The Opening Bid

The essence of good Bridge is that a partnership should make the majority of contracts that they bid and not find themselves being too heavily penalised for the contracts that they cannot make – either because they have decided to or because they are in a contract that fails due to unlucky breaks or very good defence. In short, the partnership must be in the right contract, whether that contract is a part-score, a game or a slam. Arriving at the right contract is not always easy and therefore the partners need to understand, with a good deal of precision, exactly what they are saying to each other. Such an understanding takes time and experience to develop, of course, but there are a number of basic principles involved that will make the process considerably easier. These are:-

1). Bid your longest suit first or, when you have two suits of equal length, bid the higher ranking first (except when you have two 4- card suits of s and another, when you should open the lower- ranking suit). 2). If your hand is ‘balanced’ (i.e. holding either 4-3-3-3 or 4-4-3-2 or 5-3-3-2 shape) make a bid in no-trumps at the appropriate level at the first available opportunity, unless partner has already shown support for your long suit {see below:- ‘Opening Balanced Hands’}. 3). If your hand is ‘unbalanced’ (i.e. holding any other shape than the three outlined above) always decide before you bid what your next bid is going to be, assuming that partner will make a minimum response to your opening bid. 4). As a first priority, find the suit where you have a ‘fit’ with your partner (i.e. where your combined holding in a suit consists of at least 8 of the 13 cards). Finding a fit is much more important than jumping around to show a strong hand - if you do this you will find yourself playing in contracts with a totally unsuitable holding or (even worse) playing in a no-trump contract with two wildly unbalanced hands. Sometimes you will make these contracts – but far more often, you won’t. 5). Once you have found a fit, make a limit bid. 6). Once you have made a limit bid – either by bidding no-trumps or by making a limit raise in a previously bid suit - accept that the final decision about where the contract should be played is to be made by your partner. 7). Do not bid your partner’s hand for him – you cannot possibly evaluate it as well as he can, since you can’t see it. 8). Until your partner tells you otherwise, always assume that he has a minimum for his response(s). If you don’t make this assumption, you will be playing far too many contracts at too high a level. 9). Whenever possible, make the bid that communicates the clearest picture of your hand. Without the most accurate picture your partner cannot possibly be expected to evaluate the merits of the combined holding and you are therefore less likely to reach the best contract. 10). If you have no more than you have already promised after your partner makes a limit bid – PASS!

These principles can be called the Ten Commandments. Like the original commandments it is remarkable how often they are broken, even by players who should know better. If you learn them and abide by them, you will rarely go badly wrong. The most difficult hands to bid are those where you and your partner do not have the confidence to trust each other’s bids. Without partnership understanding, you will finish in part-score contracts while others are bidding and making game, or in game where others are bidding lay-down slams. Alternatively you will bid too high, conceding hefty penalties to opponents who have done little or nothing to earn their good score. The only sure route to partnership understanding is by learning (amicably) from your joint mistakes. If a misunderstanding has occurred, discuss the causes carefully until a common understanding has been reached. If you do this, you should be able to avoid making the same errors again. Eventually you will run out of situations where bidding misunderstandings occur! Before moving on to the discussion of the requirements for making an opening bid, two further concepts need to be examined. Firstly, the concept of shape. Of the billions of possible hands that you could hold, there are only two types – either ‘balanced’ or ‘unbalanced’. The methods of bidding your hand varies according to the shape, so it is important to recognise which type of hand you hold before you start to bid. The second important concept is the idea of a limit bid. It is very important to comprehend that a limit bid makes a statement about both the shape and strength of your hand, in terms of a minimum and maximum number of high-card points (HCP). There is no bid more important in Bridge, no matter what system you play, since without a method of limiting the strength of your hand your partnership cannot control the point at which the auction should stop. Thus, any bid that is made during the auction can be defined as either a limit bid or an unlimited bid. The basic distinction between the two is that a limit bid is never forcing, whereas an unlimited bid may or may not be forcing, depending on the circumstances. It follows therefore that if you want your partner to bid again, you must not make a limit bid. However, refer back to the fifth commandment at this point - 'once you have found a fit, make a limit bid.’ Unless your hand is too strong to make a limit raise, it is a capital offence to break this commandment!

