Two-suited Bids:

Michaels Cuebids and the

Unusual No Like a hand with a single long suit, a hand with two five card suits may take many tricks without many high card points.

Use a convention to show these hands if:

1. Your hand is preemptive (usually). Be careful of vulnerability!

2. Your hand is very strong (very rarely).

Otherwise the higher suit and rebid the lower suit. Types of Two-suited Bids:

• The Unusual No Trump is a jump-overcall in NT. It shows five cards in each of the two lower-ranking unbid suits. (Usually five ♣ and five ♦ .)

• The is a direct cuebid of opener’s suit. The cuebid of a shows five ♥ and five ♠ . The cuebid of a shows five cards in the other major and an (unknown) minor.

• There are also many systems over an open- ing 1NT which show two suits. (Cappelletti/Hamilton and DONT among others.) Example 1:

Sitting South, not vulnerable vs. vulnerable opponents. ♠ 3 ♥ T3 ♦ KQ875 ♣ JT543 East opens 1♠ . Your call? Example 1:

Sitting South, not vulnerable vs. vulnerable opponents. ♠ 3 ♥ T3 ♦ KQ875 ♣ JT543 East opens 1♠ . Your call? 2NT Five ♦ and five ♣ . Your hand is a good at favorable vulnerability. Example 2:

Sitting South, no one vulnerable. ♠ KJ763 ♥ QT983 ♦ 5 ♣ J4 East opens 1♣ . Your call? Example 2:

Sitting South, no one vulnerable. ♠ KJ763 ♥ QT983 ♦ 5 ♣ J4 East opens 1♣ . Your call? 2♣ Five ♥ and five ♠ . Your hand is a good preempt not vulnerable. Example 3:

Sitting South, all vulnerable. ♠ 7 ♥ 83 ♦ AK754 ♣ KQJ42 East opens 1♥ . Your call? Example 3:

Sitting South, all vulnerable. ♠ 7 ♥ 83 ♦ AK754 ♣ KQJ42 East opens 1♥ . Your call? 2♦ Your hand is too good to preempt; overcall and plan to rebid ♣ the next time around. Example 4:

Sitting South, vulnerable against not vulnerable opponents. ♠ Q9842 ♥ QT832 ♦ 54 ♣ 2 East opens 1♦ . Your call? Example 4:

Sitting South, vulnerable against not vulnerable opponents. ♠ Q9842 ♥ QT832 ♦ 54 ♣ 2 East opens 1♦ . Your call? Pass. Your hand is too weak at unfavorable vulnerability. Remember down two doubled and vulnerable is 500. 3NT not vulnerable is only 400. Example 5:

Sitting South, vulnerable against not vulnerable opponents. ♠ AKQ52 ♥ AKT82 ♦ K4 ♣ 2 East 3♣ . Your call? Example 5:

Sitting South, vulnerable against not vulnerable opponents. ♠ AKQ52 ♥ AKT82 ♦ K4 ♣ 2 East preempts 3♣ . Your call? 4♣ . You have an excellent hand with five ♥ and five ♠ . (The strong version of the Michaels Cuebid occurs most often when the opponents preempt.) Even if you don’t play these conventions you will play against them.

I suggest the Unusual Vs Unusual Defense.

• Double: Penalty against (at least) one of their suits.

• Cuebid of the lower suit: Limit raise or better of partner’s suit.

• Cuebid of the higher suit: Competitive bid of the 4th suit.

• Raise of partner’s suit: competitive (not invitational).

• Direct bid of the 4th suit: forcing Example 6:

Sitting South with no one vulnerable. ♠ K75 ♥ AJ93 ♦ T83 ♣ 543 West North East South 1♥ 2NT ??

Your call? Example 6:

Sitting South with no one vulnerable. ♠ K75 ♥ AJ93 ♦ T83 ♣ 543 West North East South 1♥ 2NT 3♥

Your call? 3♥ . Solid four-card support, but not enough for a limit raise. Partner must have extras to go on to 4♥ . Example 7:

Sitting South with no one vulnerable. ♠ KT9752 ♥ J9 ♦ K83 ♣ 543 West North East South 1♥ 2NT ??

Your call? Example 7:

Sitting South with no one vulnerable. ♠ KT9752 ♥ J9 ♦ K83 ♣ 543 West North East South 1♥ 2NT 3♦ *

Your call? 3♦ . Cuebid of the higher of East’s suits shows the 4th suit: ♠ . Remember 3♠ directly is forcing. If partner has an indifferent hand with indifferent ♠ support, then you want to play 3♠ . (Partner can still bid 3♥ with a singleton ♠ and six ♥ .) Example 8:

Sitting South with all vulnerable. ♠ KQT2 ♥ A8 ♦ Q873 ♣ 543 West North East South 1♦ 2♦ ??

Your call? Example 8:

Sitting South with all vulnerable. ♠ KQT2 ♥ A8 ♦ Q873 ♣ 543 West North East South 1♦ 2♦ dbl

Your call? Double. You would like to beat 2♠ . If they bid 2♥ and partner doesn’t double, then bid 3♦ . Whatever West’s bid, North should almost always either pass or double. If North passes then South cannot pass. Example 9:

Sitting South vulnerable vs not vulner- able opponents. ♠ QT92 ♥ A873 ♦ 3 ♣ K543 West North East South 1♠ 2NT ??

Your call? Example 9:

Sitting South vulnerable vs not vulner- able opponents. ♠ QT92 ♥ A873 ♦ 3 ♣ K543 West North East South 1♠ 2NT 3♣ *

Your call? 3♣ , the lower of East’s suits. This is a limit raise of partner’s spades. Example 10:

Sitting South all vulnerable. ♠ 2 ♥ A83 ♦ Q73 ♣ AKJ543 West North East South 1♦ 2♦ ??

Your call? Example 10:

Sitting South all vulnerable. ♠ 2 ♥ A83 ♦ Q73 ♣ AKJ543 West North East South 1♦ 2♦ 3♣

Your call? 3♣ , forcing! You would bid 2♠ (the higher of East’s suits) to try to play 3♣ .