General Approach
& 2C Opening
This month we'll focus on the strong 2
opening, but first a word about "General Approach."
Opening Bids and General System
Personally, I think a strong-club system (such as Precision) is best.
Good hands (16 or 17+) start with 1.
That means all other openings are fewer than 16 HCP. This makes bidding so much easier.
Any time you open, say 1 , partner knows
you are limited to 11-15 HCP. This avoids the need for ugly topics such as reverses. If I
were to teach beginners, I would forgo "Standard American" and teach Precision.
Is it hard to make the switch? Not too hard. Probably 5-6 hours of
reading and work would be enough to get started. If anyone cares, by my estimate, 4 of the
top 5 American pairs from 2000-2007 used a strong club system. {Precision Today,
by Brent Manley and David Berkowitz is a good starting point.}
Anyway, I suspect most readers will stick with what is familiar to
them. Nothing wrong with that.
While a weak notrump (12-14) is popular in many countries, I know
that most of my readers prefer 15-17. Also, "2-over-1 Game Forcing" is becoming
more and more popular--and for good reason. "2/1" is a much easier system than
"standard." I'd teach beginners that 1 -2 shows 13+
and enough for game (as opposed to the 10+ in the "book.") Eventually, I think,
everyone will play 2/1 GF. (Of course, some of my inexperienced students can be found
bidding 2-over-1 with 7 or 8 points--a definite no-no.)
Okay. So, for most of you the general approach will be "Standard
American, 2/1 GF, 15-17 notrump openings." Fine. What about the 2 opener?
2 OPENER (What do you need?)
We'll get to 2 , 2
and 2
openings in a later installment of this series. For now, let's presume that 2 (artificial) is the only suit bid to depict
a strong hand. (In the old days, all 2-level openings were strong, but sanity has since
prevailed.)
What do I mean by "strong?" If your strong hand is
balanced, I can tell you an exact point range. Presuming a 2NT opener is 20-21, then when
2 is opened with a balanced hand it
shows 22+ HCP.
What if unbalanced? This is a pet peeve of mine. After an opening 2, an opponent asks: "How many
points?" Poor question. It has no good answer. (And why ask in the first place--does
it matter to you? Will you interfere or not interfere depending on the answer? By the way,
if you do interfere, make sure you and your partner know what double shows--typically
clubs.)
Anyway, if balanced, the answer (if you are silly enough to
ask what 2 shows) is easy: more than a
2NT opener. But what about unbalanced hands? Who is to say which (if any) of these hands
are worth 2:
A) AKQJ1098 AQJ2 5 4
B) AKJ96542 -- AK42 5
C) KQJ10987 -- KQJ KJ10
The HCP for each hand are 17, 15, and 16, respectively. Depending on
which experts you asked, you'd get votes for opening 2 with A,B,C, none, or all. There is no right answer! That is why
it is silly to ask your opponent: "How many points does 2 show?"
What should your HCP requirements be for a 2 opener? Again, with a balanced hand, there
is no decision (other than maybe to treat some 4x1's such as: A AQ107 KQJ9
AQJ3 as balanced by opening 2 and rebidding 2NT). With unbalanced hands
such as A,B,C above, it is a matter of personal preference. Some people count losers or
quick tricks. Others insist on having a certain number of aces or HCP. I tend to open 2 more than most people, fearing that my
one-level opening could be followed by three passes. I'd probably open 2 with A) and B), maybe with C as well. That
doesn't make it right; many experts would open 1 with all three hands. All of
those hands are much too strong for a 4 opening.
Another consideration is: "How hard will it be to show my hand
if I open 2?"
For example, consider this hand:
AQJ2
32 A AKQ1087.
If you open 2,
your next call will be 3. It might be
hard to find a 4-4 spade fit. Meanwhile, if you open 1 (and survive, i.e., it doesn't go 1--P--P--P), you will get to jump in spades next, getting the hand
"off your chest." For such awkward hands, I tend to risk a one-level opening.
So, you've opened 2.
What next? We'll explore the follow-ups next month.
For descriptions of most conventions mentioned in this article, see the ACBL
page on Commonly
Used Conventions.
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