Opening Balanced Hands

To open a there are only two requirements:-

1). At least 12 high-card points. 2). Either any 4-3-3-3 shape, any 4-4-3-2 shape or any 5-3-3-2 shape.

Your aim with these hands is to make a bid in no-trumps at the first available opportunity, unless your partner makes a limit raise in your first-bid suit. The point and level at which you bid no-trumps specifies your high-card point count within a three point range. Thus, your bid in no-trumps is a limit bid, designating both the shape and strength of your hand. The method of bidding different strengths is as follows:-

1). 12-14 HCP - Open 1NT. 2). 15-16 HCP - Open with 1 of your longest suit and rebid 1NT over partner’s response (or rebid 2NT if partner has responded with a 2-level bid). 3). 17-18 HCP - Open with 1 of your longest suit and rebid 2NT over partner’s response (or rebid 3NT over a 2- level response). 4). 19 HCP - Open 1 of your longest suit and rebid 3NT whatever partner responds. 5). 20-22 HCP - Open 2NT. 6). 23+ HCP - Open 2. and rebid 2NT with 23-24 HCP and 3NT with 25+ HCP.

These six possibilities cover all the ways of showing a balanced hand containing 12 or more high-card points. Note that the bids comprise a simple two-step code, telling your partner within a maximum three point range how many points you hold as well as the balanced shape. In theory it takes a combined holding of 25 HCP to bid a game and 33 HCP to bid a no-trump slam, whenever both you and your partner hold balanced hands. Once you have shown your hand partner should be able to estimate where the contract should be played, simply by adding the minimum number of points that you could hold to his own.

Opening Unbalanced Hands

The requirements for opening unbalanced hands are less stringent than those for balanced hands. The difference is that the more unbalanced your hand the fewer high-card points you need to open the bidding.

Example 1

 A 10 9 8 6 3  Q J 10 7 2  10 4 . - - - -

It is definitely acceptable to open the bidding with 1 on this hand, since you have a safe rebid of 2 whatever your partner responds. The lack of high-card points is more than compensated for by the shape. The danger with this type of hand, of course, is that partner may well get over-excited by the opening bid if he holds a good hand – thus landing you in an impossible contract before you have had a chance to show the lack of high-card strength. In order to avoid this danger you need to develop an understanding with your partner of the type of hands that constitute an unbalanced opening bid and how the different types should be shown. To do this you need a set of rules that can be applied to all the possible auctions that you could encounter. This set of rules for bidding unbalanced hands, coupled with the rules for bidding balanced hands, comprises your basic system. Perhaps the best method of enumerating this set of rules is to describe all the possible hands you could open, from the weakest to the strongest, complete with the possible bids that you can make. As with the method for showing strength as well as shape in bidding balanced hands, the combination of your bids for bidding unbalanced hands is also a code. Provided both you and your partner have spent the time necessary to agree what particular bids mean, you should not have too much difficulty in expressing the nature of your hand – nor should you have much difficulty in understanding your partner’s bids.

i). Opening Weak Unbalanced Hands

The definition of a ‘weak opening hand’ is any hand that contains less than 12 high-card points but does consist of either one six-card (or longer) suit or two five-card (or longer) suits. The single-suited weak hand is usually opened at the 3-level (a pre- empt). Your partner knows immediately that you have less than 12 HCP and only one biddable suit (containing at least six cards if non-vulnerable and at least seven cards if vulnerable). You are not necessarily expecting to make your contract – the bid is intended primarily as a means of making it more difficult for the opposition to find a fit. These bids are particularly effective if your partner and your right-hand opponent (RHO) have already passed the option to open the bidding, since now your left- hand opponent (LHO) may well find it very difficult to get adequate information from his partner. You may pick up a single-suited hand that contains between 12-15 HCP and a seven-card suit. If your suit is a major you should bid game (4/4) immediately. Again your partner is aware of exactly the type of hand that you hold. Be cautious though! You should not hold more than 15 HCP unless your partner has already passed, because otherwise your hand is too strong to be bid as a pre-empt. If your suit is a minor, you should open with 1. or 1 and simply rebid it at the next level over partner’s response. The reason you bid your in this way is that your partner may elect to attempt the game in no-trumps, if he has a suitable hand. A remarkable number of players pay little attention to the correct bidding of pre-emptive hands. Either they pre-empt on hands that are too strong or they will pre-empt after their partner has opened the bidding. Alternatively they will bid again, even after their partner has passed the opposition’s or (worse) will bid again before their partner has had a chance to pass (or double!). Any of these actions is idiotic and a partner who does any of these to you should be left in no doubt as to what you think of it! A more common difficulty that many players experience is the proper evaluation of a pre-emptive hand.

