aren’t just counting faster. They’re counting different things.

If you want to practice slam evaluation on real hands, Brian will give you honest feedback on whether your 33-count is actually worth bidding six.

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📚 Further Reading: This article is part of our How to Improve Bridge Bidding, explore more guides and resources to improve your game.