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Denial Cuebids

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Denial cuebids are another aspect of the Seismic bidding system that seems complicated at first, but actually works quite logically.  The goal of denial cuebids is to discover responder's exact honor holding.  For this, we want to have room, so denial cuebids are only used if responder's exact shape is resolved below (and not including) 4.  If responder's last bid showing shape is at or below 3NT, then the following bids by opener are used:

First-Step Slam Exploration Bids

^*-It is considered poor form to relay an unlimited partner into 3NT and pass, but opposite a passed hand, a 3NT final shape response still plays the above methods.

To answer slam controls, responder counts 3 points for each ace, 2 for each king, and 1 for each queen.  Singleton kings and queens are not counted, but stiff aces count the full 3 points.  Responder bids the number of controls in single steps starting with 6 (or fewer), then 7, then 8, and so on.  Once slam control points are answered, openers bids are

To make a Denial Cuebid, responder orders suits by length, breaking ties in the usual > > > order.  Singleton and void suits are skipped. Denial cuebidding may make up to 3 passes through the suits.  For example, a 5-3-2-3 hand uses the order .

On the first pass through the suits, if you have 0 or 3 of AKQ in the first suit, bid the cheapest step (partner should know which), typically denying a control there. If you have 1 or 2 of AKQ, skip one step and consider your next suit in the order, continuing this process until you lack an honor. With Kxxxx Qxx Ax xxx, as above, you would make the 3rd bid, showing honors in and and denying one in (hence the name, denial cuebids).

On the second pass through the suits (which may happen on your first bid if you have honors in all suits), partner will know you have either 0/3 or 1–2 honors from your previous response(s). If you showed 1–2 honors already, skip a step if you have 2 honors and stop if you have only 1. If you showed 0 or 3 honors already, skip a step if you hold the jack and stop if you lack the jack.

On the third pass through the suits, jacks are shown by skipped steps and denied by stopping. Remove a suit if you already showed or denied the jack in the 2nd pass.

Hints for the strong hand - think hard!
There are 24 AKQ control points. Typically 18-19 points are needed for slam exploration, although fewer may be possible on very distributional hands. Determine how many are missing, and decide which combinations of missing honors are possible. For example with 20/24 points, you are missing an AQ, KK, KQQ, or QQQQ. Typically partner’s first denial cuebid will locate one or more missing honors and help clarify the possibilities. Some possibilities may be precluded due to parity considerations. Often partner’s exact honor holding can be deduced from the first denial cuebid!

When to Use Denial Cuebids
Opener will start denial cuebidding when they typically have a balanced hand (needing 12+ controls), or have 2+ honors in the intended trump suit. With a weak trump holding or lacking mainly first round controls, consider RKC Blackwood instead. Remember that singleton lesser honors cannot be shown, and singleton A’s can be found only by inference.

1430 RKC Blackwood in Slam Control Relays

Excluding 3NT, 4, and the cheapest other bid, which starts denial cuebidding, the next higher bids each set a different trump suit and are 1430 RKC Blackwood.  The suits are ordered by responder's length and ties are broken, not in the usual order, but instead by > > > .  This allows a little extra room for the lower-ranking suits. After the initial Blackwood response, all trump bids (and 6NT, 7NT) are to play.  Other bids are asking bids as follows:

If the trump Q is still unknown, the first free bid in a Q ask.  The cheapest step denies the Q, and higher bids zoom into answering controls in the longest side suit.

For the side-suit-control-asks, suits are ordered by length with ties broken by rank.  Answers to these questions reserve the trump suit for a negative response and and answer in steps for the rest.

1. With none of the AKQ, bid the trump suit.
2. With A (or KQ), bid the first step.
3. With Q (or AK), bid the second step.
4. With K (or AQ), bid the third step.
5. With AKQ, bid the fourth step.

Remember to exclude the trump suit from the steps!

Opener can ask about multiple side suits, but must do so in decreasing length order.  A suit cannot be revisited once skipped.  After the first answer, trump bids (and 6NT, 7NT) are again to play, and other steps ask about remaining side suits, again ordered by length.  The answers are the same as above.  For trump asks, the responses are

1. A (or KJ), bid the first step.
2. With J (or AK), bid the second step.
3. With K (or AJ), bid the third step.
4. With AKJ, bid the fourth step.

Showing Extras as Responder:

The 3NT and 4 signoff requests are not absolute.  With at least 9 slam controls points (significant extras), responder can bid over the attempted signoff.  Over 3NT, this amounts to bidding slam controls starting with 9 (4) and proceeding in single steps.  Over the 4-end-relay, responder bids 4 with 8 or fewer slam points, and bids 4 or higher with 9 or more, again, using single steps.  If responder rejects a signoff, opener can continue by using the next bid to ask for a denial cuebid, or the 2^nd step to ask for aces (1430).  Higher responses are to play.

Zooming from the Shape Relay:

If partner has made the highest possible bid to describe his shape, he uses zoom to show his extra values (if any). As above, the minimum bid will show up to 8 control points, and zooming higher shows 9⁺ controls in 1 point steps. If responder shows minimum by failing to zoom in the shape relay and partner starts denial cuebidding anyway, he should zoom into denial cuebidding when holding 8 controls (so the usual 8 control response denies a control in the longest suit, and higher bids show that control, etc).