Example 2

 - - - -  Q 10 8  J 4 . K Q 10 9 8 6 5 3

You are dealer, non-vulnerable against vulnerable. It is clear that there is a strong possibility that the opposition have at least a game in either major or in no-trumps and there is a good chance that they can make a slam. So you decide to open with a pre-empt and the question is – at what level do you open the bidding?

- Opening 3. is nonsensical, since if either of the opponents can double for take-out or cue-bid 4. (‘Michaels’ cue-bid) they should have no difficulty in reaching the right contract. - Opening 4. is a lot better, since you have an eight-card suit and a . - Best of all though is to open 5., since you know that this is very likely to be a good save against a vulnerable game and could well make it virtually impossible for the opponents to bid their lay-down slam.

If partner can provide one trick you will not be more than three down doubled for a nett minus of 500, against a minimum 620 if the opposition can bid and make game. By bidding 5. immediately you are making it much more difficult for the opposition to reach a slam and, if partner is unable to supply any tricks at all and he has at least a singleton ., then the opposition are virtually certain to be able to bring in the grand slam! It is questionable whether the more usual pre-emptive hands should ever be opened, either with a 3-level pre-empt or with a ‘weak two’ unless you are playing against very weak opponents.

Example 3  A Q 8 7 5 4  K 8 2  7 6 . 5 4

This hand should be passed or opened, if you must, with 1. Far more LHO’s will pass a 1 opening than will pass 3, which is often like waving a red rag at a bull! At a recent duplicate this auction occurred:

N E S W 2 P P 3 P 4 All pass

The K was led and, on inquiry, North revealed that his partner’s 2 opening showed 6-9 HCP with at least a six-card suit.

Example 4

 A 4 3  9 5 2  A 10 W E  K 9 8 6 4  A 9 5 4  Q 10 . K 10 5 2 . A J 4

You may argue that West should bid 3NT over 3, but she explained afterwards that she knew that either North or East were short in s and therefore East had good chances to s. As it turned out this was a fortunate, if specious, line of reasoning. East thought for some time, noting regretfully that 3NT had good chances if North held the K ( two rounds of s, win the third round and play small to the Q, thereby winning one , two s, two s and four .s if the .Q could be found). But what about 4? Clearly West had to win the since North had, at most, a singleton. If North followed with anything other than an honour, declarer had identified 6 of the maximum 9 HCP in the South hand and the chances of North holding the K improved dramatically. In any case North must have held either the K or the J if the contract was to be made, since South would have been able to cash two further rounds of s if he got in and there still remained at least one inescapable trump loser. But surely North needed to hold the Q as well? Perhaps not, provided that the A could be set up for a  discard before South regained the lead. This required South’s distribution to be 6-3-3-1 without the K and, if this was the case then the contract was laydown. Assuming that North returned a . when in with the K… the .Q, low to the Q, A, A (discarding a  from hand), K and exit with a . If South started with Q X X he would be able to cash a  before conceding the remaining tricks. If North started with Q J X X he would be able to cash his second trump trick before conceding the remainder. A good plan which paid dividends. Here is the full deal:

 8  Q 7 2  K J 6 2 . 9 8 7 6 3

 A 4 3 N  9 5 2  A 10 W E  K 9 8 6 4  A 9 5 4 S  Q 10 . K 10 5 2 . A J 4  K Q J 10 7 6  J 5 3  8 7 3 . Q

Note that declarer’s plan of campaign had good chances to locate the .Q. The play proceeded as follows:

- The opening lead of the K taken with the A. - Small  from the table, won by North with the K. - J (?) won by the Q. -  to the A. - A, on which declarer discarded a . -  to the K. - Exited with a  to North’s Q, who had earlier failed to make the master play of dropping his Q under the A, thus setting up an to his partner’s  winner.

