[lycier]

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5♣ = how many keycards? zero or three ? This time only God knows exact keycards.
If human holds such hand, after 5♠, I believe north will rebid 5N or 6♠ for sure. Why Gib wouldn't do so?

[1eyedjack]

And why does North bid 4S? 4H is surely a better choice of games, if not co-operating with a mild slam try cue below game.

[jdonn]

It is not going to happen to tell GIB to go on with the higher amount.

As a simple matter of odds, north is probably at least 50 to 1 (just my best guess) to have 3 key cards instead of 0, given that he needs every crappy honor in the deck other than the keycards to (almost) have an opening bid. JTxxx QJx KQJ Qx? So I think you have yourself to blame for this one.

[lycier]

jdonn, on 2017-January-07, 15:15, said:

It is not going to happen to tell GIB to go on with the higher amount.

As a simple matter of odds, north is probably at least 50 to 1 (just my best guess) to have 3 key cards instead of 0, given that he needs every crappy honor in the deck other than the keycards to (almost) have an opening bid. JTxxx QJx KQJ Qx? So I think you have yourself to blame for this one.

Well and good.
Now let me take a similar hand example with same 12hcp in north seat.

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Result : 5♠N-1

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Result : 6♠N-2

How about it? who is to blame? Would you tell us ?

[1eyedjack]

The way I was taught RKCB the convention was fairly simple: when the response showed a split possibility of Aces, then the higher option of the split promised enough for slam. In other words, you do not go bidding 4N RKCB if 3 key cards is insufficient.

Even then it was problematic, for example if Clubs are trumps and you are not playing kickback or something like that, so 4N was RCKB in clubs (which is what GIB plays) and responder to RKCB has to bid 5C with 0 or 3, knowing that 0 is not sufficient but 3 is sufficient for slam and yet 5C is non-forcing.

But problems like that aside, we should not be adding to the problems unnecessarily.

So on this hand I sympathise with Lycier. I still think that 4S is the wrong bid, but that aside, North should bid again over 5S.

The only argument for passing is where 0 Key cards is impossible AND North is aware that South must be in no doubt that 0 Key cards is impossible.