The Culbertson 4-5 notrump is a slam-seeking convention in the game of contract bridge. It was devised in the early 1930s by Ely Culbertson. Most four-notrump conventions (Blackwood and its variants being the best known) demand that bidder's partner define their hand using agreed codified responses. In contrast, the Culbertson 4-5 describes the bidder's hand, and invites partner to use their judgement in the light of that information.[1]
Descriptionedit
A bid of four notrump (subject to common-sense defined exceptions) shows either:[1][2][3]
Any three aces, or
Two aces, and the king of any suit previously bid by either partner.
In response:
A bid of five notrump shows either:
Any two aces, or
One ace, and the kings of all suits previously bid by either partner.
A bid of a new suit shows first-round control (ace or void) there, but is not compulsory with such a holding.
Six of a previously bid suit shows a desire to play there (holding one ace, or the kings of all bid suits).
Five of the lowest-ranking suit bid by either partner is a conventionalsign-off, denying the values to make any of the stronger bids.
If the four notrump bidder next bids five notrump, that shows all four aces.
A bid of five notrump not preceded by four notrump shows three aces and the king of a bid suit.
In subsequent bidding, common-sense rules apply.
Historyedit
Culbertson's proposal of this convention threatened to disrupt the publication of the 1935 version of the Laws of Contract Bridge. The Portland Club, guardian of the laws in England, considered it equivalent to playing with exposed cards. Noel Mobbs persuaded the Club that they were wrong.[2]
The Culbertson 4-5 has been superseded by Blackwood and other conventions, but was reported in 1967 to still be popular among some leading British players.[5]
culbertson, notrump, slam, seeking, convention, game, contract, bridge, devised, early, 1930s, culbertson, most, four, notrump, conventions, blackwood, variants, being, best, known, demand, that, bidder, partner, define, their, hand, using, agreed, codified, r. The Culbertson 4 5 notrump is a slam seeking convention in the game of contract bridge It was devised in the early 1930s by Ely Culbertson Most four notrump conventions Blackwood and its variants being the best known demand that bidder s partner define their hand using agreed codified responses In contrast the Culbertson 4 5 describes the bidder s hand and invites partner to use their judgement in the light of that information 1 Description editA bid of four notrump subject to common sense defined exceptions shows either 1 2 3 Any three aces or Two aces and the king of any suit previously bid by either partner In response A bid of five notrump shows either Any two aces or One ace and the kings of all suits previously bid by either partner A bid of a new suit shows first round control ace or void there but is not compulsory with such a holding Six of a previously bid suit shows a desire to play there holding one ace or the kings of all bid suits Five of the lowest ranking suit bid by either partner is a conventional sign off denying the values to make any of the stronger bids If the four notrump bidder next bids five notrump that shows all four aces A bid of five notrump not preceded by four notrump shows three aces and the king of a bid suit In subsequent bidding common sense rules apply History editCulbertson s proposal of this convention threatened to disrupt the publication of the 1935 version of the Laws of Contract Bridge The Portland Club guardian of the laws in England considered it equivalent to playing with exposed cards Noel Mobbs persuaded the Club that they were wrong 2 In his 1949 book Design for Bidding Skid Simon called the Culbertson 4 5 an adult weapon and Blackwood merely a nice toy 4 The Culbertson 4 5 has been superseded by Blackwood and other conventions but was reported in 1967 to still be popular among some leading British players 5 References edit a b Stern Paul 1938 The Stern Austrian System George G Harrap and Co pp 151 155 a b Culbertson Ely 1941 1936 Contract Bridge Complete 3rd revised ed London Faber and Faber pp 301 309 Kelsey H W 1973 Slam Bidding Faber and Faber pp 29 31 107 ISBN 0 571 10363 4 Simon S J 1949 Design for Bidding London Nicholson amp Watson p 122 OCLC 13491181 Frey Richard L Truscott Alan F Cohen Ben Barrow Rhoda International Edition Editor eds 1967 The Bridge Players Encyclopedia London Paul Hamlyn p 96 OCLC 560654187 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Culbertson 4 5 notrump amp oldid 1181444805, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