At this point declarer could claim, since he could discard his losing  on the 9 before identifying South’s singleton . by laying down the .K. Scoring 450 for an outright top. Most of the field were in 3NT, either making 9 tricks or going off, presumably by ducking two rounds of s and playing for divided honours in the  suit. Without the information garnered by the 2 opening bid, making 4 is difficult and bringing in the overtrick is a downright miracle!

Principles when considering the merits of a pre-emptive bid are as follows:

1). Will the bid hamper the opposition? 2). Express the hand with a single bid, once you have decided that a bid is appropriate. Do not bid again, unless partner forces you to do so. 3). In selecting the level at which to open, consider the merits of an advanced sacrifice. 4). Do not worry unduly about partner’s holding. In Example 2 given earlier, if partner could make 3NT or 4, you can almost certainly make 5. and possibly even 6.. If partner holds the two red Aces, 6. depends merely on the merits of his / holding, assuming that the .J is no more than a doubleton. 5). Do worry about the quality of information you are giving the opponents with your pre-emptive bid.

Note that all pre-emptive bids are limit bids, describing your maximum high-card strength and your shape. If partner decides to bid on regardless, he must take full responsibility for any catastrophe.

Bidding the weak two-suited hand is definitely more dangerous, since partner cannot tell from your opening bid exactly what type of hand you hold. Unless partner has four card support and between 5-8 HCP, you are certain to be playing the final contract at the 3-level and, if you are not both very careful, even higher in an unmakeable contract. Many partners will not respond well to this kind of debacle, demanding to know how you could possibly open such a weak hand. Such a reaction is understandable perhaps – but you could point out to your partner (diplomatically) that is as much a pre-emptive system designed to make it more difficult for the opponents to bid as it is a system designed to help you find the right contracts. Hands where the weak two-suiter contains adjoining suits are much less susceptible to catastrophe than those containing non-touching suits. The reason for this is that no matter what partner responds you have a safe rebid, provided you have opened the higher-ranking suit first (regardless of the respective lengths of the two suits). Thus, if you return to Example 1 and switch the  and  suits around, you would still open the hand with 1 rather than 1 and rebid 2 over partner’s response. This is the only exception to the rule that you should open your longest suit first. Now you still have the space (as does your partner) to bail out early if a fit cannot be found. Consider this auction:

N E S W 1 P 2 P 2 P 3.* P 3 P ?

*Fourth-suit Forcing

South should now be aware of the strong possibility that partner has a weak two-suited hand in the majors and he should simply pass with better s than spades or bid 3, unless he is holding at least an opening hand himself. Many players find the temptation to bid 3NT on these auctions irresistible. If you do this you may well receive an unpleasant shock when partner puts down a ropy 7 HCP with 11 cards in two suits and no communications between the two hands. Two-suited weak hands that contain non-touching suits are more dangerous to open because your partner may bid in the intervening suit, thus depriving you of the space to show your second suit at the 2-level. In these circumstances do not bid your second suit at the 3-level because this guarantees a much stronger hand. You must simply rebid your first suit, showing a minimum opening hand and guaranteeing at least five cards in the suit. Partner now has the option to pass or support you with three cards in your suit or bid something else, knowing (a) that you are minimum for your opening bid and (b) you do not have a higher ranking biddable suit. If partner now decides to bid another suit himself, he is showing a good hand and you can safely bid your second suit at the 3- level. These difficulties arise only with / and /. combinations. With a weak /. two-suiter you should open 1. rather than 1, since you can still show your second suit at the 1-level, even though you have not yet been able to imply its inherent weakness. Here are two examples from recent duplicate games, showing the effect when partner has support (Example 5) and the more dangerous situation where partner does not have length in either of your suits (Example 6).

