Grand slam force Grand slam force The Grand Slam Force is a bidding convention in contract bridge that was developed by Ely Culbertson in 1936. It is intended to be used in cases where the combined hands of a partnership are so strong that a slam (winning at least 12 tricks) is a near-certainty and a grand slam (winning all 13 tricks) is a possibility. It allows one partner to gain information on the quality of trumps in the other partner's hand. When this convention is in force, a bid of 5NT (five notrump), when it does not conflict with other conventions used
Balancing (bridge) Balancing (bridge) In the game of contract bridge, balancing (or protection in Britain) refers to making a call other than Pass when passing would result in the opponents playing at a low level. Balancing is done by the player in the "balancing position", i.e. to the right of the player making the last non-pass call. This is in contrast to bidding in the "direct position", i.e. by the player to the left. Balancing is normally done with values unsuitable for direct action, but only after the opponents' bidding has demonstrated weakness or minimal strength. The aim of the tactic is