Example 5  A 10 9 8 6 3  Q J 10 7 2  10 4 . - - - - -

Partner responded 3 to the opening 1, showing at least four-card  support with 16+ HCP with good values (but not necessarily length) in the  suit. This is known as a ‘fit jump’. The opener now felt confident enough to bid 4. as a cue-bid showing first-round control of .s. The responder cue-bid 4 and the opener bid 4. The responder now bid 4NT (Blackwood) and over 5 he bid 5NT, asking partner to bid 7 if he held two of the top three honours in the  suit or 6 if he held only one. Usually, of course, this 5NT bid would simply be a continuation of Blackwood, asking partner to show how many Kings he holds. The final contract was 6 and the responder put down this hand:

 Q J 7 4  A K 9 5 3  A 7 . A 5

Either slam was unbeatable and either grand slam depended on finding the K. In the event neither the finesse nor playing for the drop would have worked. Remarkably only one other pair were in slam (6), presumably because the players holding the weak two-suiter did not feel confident enough to investigate the slam after the auction P!-P-1-P; 1- P-4!…, despite knowing that they have a fit in two suits. It is true that there are many hands where partner could not have the right cards to make the 6 slam (e.g. K Q X X; A K X X X; K X; .K X), but it must be right to try for 6, since the lead would be coming round to partner’s protected K.

Example 6  9  8 5  Q J 9 8 7 . K Q 6 5 4

At favourable vulnerability the dealer had no qualms about opening 1 when he picked up this hand. His partner responded 1 and the opener rebid 2.. Partner now bid 2 (Fourth-suit Forcing), over which the opener rebid 3.. Fortunately his partner passed this, realising that the opener could well have a very weak hand. Declarer made precisely 9 tricks and the travelling score-card revealed that the opposition could make 10 tricks in either major or in no-trumps! The opener had no thought of sacrificing when he opened the bidding (unless the opposition forced him to, of course). His evaluation of the hand was that it was strong enough to open since there was a good possibility that partner would be able to support one of the minors and would have a shortage in the other. The only time you might get in trouble on this kind of hand is if partner holds a two-suiter in the other two suits, but the likelihood is that the majority of pairs sitting your way will get into trouble as well, whether those in your seat open or not. Incidentally, if you do elect not to open this hand, I recommend that you pass if partner opens with 1. If you respond with the technically correct 1NT, the chances of partner rebidding 2 are very high. If you pass the opening bid there are very good chances that you will get a good , since there are very few opponents sitting in the fourth seat who would elect to defend 1. If you give the opposition the chance to go wrong, sometimes they will take it!

When deciding whether to open your hand, it is much more important to evaluate its merits in terms of the shape rather than its strength. It is too restrictive to stick religiously to a rigid point count or honour trick system. On the other hand, if you do not feel confident of your partner’s ability to comprehend these bidding sequences, it is much safer and less wearing on partnership understanding not to open them.

ii). Opening Intermediate Unbalanced Hands

The definition of an intermediate unbalanced hand is one containing between 12-15 HCP and at least one suit of five cards or more and a maximum of four cards distributed between two ‘short’ suits. The principle behind opening such hands is always to leave enough space to define your hand, even if your partner has limited strength. In order for you to make game your partner will need to hold a hand almost as strong as your own in terms of high-card points - and perhaps even stronger if you are minimum and there is no convenient fit. A rebid in a new suit that is of lower rank than the first suit guarantees that the first-bid suit contains at least five cards – otherwise the opener would be rebidding no-trumps. The only exception to this rule is when the opener holds a hand of 4-4-4-1 shape and partner has responded in his singleton. If the rebid is made at the lowest possible level, then the opening bidder is implying that he holds, at best, an intermediate unbalanced hand with a maximum of 15 HCP. Occasionally you will hold a hand that is slightly stronger than this, but which you will have to bid in this way to avoid over-stating it.

Example 7  K 9  K Q 6 3  J 6 . A K 9 4 3

You will open 1. on this hand, planning to rebid 1 if your partner responds 1, thus showing either a hand with longer .s than s (since otherwise you would have opened with the  suit) or a balanced hand with four s and four .s with at least 15 HCP (which you have opened 1. to learn whether partner has something in the  suit so that you can safely rebid no-trumps if partner cannot support your  suit) or possibly a 4-4-4-1 hand with a singleton . Traditionally beginners have been taught to open this with 1, but a problem arises whenever partner responds 2 and you do not have enough high-card strength to make a rebid in no-trumps. Thus it is better to open with 1. whenever you have a 4-4-4-1 hand with 12-14 HCP, so long as your singleton is not .s, when you would open with 1. On this hand you do have the points for a rebid of 1NT over a 1 response, but if you do this you are specifically denying a four-card major as well as promising a balanced hand. Do not lie to your partner if you can avoid it, especially about the shape of the hand. The hand becomes more difficult if partner responds with 1 over your opening 1.. Now you must simply rebid 2., even though that implies fewer high-card points. If you rebid 2 instead, you are promising a hand that is stronger in points/shape (see below: ‘Reversing’). By rebidding 2. you are leaving your partner the space to bid his hand safely. If partner elects to pass 2. there is a reasonable chance that you will have avoided landing in an unmakeable contract. If partner bids 2, however, you can reasonably bid the game in no-trumps, since partner’s bid in a second suit promises a reasonable hand of at least near-opening strength (10+ HCP). If partner rebids 2 you will happily raise to 4, showing the same strength hand with four-card  support. If partner bids 2, you must pass. If partner bids 2NT he is showing a balanced 11-12 HCP, so you will be happy to raise him to 3NT. Fortunately problems of this kind are relatively rare. On balance you will gain at least as often as you lose by playing in a low-level contract. The hand does illustrate the theme which is stressed throughout this book – when bidding unbalanced hands, bid your shape before you bid your strength! It is nearly always possible to correct any misinterpretation your partner might have made if you are stronger than you have stated. Attempting to do the same with a weak hand is a recipe for disaster. Two-suited intermediate hands that contain suits of the same length are expressed by bidding the higher-ranking suit first except when holding both black suits, in which case you will normally open 1. rather than 1 because you will be able to show your  suit at the minimum level, no matter what partner responds. An exception to this is when you are in third seat and both partner and your right-hand opponent have passed the option to open the bidding. It is better to open 1 with 5-5 in the black suits, because it makes it more difficult for the opponents to identify their red suit fit, if they have one. Note, however, that partner will not know that your second-bid suit contains 5 cards until you rebid it.

Example 8  Q 4  A Q 9 5 2  8 . A Q 8 7 5

You would open this hand 1, planning to rebid 2. if partner responds with either 1 or 1NT. Since you have a 5-card . suit it is acceptable for you to rebid 3. over partner’s 2 response. If your . suit contained only four cards you would be forced to rebid 2 over 2 (showing a maximum of 15 HCP with no rebiddable second suit). Thus a rebid in a lower-ranked suit at the 3-level guarantees either two suits of five cards or longer with at least an intermediate opening or a hand stronger in high- card points with at least 5-4 shape.

Example 9  A 7 3  A  9 7 6 5 3 . A Q 8 4

Occasionally you will have an awkward decision about whether to open a hand. If you are playing a weak no-trump and pick up this hand in first seat, you might well elect to pass in the hope that one of the other three players can open. If you decide to open with 1 (not 1.!) you may well get into trouble if partner responds with 1 and then rebids 2 (or 3!) over your 2. rebid. If you are playing a strong no-trump (15-17 or 16-18 HCP) it is safe to open, since over a 1 response it is safe to rebid 1NT, showing 12-14 HCP balanced. You should have at least two s for this rebid, but occasionally you will need to concoct a bid that nearly describes your hand and it is more important to show your weakness in high-card points at the earliest opportunity. If partner responds 1 over your 1 opening, you can safely rebid 2., showing the two-suited nature of your hand. If partner now bids 2 (or 3.) you can pass. If partner rebids 2 (Fourth-suit Forcing) you can rebid 2. Provided you have good communication with your partner, he will now understand that you have either 3-1-5-4 distribution or 3-0-5-5 or 3-0-6-4, with a minimum high card count. Notice that partner has a very clear picture of your hand without either of you bidding past the 2- level. At this point in the auction you can sit back and leave the decision to partner as to where the final contract should be played and at what level. Unless partner forces you to bid again you have nothing more to say in this auction. Once you have described your hand as accurately as possible, STOP BIDDING. iii). Opening Strong Unbalanced Hands

In ACOL (or Standard English) there are three ways of showing strong unbalanced hands, depending on the shape/point content. A strong hand contains at least 16 HCP or very powerful compensating shape. There are some hands that have the requisite number of points but where the shape is not strong enough to justify bidding the hand too strongly. Example 7 is a very typical example of this. Here is another example, albeit less clear cut.

Example 10  A K J 9 8  A J 8 6  K 5 4 . 7

This type of hand should be bid as though it is of intermediate strength until you have found a fit. After your opening bid of 1, it would be an error for you to jump to 3over your partner’s 2. response, since your partner would be under extreme pressure if he held something like:

 7  9 5  J 8 6 . A K J 8 5 4 2

Although you may be able to make 3NT, your partner would have to make the decision without any idea whether you can guard the  suit. You should simply respond with 2 over 2. and wait and see what happens. Don’t forget, 2 is unconditionally forcing for one round, since you have not yet limited your hand. On the other hand, if your partner had responded with 2 over your opening bid of 1 you can comfortably express your strength with a 3 bid (reversing) since if your partner cannot bid 3NT or support either of your suits, you can raise him to 5 over his 4. or 4 rebid. Now he will know that you have a very powerful hand with three-card  support and a shortage in .s and he will pass or bid on depending on his own strength.

The three methods of bidding strong unbalanced hands are: i). Reversing: Opening with 1 of your longest suit and rebidding your second suit at a level higher than a simple rebid in your first suit (e.g. 1-P-2-P; 2… or 1-P-1-P; 3.…) ii). Opening 2//: Promising partner that you will make eight tricks in that trump suit, even if he holds absolutely nothing in his hand. iii). Opening 2.: Promising partner a hand very strong in high- card points (23+) and/or very strong in shape. The 2. opening is also used to define very strong balanced hands. It is the only opening bid that is unconditionally forcing on partner, who must keep bidding until at least a game contract has been reached. The single exception to this is that partner may pass with less than 3 HCP after the sequence: 2.-P-2-P; 2NT… The 2NT bid shows 23-24 HCP and a balanced hand so if partner is very nearly minimum, 3NT will be difficult to make. Note that the 2. opening bid is entirely artificial – it does not promise (or deny) a . suit.

Example 11  A K J 9 7 6  A Q J 5 4  - - - - - . Q 9

On this hand you should open your longest suit and rebid 3 over partner’s 1NT/2./2 response. Partner now knows that you have a strong two-suited hand and will be able to decide which is the best game contract or whether the prospects for bidding slam should be investigated.

Example 12  A K Q 7 3  K J 10 9 8 4  K . Q

On this hand you should open 1 and rebid 2 over partner’s 1NT/2./2 response. Note that the 5 HCP represented by the singleton K and .Q do not influence your decision to into 2. Due to the shape, your hand is strong enough to reverse regardless of your minor suit values.

The next two hands illustrate the extremes for opening with 2 of a suit.

Example 13  A 10 6  - - - - -  A K 10 9 8 7 5 3 . 9 5

This hand contains only 11 HCP but can reasonably be expected to generate eight tricks with s as trumps, failing only if trumps break badly and partner’s hand doesn’t produce a single trick.

Example 14  A K Q 9 8 7 4  A  K J . Q 9 7

This hand can still only be counted as eight tricks, assuming nothing in partner’s hand, even though it contains 19 HCP. Once again only an appalling trump break will defeat you.

Example 15  A K Q 9 7 4  Q J 10 6 4 2  3 . - - - - -

You must be very careful not to open this kind of hand with an opening 2 bid. It is true that you will almost certainly make eight tricks with s as trumps, but there is a hidden danger. Partner is very likely to be able to give you a positive response in a minor suit, at which point you will be obliged to show your second suit. Such a bid is forcing and is virtually a demand that the partnership bid to slam. Never open a two-suited hand at the 2-level, unless you are opening with 2..

Partner should base his response to your opening of 2 of a suit in the same manner – that is, his response should be based upon the number of tricks he can reasonably be expected to provide rather than simply responding on the basis of high-card points that he holds. Note that the opening bid of 2 in a suit is essentially a limit bid in the same way that an opening no-trump bid is. The only difference is that the no-trump opening reveals a close approximation of your high-card points whereas the opening 2 bid reveals the number of tricks that you can make.

Example 16  A K Q 9 4  K Q J 10 7 3  - - - - - . K Q

This hand is equivalent to Example 12 in shape, but it is well-nigh certain to make game in one of the majors. Thus you would open this with a game-forcing 2.. Over the negative response of 2 you would respond 2 and follow up with a 3 rebid, showing a very powerful two- suited hand and demanding that partner should show preference for one of the majors. If partner holds either the A or the .A then the major suit slam is a probable make, unless you are playing in a 5-3 fit in s and you get a  lead and then have to contend with a bad trump break. The same problem could occur in a 4 contract if partner holds a complete bust.

Example 17  A K J 8  A K Q 10 6  K Q 3 . A

Again you would open this hand with 2.. Partner needs either the A or the Q for you to make the slam in your major-suit fit. If he holds both you would almost certainly be able to make the grand slam in either major or in no-trumps.

Example 18  A K 10 9 8  A K J 4 3  K . A J

Beware! You are not strong enough to open 2., despite the fact that you have 23 high-card points. You should open 1 and reverse over partner’s response with 2. It is possible, of course, that your 1 opening will be passed out, but if this does happen there is at least a 50% chance that you will get a good result. Give partner this hand…

 6 5  8 7  J 10 8 6 4 . 10 9 4 3

You may well scrape home in 1 and be totally unable to make any game. 3NT is your best chance, but even this is likely to go badly wrong since there is virtually no communication between the two hands. If partner can respond to your opening 1, you can be certain that game is on and you may well be able to seek a slam, particularly if partner responds with 2. or 2 since he is then promising 8+ HCP. Until partner responds, your K and .J should be treated as wasted values and your point count should be read as 19 rather than 23.

The essential difference between opening 2 of a suit or 2. is the way in which you need your partner to respond. If you require a response based upon the number of tricks he can provide, open 2 of a suit. If you wish a response based upon your partner’s high card strength, open 2.. You will not, of course, be able to open 2. based simply on eight playing tricks in .s. You will either have to open 1. and then jump to 4. to show this type of hand (risking the possibility that your opening bid might be passed out) or, if stronger, you can open 2. and simply rebid 3. to show your suit. iv). Principles for Opening Unbalanced Hands

1). If one of the partners elects to open with an unlimited bid (i.e. any bid other than 1NT, 2NT or any pre-emptive bid) he is guaranteeing a rebid, no matter what partner responds, unless partner immediately makes a limit bid in no-trumps or raises the opener’s suit. The only other occasion when the opener might pass a response in a new suit is if his partner has already passed the option to open the bidding, thus limiting his hand. 2). A rebid in a lower-ranking suit than the opening bid always guarantees that the first-bid suit contains at least five cards (otherwise the opening bidder should be rebidding no-trumps). 3). A rebid in a new suit at the 2-level or higher is unconditionally forcing for one round, unless the partner making the bid has already passed during the course of the auction. Such a rule is logical because, unless the rider applies, both hands are still unlimited. 4). A rebid in the first bid suit guarantees at least a five-card suit and a maximum of around 15 HCP. By implication, the opening bidder is stating that the hand is not suitable to be played in a no-trump contract. 5). A rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 3-level guarantees that both suits contain at least five cards and a holding of intermediate strength or 5-4 shape and 17+ HCP (a ‘reverse’). 6). A rebid in a higher-ranked suit guarantees a strong hand if the bid is made at a level or more higher than the opening bid (a ‘reverse’).

Frank Groome (October 2009)